Some Chicken Soup News... and Back-of-the-Book Blurb Friday # 63

      A couple of months ago I got the news that a story I'd written had made it over the first hurdle for Chicken Soup's My Kind of America. I kept quiet so as not to jinx it.

      Two days ago, I got an email: my story was in. It made it through the final editorial round and emerged victorious.

      The story "My Ferguson" makes me proud because it tells what the real Ferguson is like. It tells the story of a community that is not one of the most dangerous cities in the world. It tells the story about a particular Ferguson family who started a business in Ferguson because they believe in their neighborhood.

      I hope that if you're a writer and you've gotten dejected because your submissions have been rejected... keep the faith. You never know. Your next piece may get a "yes."

      And now, onto book blurb stuff.

Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book. You choose the genre. Is it a mystery? (It sure looks mysterious to me.) Is it a romance? (Like, a romance with bad hairstyles?) Is it historical fiction? (Let's hope it's in the past and not in the present.) 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 writing challenge. Currently, she's super busy. She and her hubster are currently basking on the beach in Florida. Leave the sand to do this book blurb stuff? No way. (She's also working on a new novel--I'm sure--so that keeps her occupied in between applying the sunscreen.)

Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. Also, link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is. And then, check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.

Here's the book cover, along with my blurb:

      A Family Affair

It’s 2016… and yet the Aquanet family is stuck in the 1980s.

Arnie Aquanet and his wife Tina went retro when they got married in 2005. Arnie loved Bon Jovi—the early Bon Jovi—so when they started their family, the kids fell right into line with mom and dad. Big hair was an everyday thing. The bigger, the better.

Getting ready for school and for work resulted in a hairspray haze that hung in the house for hours after everyone left.

The destruction of the ozone layer? Everyone has to die… they might as well die cute.

But then the government passes a law. No more aerosol products allowed. Arnie and Tina know the pump sprays do diddly-squat, so they panic.

Will the Aquanets decide to stockpile their favorite hairsprays so they can survive a few more years? Or will they find a new hairstyle they can fall in love with? (150 words)

And for those who like to work ahead (like Val and Pat), here is the photo for next week:

photo by pixabay

A Phone Call, an Audition and Back-of-the-Book Blurb Friday #49

This week I had an incredible encounter on the phone.

For months (literally) I have been emailing and calling a man who works at the National Museum of African American History in D.C. His grandfather typed up a 10-page first person document of a bit of our history that we've swept under the rug for almost a century. I've seen the cover page on the internet:  its yellowed pages and faded ink taunt me.

This man's voicemail box quickly filled up; I could no longer leave a message. My emails remained unanswered.

Yesterday I called during my prep period, figuring it would be another bit of momentary frustration. Miracle of miracles, he answered.

We spoke. Since he has donated his grandfather's document to the museum, there are several of his colleagues who would love access to it. He said he would check with the curator, he suggested some books, and I was left encouraged... and hopeful.

And the audition? I got an email this week--I am one of the 30 writers chosen to audition for the Listen to Your Mother St. Louis Show. Three of my writing critique partners--Linda O'Connell, Lynn Obermoeller and Kim Lehnhoff--also made the cut. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all four of us make it.

And now, onto book blurb fun...

Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book. You choose the genre. A time travel tale, where a fun-loving group of hooligans try to reenact Thelma and Louise's trip? A how-to book explaining how to refold travel maps?  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 brain behind this project. She's got her own editing business. She's gotten a multi-novel publishing deal... and now that those three books are out, she's working on more. Check out her site. You'll enjoy her posts and you'll learn something.

Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. Also, link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is. And then, check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.

Here's the book cover and the blurb:

photo by pixabay

Back in Time… Into the Darkness

Because of technology, amazing things now happened.

The iphone 27 has time-traveling capabilities. With a swift swipe, the camera captures what the person--or the scene--looked like decades ago.

A couple wants to remember what they looked like on their wedding day fifty years ago? Just aim the phone their way, and there the bride and groom would be, their unwrinkled faces smiling in the screen.

A family wants to recall what their family neighborhood looked like when they moved in ten years ago? An easy feat with the new phone.

The police are even using them to recreate--with 100% accuracy--a crime scene. There’s no need for security cameras now. Just make the correct time setting, point and shoot… and they can see who did the shooting.

But now the phone’s being used for sinister purposes… it’s being used to do heinous things. And there seems to be no stopping it... (150 words)

And for those writers who like to work ahead and toil on their reviews (like you, Val), here is the photo (from Pixabay) for next week: