Prepare for a Shift in Genres and Back-of-the-Book Blurb # 41

 

       Maybe I have two books (for adults, as in books for grown-ups, not adult books as in XXX fare) instead of just one? Maybe I have a memoir along with a novel?

       I was having a conversation with one of my writing critique friends, and she suggested I might have a memoir in the making--a true account of the unraveling of my family, a chronicling of my sorrow, an account of how I healed myself through writing.

      I'm thinking about it...   

      Here's hoping that 2017 (and the three years after that) are peaceful and compassionate and inclusive. And now onto the business of book blurbs:

• Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book.
• You choose the genre. A book of fashion tips? A guide to dating? A memoir? You decide.

• Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Blurbs are those enticing bits that prod you into buying the book. Sometimes they're on the back cover of the book. Sometimes they're on the inside front cover. What they always try to do is lure you into purchasing the book.
• Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this project  and this past summer, her third novel Love to Win debuted. Now she's working on her three hundred and thirty-fourth novel (or some number close to that). Check out her website.  You'll be glad you did.
• Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. 
• Link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. You don't have to buy him a drink or anything. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is.
• Check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
• And have fun with it. Think of it as a way to take a break from the truly important writing you do... like a bit of a warm-up.

      Here is the book cover and my blurb:

Full of Surprises Monty

Monty was getting married. Finally.

His mother thought the day would never happen. “That boy’s gonna be forty-five and still living in my basement,” and she was kidding, but only a little.

So when Monty dated Dorthea and then got engaged, it was miraculous. Monty, whenever he felt like living on the wild side, would double-knot his shoelaces. When he felt edgy, he’d roll on gel deodorant instead of the solid. There is a woman who loves a man like Monty? Hallelujah.

On their wedding day, Monty, eager to show off his new “wild thing” personality that Dorthea had unleashed, convinced all his groomsmen to wear colorful socks. He plans on doing a special dance at the reception to make his bride’s day extra special.

Will Monty and Dorthea stay together past the last champagne toast? Or will Dorthea become immediately too full of Monty… and leave him?  (148 words)

And for those bloggers who love to work ahead, here is the photo for next week:

Surprises

        Life is full of surprises. Some good. Some bad.

        The long white mustache hair that eludes me on a regular basis--not a good surprise when it goes into hiding and then pops up at inopportune times.

        The extra-warm socks I got for Christmas (so I wouldn't keep stealing my husband's socks)... a good surprise.

        And for my son's girlfriend--now fiancee--a wonderful surprise at the Botanical Garden: a proposal. 

the happy couple

       I like surprises in what I read, too. Jodi Picoult's book Leaving Time has a mind-blowing surprise at the end. Sandra Dallas' novels usually have a twist to blindside the reader in the final pages.

       I just hope that what I write has an occasional surprise. Either a surprising image or twist that keeps the reader guessing.

       How about you? What surprises have you encountered lately?

A Harried Holiday and Back-of-the-Book Blurb Friday # 40

        This has been a busy week or so. Working until Wednesday meant I only had a few days before the holiday really got into full swing. And tomorrow is... well, tomorrow is the beginning of a fun week. Christmas Eve. Christmas. New Year's Eve... and then we begin 2017.

       Speaking of new things... Last night my son got engaged. His fiancee is a delightful young lady and they make a cute couple. From what he planned, she was going to go through a scavenger hunt at the zoo--in the evening, with all the holiday lights surrounding her--and at the end, he was going to propose. They had gone ring shopping a while ago, so barring an escaped tiger running amok and requiring the zoo to close, I'm assuming everything happened as planned. (I'll find out today.)

        Do you have an interesting proposal story? Or a funny break-up story? 

    

• Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book.
• You choose the genre. A children's book? A playful cookbook? A memoir? You decide.

• Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this project  and this past summer, her third novel Love to Win debuted. Now she's working on her fourth novel. Check out her website. Right now, she's dreaming of a black and white Christmas... a holiday surrounded by her published books as she basks in all the pages--black ink on white paper--that she's written.
• Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. 
• Link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. You don't have to buy him a drink or anything. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is.
• Check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
• And have fun with it. Think of it as a way to take a break from the truly important writing you do... like a bit of a warm-up.

