The Next Big Thing: Rayme Waters

Rayme Waters is the author of The Angel’s Share. Today she discusses her novel, Quicksilver, which is a young adult novel this time, and concerns a family that moves from San Francisco to an upscale Bay Area suburb for better schools, but find out the town is cursed, they are in grave danger, and only the daughter of the family can undo the spell.

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:
What is your working title of your book? Quicksilver.

Where did the idea come from for the book? The children’s library in the city where I live is a little gem: charming, hidden away and complete with a “secret garden” in the back. Passing it for maybe the hundredth time, out of nowhere came the question: What if the library was enchanted? Would the librarian also be enchanted? How about the children? What would it take to break that spell? Those were the initial questions that grew the idea for Quicksilver. In the novel, the entire town, built on top of abandoned mercury mines, is enchanted. The locus of the spell is the library and things both wonderful and evil flow from below it.  

What genre does your book fall under? Young Adult fiction, but I hope to create enough literary layers to interest readers of all ages.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Most fun question ever! Elizabeth Banks would make a fantastic Lillian Flint. Amy Adams as Julie Flint and Ryan Gosling as Mr. Phillips because I can picture the chemistry working between them. Julianna Margulies as Esperanza’s mother. Any number of young actors could play the 15 year-olds at the heart of the story, Esperanza Bennett and Arden Flint.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A family moves from San Francisco to an upscale Bay Area suburb for the school district, but discovers the town is under a spell; the fifteen-year-old daughter of the family has the power to lift the curse, but will she make the tremendous personal sacrifice to do so?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I am represented by an agent and hope to sell the novel to a traditional publisher.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I’ve been working on the book for about six years. My first novel was eight years so I’m hoping to finish this one a little faster. Maybe the next one will only take four years.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Karen Thompson Walker’s The Age of Miracles. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.

Who or what inspired you to write this book? My imagination triggered the process; but once I started getting ideas down on paper and doing research, the story took over. As I’m editing I find myself getting excited about what is going to happen next—as if I didn’t know.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest? Several of my trusted early readers think it has the feel of a break-through novel.

Rayme has tagged Sabra Wineteer who will post Jan. 31 about her novel, The Measure of Memory, which tells the story of a Nashville chef on a quest for his identity which allows him to discover his humanity.