Blog Hop!

Steve (“Bart”) Bartholomew has tagged me in this Blog Hop.  His latest book is “The Woodcutter,” an historical western.  It’s in my queue to read, but I haven’t had the change.  I recently read his novel, “Journey to Rhyolite” before visiting the actual ghost town itself.  It really made the town come alive to have read this book before seeing it.  Bart’s keen historical sense and research gives the characters and society of that era reality.  I can’t wait to dig into The Woodcutter!

Blog Hop questions:

1.  What is the working title of your book?  My most current novel is “Tasting The Wind” which is currently only available in Kindle version (soon to be expanded to all other formats of e-books and hopefully paper versions by the end of this year).  The title is based upon a quote from the late William O’Dwyer:  “Whitehead never claimed he built and flew a practical flying machine.  He merely stated he built and tested a pair of silken wings and tasted the winds and saw the promise of yet greater machines that would plod the airborne trails of what he described as ‘…the only Universal Highway.’”

2.  Where did the idea come from for the book?  I read about the early flights of Gustave Whitehead and how he had possibly flown successfully two years before the famed Wright Brothers’ flight.  Upon researching Whitehead, I realized there was a lot more to his story than just the flights---namely the controversy concerning the Smithsonian museum and the Wright Brothers’ contract.

3.  What genre does this book fall under?  It is classified as an historical mystery.  The story surrounding the quest for Whitehead information is fictitious but the background of Whitehead’s flights is based on facts as they were recorded back in the early 1900’s.

4.  Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?  Lorie should be played by Ellen Page (from Juno) and her friend Ben could be played by Jessie Eisenberg (from Zombieland).  Henry Jackson could be played by Morgan Freeman and the evil Fred should be played by Woody Harrelson.

5.  What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?  In 1967, aspiring journalist Lorie faces prejudices, adversity and personal growth during her research of a 1901 airplane flight (two years before the Wright Brothers’).

6.  Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?  My book was published by Keyslip Press, a small independent publisher.

7.  How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?  I actually began this book back in 2005 and finished it in 2009.  But along the way, I put it down to complete my second novel, “A Rat Among Us” and during research, decided to try my hand at a script (which didn’t pan out).  Then I picked it back up and, thanks to our local writers group, managed to finish and polish the original manuscript.

8.  What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  I can’t fairly answer that because I’ve not read any other books in this genre.  All my other books were straight mysteries.

9.  Who or what inspired you to write this book?  Both William O’Dwyer (author of “History by Contract”) and Stella Randolph (author of “Before the Wrights Flew”) inspired me to write this account concerning Gustave Whitehead.

10.  What else about your book might pique the readers’ interest?  The page on Gustave Whitehead at Wikipedia explains the controversy concerning his flights and those who believe they never happened are on the money, as far as I can tell.  I would hope people are interested in what REALLY happened back in those days concerning aviation history.  I know that I care.  Here is the cover of this book:    The airplane in this picture is a reproduction of the ones that Gustave Whitehead flew during those 1901 flights!

Well, that is the end of my Blog Hop.  I hope you will consider checking out my other novels on Smashwords.com:  Everything’s Relative and A Rat Among Us.