      Here is the book cover and my blurb:

A Mother’s Tale

Ida Ho Tater had enough children to fill a bushel basket. She did her best with them. She really did. Ida kept them well-scrubbed and in a cool, dark place at all times, turning them on a regular basis so none of them went bad.  (Her sister’s kids went au gratin! Shudder! She never wanted that to happen to her spudlets.)

But when the whole bunch of them fell in love with all things French, Ida tried to mash down on their obsession. She beat them. She whipped them, but nothing worked. The spudlets held tight to their love of the French language. The bread. The cheese. They refused to listen to their mama.

And when the fingerlings all decided to leave the family home and totally embrace the French lifestyle, Mama Tater knew that the end would not be pretty.

In fact, it ended with tragedy… (150 words)

And for those who like to work ahead (and I mean you, Val), here is the photo for next week's blurb:

Livin' the Good Life

         Last night I watched the Michelle Obama special. She spoke of many things, but one topic she touched on several times resonated with me. She said, "I don't have any complaints." 

         After she spent time with military families, with their frequent moves and the obstacles and loss they deal with, she said, "I can't complain because of my little problems."

         When her daughters started to whine about the ever-present Secret Service agents, she and President Obama would shut them down immediately. Too much security and being too safe? Not a problem. 

        During this time of year, we might be tempted to complain about the craziness of the holiday, about all the last minute stuff we have to do. We might moan and groan about the cold weather. We might gripe about how our money isn't stretching as far as we'd like (to cover the expense of gift-giving).

       However, if we have family and friends and get-togethers to look forward to... we're lucky.

       If we have a warm house to come home to, if we have a bed with blankets and pillows to settle into at night... we're fortunate...

       ... because there are many people who don't have those things.

       Consider keeping some packaged food in your car during the next week or so, for the homeless. Some granola bars, muffins, beef jerky--whatever you'd like. Then, when you're stopped at a busy corner and there's a homeless person, you can at least help them out in a small way.

      On Thursday Radar and I will be at Half-Price Books in University City all day. He'll be begging for bellyrubs and pettings. I will be begging for donations to Love a Golden Rescue. Our group will be there on the 23rd and the 24th as well. Most of the time--except on the afternoon of Christmas Eve--it will be me wrapping the gifts, and on the morning of the 24th it will be a different dog. If you have the chance, go book shopping. I'll be glad to wrap up your purchase before you go... and whatever golden retriever is there, they'll gladly roll over for a belly rub...

       ... 'Cause goldens (who are lucky enough to be in good homes) are certainly livin' the good life...

Back-of-the-Book Blurb Friday #39

        This weekend I will be at the University City Half-Price Book store all day on Saturday and Sunday. If you live in the area, stop on by. I'm wrapping gifts, so if you think presents should be wrapped with duct tape and a staple gun, come on by, buy some books/DVDs/LPs and I will gladly wrap them up.

      And now, onto book blurb business--

• Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book.
• You choose the genre. A screenplay? A graphic novel? A biography? You decide.

• Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this project  and this past summer, her third novel Love to Win debuted. Now she's working on her fourth novel. Check out her website. She's a dynamite writer (she even sucked me into reading three--yes, three--romance novels, and I enjoyed them) and a has her own editing business for those writers who need some help with their manuscript/synopsis...
• Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. 
• Link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. You don't have to buy him a drink or anything. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is.
• Check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
• And have fun with it. Think of it as a way to take a break from the truly important writing you do... like a bit of a warm-up.

      Here is the book cover and my blurb:

Cayla, Caught

Trapped. She’d been trapped, stuck with her crazy family for forever.

Her hair. Her makeup. Her clothes. They controlled all of it, with so many stupid rules. No tattoos. No piercings except her boring earlobes, and then only one in each lobe. Her rear end had to be completely covered at all times. Her shirts had to be so conservative, she felt like she was wearing a turtleneck… even in July.

