Calling all nosy writers!

 I'm a nosy writer. Are you? I love to hear more about what other people are writing, how they got their ideas, and what inspires them. I don't generally do memes, but I haven't really written much about my own WIP, so I figure it's time to share (Plus, it's a snowy day here in the mountains!). And I hope some of you share back with the link at the bottom.

I was tagged by Australian Trisha, and Canadian S.M. Carriere. Check out their contemporary and fantasy books. It's so interesting (and encouraging) to see the vast differences in the time frame different writers take in their creative process. 

 1. What is the name of your book?
SpindleWish

2. Where did the idea for your book come from?
Believe it or not, from a contest prompt (more details in question 9). But I love the idea of imagining "the rest of the story". In this Sleeping Beauty retelling, the princess is not so nice. Think about it. Growing up with a curse on your head isn't ideal, but it hasn’t done much for the princess' personality. Just ask her long-suffering chambermaid.

3. In what genre would you classify your book?
SpindleWish is young adult historical fantasy. It's set in medieval Croatia. If you're curious as to how this came about (and you want to see some amazing pictures), I wrote about my journey to this setting, and how it did wonders for my plot.

4. If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?
My characters are drawn from people I've met, or photos I find online. For this book, one of my daughters (see photo) and my sister's daughter play two of the main roles. Another character, a fascinating peddler, was put together through internet research. I shared some great links to where I found him in this post about describing characters.

5. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.
Waking after a century, Sleeping Beauty’s chambermaid vows to find the powerful blood-tipped spindle before it can be used to destroy the remaining faeries. 

6. Is your book already published? Self-published or traditional?
Nope. I'm finishing the last of it, then I'll work on querying agents. I'm not ruling out self-publishing, but I really believe the querying process can help motivate me to make my writing stronger. 

7. How long did it take you to write your book?
I began in late 2009, but I've taken some long breaks! Probably a year, total.
 
8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?
I love the stories of Shannon Hale, Donna Jo Napoli, Juliet Marillier and Robin McKinley.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
The Enchanted Conversation was holding a submission contest. The topic was Sleeping Beauty, but writers had to imagine what life would be like once the palace woke up from 100 years of sleep. Once I came up with the idea that the blood on the spindle was the critical issue, plot ideas started popping up and away I went. I never did submit to that contest.

10. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.        

 I loved exploring the theme of discovering inner strength through this book.

Now it's your turn to inspire the rest of us. Write a post with answers to the same (or similar) questions. Then come back here and share the link. I'll leave the link open for a week (till midnight on Nov. 2nd). I'm looking forward to finding out more about your stories.