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The Next Big Thing – Week 16 

First off a special thanks to Heidi Ruby Miller who’s not Just A Girl (@Heidirubymiller on Twitter) but one hell of a writer and personal friend for tagging me.  Check out her post then, hop over and visit these other talented writers.  They are an awesome mix of genre and literary writers  

Natalie Duvall (@Natt444) -- Www.natalieduvall.com

What is the working title of your book?

ONLY HUMAN

Where did the idea come from for the book?

It started as a writing prompt: what would it be like for a dragon to have to live its life as a human? From there all sorts of social implications starting creeping in.  I really liked the concept of how something with complete power would cope (or not) when said power was removed.

What genre does your book fall under?

I would call it Urban Fantasy although it is light on the fantasy.  The fantasy mainly comes from world building of dragon society.  If I took out the dragons there wouldn’t be any other fantasy tropes in it—I guess that would make it...hmm an action/adventure coming of age story?

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

It’s taken me so long to get to a point where I am proud of this story I had to change that a few times!

  








David Boreanaz as Vincent/Shylock


  Zac Efron as Kevin

Meryl Streep as (voice of) Spectre

Laurence Fishburn as (voice of) Bison



What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Love is human and never dies.

When a dragon is wrongly convicted for the murder of his mother and sister after losing control over his emotions, he must, for his punishment, spend the rest of his days as the most vile and irrationally emotional creature--a human

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

That is yet to be determined

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

Well I thought it was 6 months.  It turned out that what I thought was my final draft was my first draft—that took two years.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?   While not necessarily in my genre, the books I’ve read that remind me of this include: Glen Duncan’s THE LAST WEREWOLF, Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain, Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas, or Bart Yates’ The Brothers Bishop

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

I really fell in love with my main characters.  I loved the relationships they had with one another.

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

I wanted this to be a fast, fun thrill ride with a little sentimentality and gentleness to it but I wanted hints of literary tools to enhance it. They’re in there for people who are willing to look.  Tea was originally made from dragon scales. Dragon skeletons are made of cartilage.  If ONLY HUMAN were a song it’d be a rock ballad.  If it were a symbol, it’d be the double helix.