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...