The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Back-of-the-Book Blurb Friday #1

        
        Years ago, before Lisa Ricard Claro became a famous novelist and got swamped when she snagged a 3-book publishing deal and started her own editing business, she hosted Book Blurb Friday.

        It was fun every Friday to stretch as a writer... to get the chance to practice a succinct synopsis--one that would seduce the reader into buying the book. Lisa gave us a picture every week, along with the photo for the next week (to give us some think time), along with the parameters:

  • The blurb should be 150 words or less (not including the title).
  • The genre is wide-open.
  • Each blogger should include their blurb on their own blog, along with the photo, and link back to this post.
  • Have fun with it. Go to the other posts and comment on the other blurbs. 
  • You can do fancy techy things with the photo. (I'm unable, having two left cursors.) 

       Here is the first one. I'm sorry the photo is not more inspiring. I just got my whole laptop wiped out cleaned out, and had very few photos of mine to choose from. I might have even sent this to Lisa when she had the call-out for photos. Below is my back-of-the-book blurb (and it's really lame--my tech work with Mr. Linky sapped me dry).





Father Time Hits the Road

               Father Time got tired of merely keeping track of the seconds... the minutes... the hours as they passed. Weary from life passing him by, he hit the road for a rollicking, terrifying trip. Join him on the beaches of France. The DMV line. Amusement parks. Doctors' waiting rooms where--shudder--there are no clocks. 

           On his journey, the people he met, the moments he savored, the memories he made--they all led to a difficult decision: should Father Time go back to his old existence, and never experience life again? Or, should he shirk all his responsibilities and continue to truly live? 

          And if Father Time never works again, what will happen to our world? Will clocks and calendars and countries collapse, no longer having a system of keeping track of the time? 

          With the world in chaos, everyone waits for Father Time's decision... (141 words)

        So, try your hand at a book blurb. It's an exercise in tightness (which is something my stomach has not experienced in decades).

        Here is the photo for next week's Back-of-the-Book Blurb Friday #2 (so you can think about it between now and next Friday):






Monday, February 8, 2016

Back-of-the-Book Blurb is Coming (Hopefully)

         Hundreds of years ago, before Lisa Ricard Claro became a multi-book published writer, she hosted Book Blurb Friday. I think everyone who participated on a regular basis enjoyed it. I think everyone who took part also misses it.

      The challenge was this: take the photo that Lisa posted, and imagine it as the graphic for the front of a book. Each blogger then chose their genre, the book's title, and wrote a blurb that might appear on the back of the book--in 150 words or less.

      I'm going to try and breathe life back into this challenge. Hopefully, I installed Mr. Linky in the correct way, and if my crossed-fingers work, the post will go up on Friday.

     In the meantime, here is the photo that will the first in a string of prospective book covers. 

      And if you have any photos you'd like to send me to use, please do so. My photographic skills are severely lacking. My email address is sroslawski(at)yahoo.com.

     So, between now and Friday, think of this picture, think of a book that would match this cover, and start writing...