So the whole idea of THE NEXT BIG THING is that—as a writer—you get “tagged,” then answer ten quick fire questions on your blog, and then tag five other writers … so that before long you have a whole web of writers answering the same questions, and linking to one another through social media. It’s a good idea, and a nice way to drum up interest in your latest work. Mark Morris—a good friend and a top writer—tagged me. See how he answered his questions right HERE.

Now, before I answer my questions, I should point out that my little portion of the web is somewhat delicate. A few of the strands are broken, in that I have only been able to tag two writers. Yeah, I had a couple of last-minute drop-outs, and some of the writers I asked weren’t interested, or had been tagged elsewhere. That’s all fine with me, but with my life being so hectic at the moment (and you can throw a hurricane in there, for good measure), I just haven’t had time to find replacements with new books to plug. Thus, I’m only tagging two writers … two stalwart Canadians, by God. We’ll get to them in a minute. But first, the questions and answers:

1. What is the working title of your next book?

My next book has the working title, CRADLE. It will be finished next year, and published God only knows when. But let’s talk about WESTLAKE SOUL, shall we? Yeah, that’s a great idea.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

I’m not entirely sure. The idea—almost fully formed—came to me in that weird state between being asleep and awake. I even knew the main character’s first name. I got out of bed and scribbled the idea on a piece of paper, using the title, WHO IS WESTLAKE? There were a few blanks, of course, but I filled them in when it came time to write the book.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

All of them.

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Jesus, I don’t know. I like the idea of an independent movie, using unknown actors. But if Señor Spielbergo put a gun to my head and forced me to choose (could happen) … I guess someone like Liam Hemsworth (Chris’s l’il brother) for Westlake, and Emily Browning for Yvette.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Surfer dude has a terrible accident and goes into a permanent vegetative state, but develops the mind of a super genius and must use this new-found ability to recover before it’s too late.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It was published by ChiZine Publications in May 2012, and is represented outside North America by The Cooke Agency.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

About eight months.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

THE DIVING-BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, by Jean-Dominique Bauby; THE COMA, by Alex Garland; JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN, by Dalton Trumbo; SPIDER-MAN: THE OTHER – EVOLVE OR DIE (various).

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

If I don’t write, I melt into a gooey puddle like that witch in THE WIZARD OF OZ. So that, coupled with the concept being so fresh and exciting, was inspiration enough.

10. What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

A talking dog. He looks like this:

So there we have it. My answers. Short and sweet. And the two writers I’m tagging are none other than IAN ROGERS and RICHARD GAVIN—both fantastic, young Canadian writers. Check out their websites (just click on their names above), see what they’re about, and what they have coming out … and be sure to visit again next Wednesday when they answer the same questions.

Oh, and seeing as my portion of the web is missing a few strands, feel free to answer these questions yourself and post them on your own blog/Facebook page. Don’t forget to include a link in the comments section. Spam-bots will be shot on sight.

There … easy.