The Next Big Thing ~ Author Diana Anderson

The Next Big Thing is a questionnaire going around the author community. Jennifer Brink tagged me, after talking about her book Cerulean Seas, T​​​he Jessica Hart Series. Participants answer, and then tag five more authors to participate. Tags at the bottom. Also, you'll find guest authors' questions and answers below. Please check out their websites.

What is the working title of your next book?
I’m working on Remember When. I have three on the back burner, Famous in a Small Town, Sundown Gossip, and waiting to be titled is the third in the series of A Southern Country Novel.
(update) Famous in a Small Town got bumped up in the ranks of which novel is next and is available at Amazon.com).
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Where did the idea come from for the book?
Remember When began when I sat down at my laptop and typed the first thing that came to mind. I never know where I’m going with it at first. I start off with a mystery that I have to figure out as I go. My main character is always at the end of her rope in the beginning, in dire straits in the middle, and hanging by a thread near the end.

What genre does your book fall under?
Remember When, Entering Southern Country, and Sundown Gossip are Mystery/Thriller/Romance/Southern Gothic. A Southern Country Novel series are all Mystery/Thriller/Humor/Southern Gothic.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Are we talking major motion picture?

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Remember When ~ Disappointment from a miscarriage and divorce, Thera Logan decides to move back to her hometown of Tahlequah, Oklahoma and start a new life, but before she can catch her flight out of Seattle, an event takes place that puts her life in jeopardy, and it won't be the last of these events.

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

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
One month for Remember When, one week for A Vanilla Christmas (Novella), three months each for Happy Valley (1st in the series of A Southern Country Novel) and Mississippi Gambler, and Faded Rose, six months.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I like to write similar to what I like to read. I’m a Harlan Coben, Lee Child, John Grisham, Janet Evanovich, and Sandra Brown fan. To be as good as these listed authors would be a dream come true.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I’m a restless daydreamer in need of adventure.

What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
Dark mystery, thriller, drama, humor, southern settings, southern characters, surprise, romance, murder, sexual tension, and a few very unusual characters thrown in the mix.


Please check out the author links below.
Wayne Zurl ~ http://www.waynezurlbooks.net/
Barbara Boswell Brunner ~ http://www.dogmathebook.com/
D. A. & S. F. Swem ~ http://www.voldamar.com/Voldamar_Blog/
 

A Vanilla Christmas

Vanilla Lillian Carver has given up on love. Every relationship has left her disappointed and heartbroken, from a high school romance, to a broken engagement, and then jilted at the altar. She’s decided that she's through with love. It was a good plan until the day her true love returns after he had disappeared twelve years earlier without even saying goodbye. She's afraid to trust him again. Her heart and common sense battle it out, because there are too many unanswered questions that she’s afraid to ask him. Poor Lily! She’s running in circles.

December 14th through the 17th 2012, A Vanilla Christmas will be FREE for your Kindle device.
A Vanilla Christmas

Kindle and Paperback

Faded Rose

Rose Daniels is ready for a change. Her decision to divorce after twelve years of a failed marriage gives her a short moment of hope for her and her son's future, but Mother Nature throws a wrench in her plans and so does the Hughes County Sheriff when he arrests her for the murder of a local woman. She's lost so much already, but she could lose more... her son and her life.

Faded Rose is now available for Kindle and in paperback.

Faded Rose

Southern Out of the Way Places

My husband and I live in the country in northwestern Mississippi. A beautiful area. Lots of deer, wild turkey's, and great fishing.

     Last Saturday, I was restless. I wanted to go out for a drive and get away from the house for awhile. So my husband and I took off on a short road trip. We headed down the back roads from our house on our way to Sardis Lake. We drove down Highway 310 and stopped at a little bait and grocery store called T & T.. Near the store, a family was having a yard sale. We browsed around the sale. My husband bought me two antique lamps, an antique hand mirror, and an old hand carved quilt rack. I was thrilled. I've always wanted a quilt rack and having one that someone carved by hand made it extra special.




     We put the items in our car and went inside T & T and ordered a hamburger with all the fixin's. While we waited, we purchased our drinks. I was surprised that they carried Mexican Cokes in their refrigerated case. For those of you who don't know, Mexican Cokes are made with real sugar and not corn syrup. In 1984 Coca Cola changed from real sugar to corn syrup. The taste took me back to my childhood and so did the hamburger.













