The Next Big Thing: Aaron Paul Lazar, the Adirondacks, and Me
THE NEXT BIG THING
This meme swept through a few months ago, and I’m happy to share my answers again. This time mystery author Aaron Paul Lazar tagged me and I’m so glad. His Tall Pines series is set where my WIP is, the Adirondacks. He’s been kind enough to mentor me, and we laugh because our work features our favorite grocery store, Charlie Johns, and other things in common. Yet I have a romance and he’s working on a serial killer. I’ve even joked about placing his serial killer in my scene to see what would happen. Fun times, to be sure.
Aaron’s post on the Next Big Thing can be found here. I highly recommend you check out his author site. He’s got great wit, strong characters, a bit of romance, and of course—murder.
Here are the answers for my Next Big Thing. Thanks, Aaron!
SPECTACULAR FALLS, but I suspect that will change.
2-Where did the idea come from for the book?
I visited the real Speculator, New York in the early 90’s and fell in love with the Adirondacks and the people. I can’t get enough of the place. As I drank in the mountains and waters Ben and Jenna’s story came to me. That first story is a shell to what it is now, but the magic I felt from my first visit, I believe that remains.
Contemporary romance written in first person, present tense. Although it is a romance, I feel there is a “Mitford” feel to it as the people of Speculator Falls are quirky and sweet.
6-Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Great question! I’m open to anything, but feel first I need to seek an agent. I seek God for every step and have a team pray over my writing. His will be done. I’m probably 2/3 done editing and taking it through critique groups. There are still things I want to change. In May I have a pitch to Harlequin Love Inspired.
I wrote the shell of the story soon after that first visit to the Adirondacks, naively thinking it was done, but knowing I wasn’t ready to do anything about it. I grew serious about the craft in 2007, and returned to it in 2010. It’s only been in the last few months I’ve really broke it open and started revising to the point I felt I had a chance to make it publishable. So you can say months, or even close to 20 years.
It’s so much more than a romance. It’s a community that invites the reader to live there, too. It’s a lesson on surrendering fear. All my books will feature a form of surrender and a character loving chocolate. It’s literally sweet fiction that motivates the reader to trust God. From an author doing the same.
A black four-by four-truck squeals into place next to the squad car. A door slams and within seconds a well-built man who looks about thirty jogs from his truck to us. Half a minute later my car has the whiff of the woodsy cologne that follows him.
“Carla, Howard Wheaton told me someone plowed through my grandfather’s handiwork. I presume this is your perpetrator?” He commandeers our conversation, his face is so red it resembles my Ohio State sweatshirt.
The sheriff pivots to the angry but tantalizing smelling man. “Hello, Ben. The situation is under control.”
He almost loses his fading New York Giants baseball cap before he finally stands still. He has enough beard stubble to cover a chin dimple, but not enough to hide a bobbing Adam’s apple. “Really? Because this mess of flowers says otherwise.”
She hesitates. “Ben, this is Jenna Anderson, the new senior center director. She lost control while she tried to figure out what was going on with her GPS. I looked at the box, and I think it’s repairable. You love doing that sort of thing, so how about you fix it?”
Thank you, Sheriff Carla Rowling. I can’t help it, but I smile. I think this woman might be my first new friend.
Ben whips off the hat and twists it until his knuckles bulge. “I’m sorry, destroying property is funny to you?”
I want to say something brilliant. More than eight hours on the road leaves me a little lost, GPS ineffectiveness aside. “At least I hit his box. Not him.”
His Adam’s apple movement seems to escalate. “My grandpa is dead.” He points the hat at me to emphasize each word. “You better hope this box isn’t.” He turns back to the sheriff. “Carla, I’ll repair it.” Then, directs his milk chocolate colored eyes toward me. “You, city girl, watch where you’re going. The people who belong here don’t need a GPS.” He pivots in his tattered sneakers and heads to the injured flower box. As fast as he comes on the scene, he leaves.
Carla offers her hand. “Welcome to Speculator Falls.”
Since so many of my writing friends have done this, Aaron and I decided to do an open tag. If you want to share your Next Big Thing with the blogging world, go for it. Share your answers, and be sure to send them back to my page, and even better, Aaron’s. Thanks!
image courtesy lazarbooks.com
