I was invited to participate in “The Next Big Thing” blog tag by the lovely Julia Hughes, author of the bestseller A Ripple in Time, among many other fabulous books.

The City of Men : Fourth Book in a Trilogy

What is the working title of your book?

At the moment, I’m working on several projects, but the one I’d like to finish first is The City of Men. It’s book 1.5 in The Ginecean Chronicles. The events narrated in this story take place between The Priest and Pax in the Land of Women. Same world, same social turmoil, different point of view.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The Ginecean Chronicles started as a trilogy, but Ginecean society is rather complex and it occurred to me that I wrote the story by the point of view of a semental in The Priest, a pure breed in Pax in the Land of Women, a different kind of semental in Prince of War, and I was missing the point of view of a fathered woman. The City of Men is the story behind the story narrated by a young fathered woman, who ends up far away from the safety of the Institute where she was born and raised.

What genre does your book fall under?

The City of Men is a dystopian/science fiction/action love story.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Leading actress for the role of Marie (I might change her name) would be Saoirse Ronan.

Leading actor for the role of Grant (I might change his name as well) would be Drew Van Acker.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Society rules can’t restrain our hearts.

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

The City of Men, following the other three in The Ginecean Chronicles will be self-published. The topics I discuss in my stories are still considered taboo and I like the freedom to express myself without censorship.

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

I’m still writing the first draft. Working on several projects and trying to market already published books can be quite draining. I’m trying to better organize my time. Thankfully, November is around the corner and I’ll take advantage of Nanowrimo to finish writing the story.

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

I have no ready answer for this question.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Amor Vincit Omnia. The whole Ginecean series was inspired by the realization that society rules are arbitrary and transitory. What is seen as proper now wasn’t one hundred years ago. In my worlds, love always wins, despite color/religion/gender differences. Maybe, one day, hopefully soon, we won’t need organizations like It Gets Better to help bullied kids.

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

The City of Men is set in an alternate Earth, Ginecea, where women rose to power in the far past and as a result they now rule over a race of enslaved men. On Ginecea, heterosexual love is deemed as sinful and impure. Pure breed women only give birth to girls and are attended exclusively by a lesser race of women called ‘fathered.’ If you like gender-benders, what-ifs scenarios, and overall to look at things from a different point of view, then, maybe, my Ginecean series could be for you.

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Thank you, again, Julia, for tagging me. It has been fun answering the questions. As usual, writing about my stories is the most difficult thing. Ask me about my beagle and I’ll go on for hours. I’ll even add a pic or two. But if I have to explain why anybody should read my books, I stare unblinkingly at the windows, hoping the glass panels would give me some brilliant answer.

But enough about me. Without further ado, those are my two talented nominees, who will delight you with their insights next week:

Clare Davidson

DasteRoad