The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Friday, September 2, 2016

"And Still I Rise"... Along With Back-of-the-Book Blurb Friday # 24

        Maya Angelou's poem, with the refrain "And still I rise" keeps nudging me.

        One blogging friend, who's battling cancer, recently posted photos of herself--posing with two different wigs and then one picture sans wig. Big, bold earring to match her smile.

       Bold + brave = beautiful

       Another blogging friend has been living a couple of hours away for a while. Now, she's living minutes away from me, which means that perhaps we can get together occasionally to write.

       My knee's still shot, but every morning I get up and hobble through the day, knowing that my health problems are inconsequential compared to others and yet hoping that soon, my past way of living can be restored.

       A manuscript I finished this summer is in an editor's hands right now. And now, I'm thinking about my next project. After all, November (and NaNoWriMo) is right around the corner... 

 And now onto writing a book blurb.
      
  • Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book.
  • You choose the genre. A YA? A bit of chick lit? A historical romance? You decide.
  • Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Lisa Ricard Claro is the original brains behind this writing exercise. Her third romance book just came out in July (Love to Win) so currently she's working on a lofty project:  a sequel to Tolkien's books, with the ultimate goal of penning a screenplay... which means if she succeeds, we'll get another chance to see long-haired Viggo on the big screen.
  • 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 most importantly, have fun. This is supposed to be enjoyable, not stressful.
          Here is the photo for this week, and my finished blurb:

photo by Lynn Obermoeller


The Fierce Phase

When she was young and stupid, Maggie thought she had forever. She ran toward her goals headlong and headstrong.

Living meant taking in big gulps of every bit of joy possible.

In the second phase of her life, she didn't care how much she had left. Maggie hunched over her laptop for hours and hours. She formed a cocoon to insulate herself from others. It was clear this was no life, but Maggie couldn't see any other path to take.

But then she entered into a third phase... and realized her determination would have to be rock-hard if she was going to survive. Better choices. True grit. And eyes trained on the horizon ahead instead of the path behind her.

Will Maggie emerge victorious from this phase? Read to find what life has in store for Maggie, once she carefully sets the fourth stone in place. (146 words)



     Here's the picture for next week... and have a great weekend.




17 comments:

  1. Thanks for the mention! And I love Miss Maya! Do you mean that in the future you might have knee replacement? Doesn't pain and life change humble us, maybe us hyper aware not to waste a minute of anything! Someday I want to get back to blurbs but right now is still too much for my chemo brain!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Claudia--You're busy enough. Don't worry about blogging right now.

      I am not sure about the knee replacement. If they can inject something into my knee and give me relief, I'll do that instead... for now.

      Delete
  2. Sioux, I wish the best to your friend. Your knee can be fixed and it only takes about a month to heal pretty well. They last about thirty years now, so not to worry. Pain free walking, biking, and x-c skiing is a lovely thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jono--Thanks for the encouraging words. Pain-free sounds reeeally good right now.

      Delete
  3. A thoughtful blurb this week. I'd like to know what Maggie does and how she does it. I think I'm still in my hunched-over-my-laptop phase.

    Hope your knee improves soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisa--Thanks for your good thoughts. I hope so as well...

      Delete
  4. Looks like we diverged this time. Like two roads in a wood. But the good news is, people can travel both!

    Your story this week has made all the difference. Mine is frivolous. While your story is about Maggie sucking the marrow out of life...my story is just sucking. And totally devoid of ellipses as well...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Val--Sucking marrow? Me? And no ellipses for you? That's a shame.

      Delete
  5. Putting everything in perspective is good for us, especially as writers, but pain is pain so I hope you have success with your knee and your writing. Sending positive thoughts and prayers to your friend.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sorry about your knee. Sorry for not playing this anymore. I'd like to try and get back to it again, but I can't make any promises. I do have #13 (I think) still sitting there waiting to be posted. Ha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lynn--I think you have other things on your (writing) plate to worry about. How IS the book, by the way?

      Delete
  7. Sorry about your knees. I feel like i have been balancing rocks for a long while. Can;t wait to hear all about your new job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda--Balancing rocks? Now you have me intrigued...

      Delete
  8. Did you sneak in my yard to photograph that sign. It would certainly fit!

    Is there something new on your book? I thought you'd sent it to an agent or publisher...(ellipsis inserted for you). I'm still working on going through editor comments on mine. Seems like it's taking forever. Plus I keep somehow adding more words. I'm not sure that's how it's supposed to work.

    Pat

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pat--I could be wrong, but I think it's better to have too much than not enough. You can always hack some of the excess off.

      The editor has it. Everyone who's given me advice says 90 days is standard. So when the 90 days is coming up, I will email her and inquire. It's really hard to wait. If I'm going to get rejected, just do it quickly. Yank off the bandaid fast.

      And thanks for the ellipsis. I can always used another set of those suckers.

      Delete
  9. Great blurb. I really struggled with this one. :) Sorry it took so long to link to mine. I am on a cruise in the middle of the Caribbean and well, life is hard when all you do is relax and eat all day long! LOL

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by...