Work in Progress Challenge

I was tagged by the lovely Brooke Johnson and thought that maybe I should talk about the work I am going to do for NaNoWriMo.  I have written this before - but it is undergoing a complete rewrite.  Half of it was in diary format (blech) and half was rewritten, but not as well as I would like.

Complete overhaul for NaNo, and here we go with the questions!

1. What is the title of your Work in Progress? 
Good Criminal Heart - though this is pending.

2. Where did the idea for the WiP come from?
Honestly, most of it was inspired through my love of the show Queer as Folk.  And I realized when I was younger that there wasn't much YA GLBT literature available.  I read Blue Coyote and loved it, even though it was heart wrenching.  And I invented this character that I blogged through, which people really responded to.  He left the blog and started to come to life on paper.

3. What genre would your WiP fall under?
YA Contemporary.  There is a twist of romance, but it is more of a coming of age story.

4. Which actors would you choose to play characters in a movie rendition?
My first instinct is to say Ian Somerhalder for Anthony, because he does dark really well.  But, no offense to Ian, but I don't think he can pull off "16 year old boy" anymore.

This is really hard for me.  First, Anthony is shorter.  Second, he has darker features, but light eyes.  And third, he's supposed to be attractive, but hard on himself for his looks because he doesn't think he's attractive...  So, as far as looks now goes, I would say Brendan Meyer, especially since this obviously won't be filmed for a few years, and he's still young.  Also in some of the modeling photos of him, he has that serious look that I think would be great for Anthony's character - but I've never seen him act, so... I really have no idea how he would work in the role.

5. What is a one-sentence synopsis of your WiP?
Abusive father, abrasive mother, sister that's a little too close for comfort, partying band members; check - what causes Anthony to go over the edge is the one thing he never expected to find:  love.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I hope to find an agent for all my works.  I have three other finished YA novels that are being re-worked/edited.  I have one novelette that will be self published soon, which is more geared towards adults.

7. How long did it take you to write?
The concept of Anthony I've been working on for eight years.  I've put him down numerous times only to come back and fall in love with him all over again.  Hopefully this NaNo will see him get finished - or at least closer than he's even been to finished.
  
8. What other WiPs in your genre would you compare it to?
This is kind of like Rioss, my story about a rather angry werewolf who is trapped in a mental institution.  Jeremy and Anthony are creatures of emotion - they hate to say it, but they both wear their hearts on their sleeve.  Mostly because the rest of them is too cold to hold a heart anymore.  As far as other books go?  Possibly The Outsiders, but Anthony is more like Dallas than Ponyboy.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this WiP? 
I adored S.E. Hinton when I was growing up.  The darkness that she portrayed in people, the sad, terrifying situations her characters get into, only to grow at the end.  Those kinds of work made me really want to write.  I would like to think that Anthony's story does S.E.'s inspiration some justice.

10. Tell us anything else that might pique our interest about this WiP.
This is my only YA book that actually has sex in it - though it might be open to interpretation by some.  It also deals with some heavy hitting topics:  homophobia, abuse, drugs, alcohol, depression, and religion.

I tagged Anthony Deaver and Sarah Rios.

If 1000th.monkey (K) sees this and wants to partake, I would love her to :)