1. What is your working title of your book (or story)?
It started out as Lottery Protection Agency or LPA for short but that didn’t feel right, I wanted a one-word title and on a trip to England the national lottery had rolled-over that week and everyone was going mad buying tickets. Rollover was born.
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
The idea came from watching a TV show about the crazy things that some UK lottery winners do. They quit jobs, squander money on massive houses, expensive cars, they fall out of nightclubs at 1am drunk as a skunk and I wondered why the lottery company didn’t have some kind of unit that looks after lottery winners, protects them from themselves. I created a small close knit team who aren’t perfect but really enjoy what they do.
3. What genre does your book fall under?
Rollover is a fast moving British mystery with comedic elements.
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Emily Blunt would make a great Nikki Doyle, she’s feisty and could pull off the one liners. Jamie Bamber could handle the role of über boss Simon. Nikki’s colleagues: Philip Glenister as Fred, Gareth David Lloyd as Tony, Sarah Parrish as Beth. Tom Hardy could play Gavin Lancaster or if he wasn’t available Tom Ellis would be a good substitute, they both have that bad boy vibe. Hardest to cast would be the mercurial Lydia, I’m thinking Dervla Kirwan.
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
ROLLOVER features an inventive premise, a cast of engaging characters and surprisingly dark undertones. A debut that’s fast, pithy and fun. (thanks to Chris Ewan for providing that!)
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I am represented by Kleinworks. We are in negotiations with several publishers at the moment.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
That’s a loaded question. I did nanowrimo in 2007 and that is where the manuscript originated. I started working on it full time about 2 years ago. So 6 years or 2 years depending on your point of view!
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I can’t think of anything I’ve read that is similar. If I were to compare the lead character to any of my favourites it would be Lisa Lutz’s Izzy Spellman.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
A combination of Nanowrimo, working in a such a creative environment as King’s English and having so many former english teachers as colleagues. Sue Fleming, Linda Gurrister, Jen Adams and Wendy Foster Leigh are among the many people who critiqued the manuscript.
10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
I can promise plenty of twists, turns, humour and in Nikki, a flawed narrator who learns from her mistakes (usually) and solves the crime in her own unique way.
So there you have it. Now I'm passing the Next Big Thing torch to some amazing Utah writers. My good friend Donna Bailey. A guest post coming soon from Becky Hall and please visit Lynn Kilpatrick’s brilliant blog. I can’t wait to see who gets tagged next.
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