The Next Big Thing Blog Hop gives authors the opportunity to share with their audience what they’re working on. The author answers 10 questions about their next book, and tags the person who first tagged them plus another author(s).

Karen Finneyfrock, author of Ceremony of the Choking Ghost, published by Write Bloody, tagged me to participate. I’ve known Karen now for a number of years and is a close friend and an extremely talented writer. She has a YA novel coming out later this year called The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door, which all of us in the Poetry Slam/spoken word community are super excited for. Check out Karen’s answers here. I’ve got my new book coming out in a couple months so check out about it below:

What is the working title of the book?

Songs From Under the River

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I had been wanting to collect a number of my more popular poems that were either unpublished or had appeared in my self-published chapbooks many years ago. So I grabbed those poems, along with other pieces known from my performances, culled those old chapbooks for some extra poems from those past eras of my development and put them together with a few new pieces as well

What genre does your book fall under?

Poetry.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

The Great Gazoo. And Marlon Brando, circa 1953.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Showcasing the uplifting words and playful surrealism he has come to be known for, Anis Mojgani has combed through out-of-print editions to put together a best-of collection allowing fans and new readers alike the chance to follow the trajectory of his development, themes, and style of work over the last 15 years. 

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

Some of these poems were written last year, some fifteen years past. But from when I started going through all these poems and piecing the book together to when I sent it in to my publisher and editors was about three months I’d say.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

A number of the poems of mine people have connected with over the years are older pieces and had never found a home in my previous published books. I wanted to be able to give to fans and readers a place to go to have all these poems in one place, and to also feel for myself that these words had a house to live inside of.

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

For those who are interested in the creative journey of writers they follow, the book shares a pretty wide spectrum of work. Poems that I’ve written over the past couple of years, alongside poems that were in my early chapbooks. I’ve always been interested in the development of my favorite artists, and I hope there may be folks out there who would be interested to see how a poet’s work changes and develops over the course of 15 years.

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

It will be published by Write Bloody Publishing, who has published my past two books.

Next Wednesday, check out the answers to the above from the two kick ass poets Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz and Jason Bayani. Cristin has a new book of poetry coming out in the fall, The Year of No Mistakes. And Jason has his first book of peotry coming out this Spring, Amulet. As Jason has already been tagged by Sally Delehant to do this, his answers are already posted here,  But I’m so pumped up about his book I thought I’d direct folks to more info on it.