     While waiting for our hamburgers, my husband watched a College football game on the wide screen television, and I looked around the store. They carried items that I hadn't seen in many years. Stage Planks and Chick-O-Stick. I didn't buy either one, but it wasn't because I didn't want to. I had splurged on my diet with the hamburger, chips, and Coke. I'll be back one day to T & T's.

 My husband loved the wall decor.














      We drove on down to Sardis Lake. The lake was down. We need more rain in this area. But that didn't stop the fishermen. There were quite a few on the lake that day.

     All in all, we had a nice outing. So if you are ever in northwestern Mississippi, take a drive down 310 toward Sardis Lake. Stop in at T & T's Bait & Grocery and get the best hamburger in the state of Mississippi and while you're there, have a look around. Some real nice folks run the place.

     Now back to editing my next novel. Y'all have a great week!

Happy Valley (A Southern Country Novel)

Paperbacks for both are coming soon. So stay tuned.

Blurb for Happy Valley:
A year ago, Jo Preston was released and sent home from a mental institution. She has only vague memories of why she had been committed. Circumstances beyond her control will cause those memories to surface, one by one.
A tragedy, brought on by deceit, leaves her heartbroken and rejected. She is sent away to live with some rather peculiar relatives. Her fear of being institutionalized again has her desperate to keep her past hidden, but how long can she keep it a secret when her imagination begins playing tricks on her... or is it? A voice from her past resurfaces as well as the man who wants her secret to die with her.
This is a story about a young girl's heartbreak, rejection, fear, faith, and determination.

Blurb for Mississippi Gambler:

When Jo Preston Lane was nineteen, she left home thinking that was the answer to her problem, but now, four years later, she must return and who she has to face is the least of her problems. To protect her family, she must keep all she has discovered five months ago a secret. She has little time to prepare for her great escape before her worst nightmare catches up with her. She can’t afford to trust anyone, as her life truly depends on it. Not the police or the FBI.

Happy Valley (A Southern Country Novel)

Well, back to editing my next novel.

Happy Valley

At first, I was skeptical about putting my novel on Amazon.com, but I've sold several and have had some good reviews. The reviews are from people I don't know.  My friends are still reading my novel and I'm waiting for their feedback.
Happy Valley A Southern Country Novel is the first in the series. The story is mainly based in Northwest Mississippi.  Happy Valley is a mystery with humor.
"Jo Preston could write a book on survival. Her titles could be: How to Survive Five Years in a Mental Institution, How to Cheat Death, How to Overcome Heartbreak and Rejection, How to Live With Crazy Relatives, or How to Run From a Serial Killer. Yes, she could write a book... if she survives all of the above."

http://www.amazon.com/Diana-Anderson/e/B008FU5U66/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

If you read my novel, please leave a review at Amazon.com.  Thanks!

My Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diana-Anderson/432120250141271

Now that I've told you about my novel, let me tell you about where I live.  Although I was born and raised in Oklahoma, I've lived in this area of Mississippi since 1979.  My husband and I moved to the country in 2006.  Being raised a farm girl, I was long over-do and ready for the move.
A sign over our driveway reads, "God's Country" and it is a taste of heaven on earth.  I love having my morning coffee on the patio.  I'm never alone.  Many mornings, deer walk between our yard and the woods that surround our home.  Casey, our Jack Russell Terrier, is more interested in the squirrels and lizards though.  We have chickens, which is more of a hobby as most are pets.  However, fresh eggs are good.  We keep a bird feeder in view of our kitchen window as well as hummingbird feeders.  I love watching the blue buntings and have managed to get a few photos of the skittish little creatures.  We have a creek down below our home and when we get a good rain, you can hear the rushing water.  At night, the whippoorwill sing, tree frogs croak, and crickets chirp.  We are so far away from the city that the night skies are lit up with stars, like diamonds on black velvet.  I remember the first few nights after we moved in.  I couldn't sleep because it was so quiet. Now, sleep is wonderful.
Life is good here out in this neck of the woods.  I wouldn't have it any other way.