[UPDATE: The draft of this novel is done! I mailed it to my VCFA advisor today, December 5. I’m actually looking forward to the revision process. For now, though, I’ll celebrate with my usual chocolate reward. Cheers, Sophfronia] Right at this moment I’m about ten days away from completing the first draft of my next novel. It’s an exciting, scary time, but I’ve learned that when fear steps in the best thing you can do is share it. So when my fellow Vermont College of Fine Arts writer Sion Dayson, author of the forthcoming novel When Things Were Green, asked me to participate in a blog chain of writers talking about their works-in-progress I seized the opportunity. Not all writers like talking about what’s on their screen or in their notebooks, but I believe there comes a time when it can be helpful if only to remind myself that the story running through my head is real.

This series, in which each writer has to answer 10 questions, also attracted me because I get to “tag” five other authors so they too can share their work and meet new readers. I love that because I’m all for making connections. So, here we go…

What is your working title of your book?

The Affairs of Midnight

Where did the idea come from for the book?

For the longest time I’ve had a quiet obsession with Choderlos de Laclos’s novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, originally published in 1781, and all the film and stage versions made from it. I finally realized I was simply fascinated with these characters and wanted to know more about why they behaved so scandalously. I decided the only way I could answer my questions would be to write my own version.

What genre does your book fall under?

Because my novel takes place in 1940s Harlem I consider it historical/literary fiction.

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

Funny you should ask! I originally wrote the story as a screenplay. I had Denzel Washington constantly in my mind as I wrote the lead character of Valiant Jackson who is Valmont in the de Laclos version. At various times I pictured Halle Berry, Angela Bassett and Lynn Whitfield as the Madame Merteuil character, Mae Malveaux, and honestly, though you may not know her, I’ve always had my friend Leslie Lewis Sword (left) in mind for Elizabeth Townsend, the Madame de Tourvel character. Leslie has been my muse throughout this whole process. She arranged readings of the screenplay in both Los Angeles and New York and encouraged me to pursue the novel. I’ll eventually write a stage version as well because the work was so well-received by the actors in the readings, many of them Broadway actors such as John Eric Parker that I would love to give them the opportunity to bring the story to life in their unique ways.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Most people know the story of Dangerous Liaisons so I usually just say the book is “an African-American version of Dangerous Liaisons set in 1940s Harlem.” But if I had to summarize solely by plot I would say my novel is about a man who has toyed with women all his life, but finally loses his heart to a woman who proves there can be good in the world for him—including love.

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

It will be represented by an agency, possibly the same one that sold my first novel, All I Need to Get By to St. Martin’s Press but I haven’t made that decision yet.

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

I’ve had several false starts, but this entire draft has been the focus of my current semester at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. I’ll complete the draft with my last writing packet and that is due in December. So the answer is about six months.

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

Love by Toni Morrison and Fortune’s Rocks by Anita Shreve. Both authors have greatly influenced me in my development as a writer.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

As I said earlier, I’ve had the idea percolating in my head for a long time, but it really took off when I met my friend, Leslie Lewis Sword, at a theater producing workshop in New York City. She’s a gorgeous woman to begin with, but there is just something about her vibrant energy that I recognized as similar to many of the women in the story. I loved her energy, loved her, and I wanted to write the screenplay for her. The novel naturally followed because it is my genre of choice and there were so many details that I couldn’t go into with a screenplay that I saw so clearly in my mind. It’s been satisfying putting it all into a book.

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

I think we’re all fascinated by the inner workings of love. Whether we realize it or not we are studying love when we follow the Petraeus affair in the news, when we watch a soap opera, when we read romance novels, when we read about fatal attractions in the newspaper, and when we see romantic comedies at the movie theater. I believe the interest goes beyond the physical, but that doesn’t mean I ignore the physical because that’s a huge part of this story as well. However I think my readers will be interested in being that fly on the wall as they watch how my characters love and what happens to them—how they change because of that love.

And now, introducing…

I’m happy to have you meet these wonderful writers and I hope you’ll check out their works-in-progress as well:

Breena Clarke, a dear friend and former colleague (we were at Time magazine together), is a fabulous writer and can tell the tale of having her debut novel, River, Cross My Heart chosen as an Oprah Book Club pick.

Katherine Scott Crawford hails from that fine tradition of southern women writers. She’s also an accomplished weaver of historical fiction. We’re both studying for our MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and her novel Keowee Valley has just been published.

Bren McClain is a Facebook friend and another southern writer whose novel tells the story of a woman whose relationship with a mother cow teaches her about life—but I’ll let her give you the details!

I met Jolina Petersheim via Twitter and she caught my eye because she’s one of the most positive tweeters out there. She too is writing her take on a venerable classic, The Scarlet Letter, so we have a bit in common.

Natalia Sylvester is a novelist and freelance journalist whose debut novel, Where We Once Belonged, goes to press in 2014. Her articles have appeared in Latina, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer magazines.

Message for tagged authors:
Rules of the Next Big Thing

***Use this format for your post
***Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (work in progress)
***Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them. Be sure to line up your five people in advance. (Note from Sophfronia: FYI, I’ve seen these posts run with only three or four tagged writers.)

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:
What is your working title of your book?
Where did the idea come from for the book?
What genre does your book fall under?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged.