The last blogger was Marilyn Meredith. After you’ve read this
post, hop on over to her blog where she answered the very same questions: http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/
Ten
Interview Questions for The Next Big
Thing:
What
is the working title of your book?
Our latest book is an historical novel based in San Juan
Capistrano between the years of 1820 and 1890, entitled The Memory Keeper.
Where
did the idea come from for the book?
Larry and I both had read Molokai and Honolulu and loved them. Larry
said, “Why don’t we write something similar about San Juan Capistrano. It has
such great history. So we began doing research. The more we discovered, the
more we became excited about the book.
What
genre does your book fall under?
This one will be an historical novel. We keep exploring different
genres (nonfiction, sweet romance, mystery, fantasy). I guess we’re just easily
bored!
Which
actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Since our characters are Juaneño Indians, maybe A. Martinez as the
adult Tomas with Sacheen Littlefeather as his mother. Since the book takes
place over so many years, we’d need actors of various ages. We’d need
Hispanic and American actors as well.
What
is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Tomas Romero recounts the events of his life as a Juaneño Indian
from his birth in 1820 through his seventieth year.
Will
your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
It will probably not be self-published, but it might be published
by an indie publisher.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your
manuscript?
We’re still working on
it and anticipate it will take about two years to complete because of all the
required research.
What other books would you compare this story to within your
genre?
We hope it will
compare well with Molokai and Honolulu, two of our favorites.
Who or What inspired you to write this book?
We live in Dana Point,
CA, right next door to San Juan Capistrano. We know several descendants of the Juaneños.
Their history has fascinated us for some time, and we now think we’ve found a
good vehicle for recording it in an interesting way.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It
is the history of the area, told from the point-of-view of a native. It also
includes all the various changes that occurred to the mission during the Spanish,
Mexican and finally American administrations. We’ve tried to capture the real
emotions of the actual people who lived during this turbulent era.