But this was the worst: a trip across the country, trapped in a car with her parents. They were excited about getting to see the Grand Canyon, but to Cayla, it was just some big hole in the ground.

Will Cayla jump out of the moving car, to avoid having to listen to any more oldies from the 90s, or will seeing the Grand Canyon transform the family in a positive way? (143 words)



And for those folks who like to work ahead instead of by the seat of their pants, here's the photo for next week:

photo by pexels.com

Priorities

          As a writer, I have to set priorities. For example, my NaNoWriMo project has sat, gathering dust, for more than a week. I've got to let it sit in its juices for a while.  

,

          However, I've got a few days free between Christmas and the beginning of the new year... and I hope to get some writing done. Perhaps even finish the first draft. Right now I'm working on other writing projects along with my day job (teaching), and those are my priorities...

       Now our 78-pound baby boy, Radar, has his priorities straight. While we're gone during the day, working our fingers to the nubbin earning money to spend on his premium dog food and costlier-than-caviar dog treats, he meanders back and forth... between his crate and our bed.

       Naps. Drinks of water. Occasional barking at the squirrels outside. Those are his priorities.

       And in case you missed my post on Sunday's The Muffin, where I explain why you should make lemonade (something positive) out of lemons (sad experiences), you can check it out here. 

        Now that we're knee-deep into a crazy season, what are your priorities? In the next few minutes? Today? This week? Already-frazzled minds want to know...
       

3 Things on My Christmas List (Not That'll I Get Any of It) and Back-of-the-Book Blurb # 38

       No, I don't want a pair of slippers or a bottle of perfume, all wrapped up and placed under the tree. But there are a few things I would love:

• hindsight... Perhaps if I knew then what I know now, I would have started writing--seriously--at an earlier age. If I knew that I'd need to find a good group of writers to surround myself with, if I knew that blogging and critiquing and slogging through pieces was so much fun... I'd be a little more successful than I am now...

• better posture... If I always stood straight and tall, perhaps I would not have offended the gods and would have been granted another couple of feet in height when I was in the genetic oven, which means my weight would might be perfect for my height. (They could have also turned less under for feet--I'm a size 11--which would have made me taller as well.)

• knowledge... that eating mashed potatoes while binge-watching Better Call Saul * does not help one develop a healthy lifestyle. Now my left knee is paying for it.

     And now, onto book blurb business--

• Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book.
• You choose the genre. A screenplay? A graphic novel? A biography? You decide.

• Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this project  and this past summer, her third novel Love to Win debuted. Now she's working on her fourth novel. Check out her website. 
• Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. 
• Link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. You don't have to buy him a drink or anything. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is.
• Check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
• And have fun with it. Think of it as a way to take a break from the truly important writing you do... like a bit of a warm-up.

      Here is the book cover and my blurb:

There’s Weird in That There Woman

Pauline had always been obsessed with Hitchcock. When she’d spy a flock of birds, she’d try to entice them into her house. On a vacation, she dreamed of scampering around on the faces of Mount Rushmore. She’d sing Que Sera Sera at the top of her lungs and imagine that just the sound of her voice would lead to a kidnapper being nabbed. And when she took a shower? Well, it was unbelievable what Pauline did in the privacy of her bathtub…

One evening while having her nightly glass of port in a local bar, Pauline met a portly man. A man with a huge second chin and an unusual voice. He was older. He was balding. But Pauline had a feeling he would be a perfect mate.

Will Pauline and Alvin find true love? Or will he decide Pauline’s psycho? (141 words)

(The title comes from a story about when Hitchcock met Mae West. She was wearing a gold lame' evening gown. Hitchcock--apparently quite a pig--was drooling over her curves and said, "There's hills in that there gold.")

And for Val and Pat and anyone else who cares to play along, here's the photo for next week.

 

* And if you loved the show Breaking Bad but have avoided Better Call Saul, watch it. Yes, it's far different than Breaking Bad but if you stick with it and your mouth doesn't gape open in amazement and make you say "OMG" when you see what happens in the last moment of the last episode, I will buy you a book of your choice (within reason). Or maybe I'll simply publicly admit that perhaps my taste is sometimes not as impeccable as I boast it is (since I might be unemployed next year). 

