Q and A on Council of Peacocks

I've looked at tons of writer's blogs. I've never wanted to directly copy something so much as this post from Candice Lemon-Scott's blog post The Next Big Thing.

After reading it, though, I realized the format of question and answer was perfect. So, giving credit where credit is due, here is my answer to the same questions.

1) WHAT IS THE WORKING TITLE OF YOUR NEXT BOOK?

Council of Peacocks. Deadline for publication: April 2013 

2) WHERE DID THE IDEA COME FROM FOR THE BOOK?

The movie Wrong Turn. 

It's your movie about college kids trying to escape cannibalistic hill people. I only watched it for Eliza Dushku (love her!) There's a scene in that movie where the "good guys" are hiding in the home of the crazy killers. They wait until the crazy people are sleeping and then they leave.

I went nuts. I started screaming at the TV. Why would you do that? You've just seen them kill one of your friends and you're just going to walk out? You know they're going to track you down. Why wouldn't you kill them in their sleep?

And that's how Josh Wilkinson was born. I stared writing a horror novel about a college kid that was smart and fought back. Then I had to think why would he fight back. I wrote the first draft. without any outline. I didn't realize what I really wanted the book to be about until I finished the first draft.  In the first draft, I end with the Council of Peacocks winning and the character Wisdom using magic to travel back through time. And that's where my second draft stared: Wisdom travelling back through time. 

3) WHAT GENRE DOES YOUR BOOK FALL UNDER?

Although it began as a horror novel for mature audience, by the second draft it was an pure urban fantasy. The majority of the characters are under 20 so some may consider this YA. Heck, if Hunger Games can be considered YA so can mine.

4) WHAT ACTORS WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO PLAY THE PART OF YOUR CHARACTERS IN A MOVIE RENDITION?

I did not write the story with any actors in mind. Having said that, I've come up with some suggestions for some of the characters 

Josh Wilkinson - newest member of the Anomalies (Lucas Till)

Josh is the pretty boy no one suspects is dangerous.  His father works for the Canadian Secret Service. He's been trained in martial arts.  He makes the tough calls and will do whatever it takes to get his friends to safety. 

Wisdom - immortal Atlantean posing as modern business man (Peter Mensah)

Whenever this man walks on screen I get nervous. As a child, Wisdom was kidnapped by a djinn while his Atlantean parents were visiting the Egyptian embassy. He spent millennia as a slave in their home dimension. Using magic he escaped. Over the last two thousand years on Earth, he has used his powers to gain riches. But it's not enough. When you are as old as Wisdom, you need a cause. He's made the training of the half-demon children (called Anomalies) and the destruction of the Council of Peacocks his cause.

Echo - love of Wisdom's life (Emilia Clarke)

Yowza. Echo is the strongest person Wisdom has ever known. She was born before the Roman empire. For centuries Wisdom tried to break her; he was never successful. In the end, she broke him.  Wisdom does not realize how much she means to him until he loses her. Then, he tears time apart to save her.

Garnet - Head trainers of the young Anomalies

Lyndsy Fornseca as Garnet

I recently saw my first episode of Nikita. One look at Lyndsy Fornseca and I knew she should play Garnet.  She's a pyrokinetic who can also manipulate people's emotions.  She is not as strong as she'd like you to believe.

Elaine - Wisdom's head of security (Lauren Holden)

Lauren Holden as Elaine, head of security

I'm not a big fan of Andrea's decisions on The Walking Dead but I've loved Lauren Holden's work for years. She's tough as nails but still feminine.  She will shoot you dead without blinking but it doesn't take much to see her humanity. 

Propates - Leader of the Council of Peacocks (Gabriel Garko)

Gabriel Garko

Wisdom rescued Propates from a life of poverty during the height of the Roman empire. Well, he kidnapped him, slaughtered his family and saved him from poverty if we're being technical. Over the years Wisdom became less ruthless; Propates became more.

5) WHAT IS THE ONE-SENTENCE SYNOPSIS OF YOUR BOOK?

Half-demon teenagers with psionic powers fight to stop a secret organization of sorcerers from taking over the world and initiating the forced evolution of the human race. 

6) WILL YOUR BOOK BE SELF-PUBLISHED OR REPRESENTED BY AN AGENCY?

Self-published.  I've been sitting on Council of Peacocks for 5 years. I don't want to sit any more. 

7) HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE MANUSCRIPT?

First draft was less than 3 months. I then spent two years revising it.  

8) WHAT OTHER BOOKS WOULD YOU COMPARE THIS STORY TO WITHIN YOUR GENRE?

I haven't found any. That's why I wrote this book.  I wrote a book I wanted to read. Best reference I can give you: Think of Wisdom's Wolfram and Hart in the last season of Angel. They gather a group of the kids from X-Men: First Class to fight the Illuminati and their army of reptilians 

9) WHO OR WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK?

See Number 2 

10) WHAT ELSE ABOUT THE BOOK MIGHT PIQUE THE READER’S INTEREST?

Did I mention the secret group of sorcerers is allied with a shadowy wizard-type from an alien world?  He's from the same world as my epic fantasy series. Let's just say by the end of Council of Peacocks, things get complicated. As much fun as Council is, the second book in the series is bazonka-nuts fun.

BOOKS BY M JOSEPH MURPHY:

Amazon: M Joseph Murphy on Amazon: Paperback and ebook
Smashwords: M Joseph Murphy Author Page on Smashwords
Kobo: M Joseph Murphy Books on Kobo