The Power of Zen(tangle)

        I am quite fond of taking breaks. When I write, I take lots of little time-offs. It helps me keep the writing flowing.

        Drinking lots of water ensures I take breaks. The bladder fills. The bladder has to be emptied.

       I also take reading breaks. If I go to a writing retreat, where I'm writing for 2-3 days, I'll occasionally stop and read for 20 minutes. The inspiration well runs low, so it gets replenished.

       Doodling is also what I do during breaks. Zentangle is a methodical way of doodling, and when I need to take a longer break (like an hour or so) I might work on some zentangling. For example, I might work on zentangling some notecards or some other project. As I'm drawing the straight lines, the curved lines, as I'm filling in some of the spaces with a black marker, I get more relaxed and my mind goes blank...

         ... and when my mind goes blank, new ideas for whatever my WIP is can come creeping in.

          If you're interested, just google "zentangle" and you'll be deluged by hundreds and hundreds of pattern ideas. There's books you can buy as well. And if you think 'I can't draw, so I can't zentangle,' you're wrong.

         If you can draw a (semi) straight line. If you can draw a curvy line. If you can draw dots. If you can draw more-or-less round circles... you can zentangle. And if you try it, you just might find it's a way to open up your mind for more difficult artistic endeavors... like writing.

       Do you take breaks from your writing? And if you do, what do you do during your breaks? Doodling minds want to know.

Writing Winners, the Best Brownies, and Back-of-the-Book Blurb Friday #37

      I have a class full of winners... in so many ways.

      Seventeen out of my twenty-two students made their 5,000-word goal on Wednesday. They were incredibly proud. The other five have until Monday (I gave everybody some extra time) to finish up.

      I asked, "How many thought I was crazy when I said you had a 5,000-word goal?" (Everyone raised their hands.) "How many thought it was impossible?" (Again, they all raised their hands.) "How many are so proud of what you've done?" (A sea of hands went up.)

      Next week is the fun. We'll print up the stories and put them into several binders, so the kids can read their peers' work...

      While I'm writing this, I'm letting some brownies cool. Tomorrow after school is a work get-together, and these brownies are always a hit... and so easy.

• 4 giant milk chocolate candy bars (I use Choceur brand ones from Aldi's. They're each 5.29 oz.
• 1 family-size brownie mix (a mix that fills a 9 x 13 pan)

Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper. Spray non-stick spray on it. Line the bottom of the pan with the chocolate bars (You might have to cut some of them up to make sure the whole bottom is covered. No bare bottoms allowed!) Make the brownie mix as directed, then pour it over the candy bars. Bake according to the mix. Cut into small squares (they're rich) and watch them disappear.

And now onto book blurb business...

• Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book.
• You choose the genre. A horror novel--Cujo the Sequel? A doggone sweet tale? You pick.

• Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this project  and this past summer, her third novel Love to Win debuted. Now she's working on her fourth novel. Check out her website. 
• Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. 
• Link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. You don't have to buy him a drink or anything. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is.
• Check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
• And have fun with it. Think of it as a way to take a break from the truly important writing you do... like a bit of a warm-up.

      Here is the book cover and my blurb:

Bartimer the Baller

Bartimer loves his balls.

Tennis balls. Rubber balls. Basketballs that bounced into his yard, much to the dismay of the kids next door… Bartimer loves them all.

Unfortunately, his obsession gets him into a world of trouble with his owners. He punctured an exercise balance ball in his eagerness to embrace all things round. He decimated the baby’s nasal syringe.

They’re tired of the dog constantly pawing at them when he’s ready to play. Ping pong balls. Softballs. Golf balls. None of them are safe with Bartimer around. His family’s so fed up, they decide to sell him.

But then a company contacts the family. They want Bartimer to be their spokesperson. They want his drooly mug splashed all over the city.

What is the product this mutt might be hawking? And will his family keep this future commercial star for their very own? (144 words)

And for those who like to work ahead, here's the photo for next week: