Silence is NOT Golden... Back-of-the-Book Blurb #76... and Radar's Got Some Bling

       The late comedian and activist, Dick Gregory, once said, "You must have agitation. Think about it. You put water and soap into the washing machine. If you don't have any agitation, you just end up with a bunch of dirty laundry." (This was the quote to the best of my recollection. I heard him say it on an interview that I watched on TV.)

        In St. Louis, we have a bunch of dirty laundry that has never been fully aired... and some people wonder if agitation is truly necessary.

       Since Friday, St. Louis has been on fire. Protests. Face-offs. Concerts have been cancelled (U2 and Ed Sheeran). Shops have closed down early. Malls have filled up with protesters. Business has been disrupted.

        Some people wonder if "all that" is necessary.

        I wonder what's going to work...

        Mere conversations haven't worked. Marching in the streets hasn't worked. Chants. Signs. Collaborations between communities and churches and community representatives haven't worked.

        As the Cuba Gooding, Jr. character in the movie Jerry McGuire says, "Show me the money," perhaps it might make a difference if St. Louis residents don't show the money. Back in Montgomery in 1955 and 1956, the bus boycotts worked because they disrupted business. Business-owners' pocketbooks were hurt... and a change came.

        A sign I saw (via the televised news) this weekend gave me a hard nudge. "White silence = violence." I know what they're saying. However, I might be tempted to make the plea to change "violence" to "acceptance," although I know that silence/acceptance leads to the violence.

        I am going to have to start opening my mouth...

       Before we get to the book blurb (which is late, I know, I know), I wonder: What is your BHAG? If you wonder what a BHAG is, check out my post on The Muffin. (Hint: It involves the brilliant and talented Renee Roberson.)

 And now onto our book blurb of the week.

            Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book. You choose the genre. Is it an insider's story by Michael Moore? Is it nonfiction book about the meat industry? 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. She moved to Florida, and is too busy to host a weekly book blurb. Her first romance novel, Love Built to Last, just came out as an audio book. She left Florida temporarily, supposedly because of Hurricane Irma, 

          Okay, back to book blurb stuff.
       

          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: 

   
     
   

The Newest White Meat on the Block

“Not all of those wackadoodles are vegans. Some of ‘em just like to play around with knives and swords and run around in kilts and puffy shirts. And most of those crazies love meat.”

It was Renaissance Faire time. The time when women hoisted up all the cleavage they could summon… so they could put it on display. The time when lute music wafted through the woods. The time when mermaids, unicorns and jousting collided in one wacky weekend.

           Walter Theodore Franklin and Ima Knot Kidding wanted to offer a new taste sensation to lure an even bigger crowd than last year--and they found what they figured would be a winner. Unicorn meat.

They got the meat certified (by a butcher that was certifiably crazy), thanks to some plaster-of-paris and duct tape. Now all they had to do was create some delicious dishes…

… and hope for rave reviews. (149 words)

Love a Golden Rescue had their reunion picnic on
Saturday, to celebrate the families who've adopted our dogs.
The theme was "Doggywood" so the girl dogs got carnations to
clip onto their collars and the boy dogs got gold lame' bow ties.
Unfortunately for Radar's tres macho reputation, the bow tie
was so small, it was eclipsed by his ruffly fur when worn the
way it was supposed to be worn... hence the more feminine
positioning...

         For those folks who want at least a few days to work on the blurb for this week (since it's Monday already), here is the picture for the next book blurb:

Travel, Anyone? How About a Foster Dog?

In June I'll be taking a trip. Like the Blues Brothers, I'll be on a mission from God. Or, rather, on a mission from DOG (so maybe I'm the dyslexic Blues Brother).

Turkey is my destination. I'll spend a few days with a Turkish acquaintance about five hours from Istanbul.

Hagia Sophia--a church that was first built in 537 A.D. and is now a museum--is in
Istanbul. My teaching partner said it's amazing. Hopefully I'll have the time and the
opportunity to see it.

The purpose of this trip is to get three golden retrievers. In case you didn't know, there are thousands of stray dogs in Turkey, and hundreds and hundreds of those strays are goldens. Goldens don't fight back, so when dogs get into fights (as packs of hungry dogs tend to do), goldens don't last long.

Golden rescue groups in Atlanta and Michigan have been working together for the last few years to fly whole pallets of dogs (in crates) to the U.S. Individuals flying--and escorting 2 or 3 dogs--is a less expensive option.

We're always looking for foster homes--homes that have a fence, loving homes that are willing to care for a dog for a short period of time until the dogs find forever homes.

If you know someone who'd love to love an international dog (they learn English quite quickly), have them contact Love a Golden Rescue. If you've ever been to that part of the world, I'd love any helpful tips. And if you want to read a great post about travel writing, check out Renee Roberson's post, read this. I might actually try to write something about Turkey and sell it.

NaNoWriMoCrocIt

       Linda O'Connell came up with the winning name. Her prize?  A vial of James Patterson's toe jam (certified, for certain). Lucky, lucky Linda.

     Her creative name is a nod to my favorite brand of shoes (only the ones that can be hosed off. Those fancy, frou-frou fleece-lined Crocs are an ugly smear on haut couture). It's also a nod to Miami Vice, an incredibly inane television show that so many of us watched--so many decades ago.

      I've decided to do NaNoWriMo this year, but since I am not starting from scratch and since there is no way in not-heaven I will add 50,000 more words to what I have so far, I needed a name. Maverick...Rebel... (which is what I was last year)...NaNoWriMoDoDo (that was another of my favorites).

      Renee Roberson told me to eat all the mashed potatoes I want. She also suggested I do NaNo, set a goal and broadcast it so I can't weasel out of it deftly sidestep it. 


     Okay. Pass the potatoes, and take a gander at my goal--15,000 words during the month of November. I figure that word count is better than a trickle of ink... and without the prod and prompting of NaNoWriMo, a pathetic trickle might be all I get.

     That's around 500 words a day. I'm hoping that's do-able.

                              "The Proclaimers" singing "500 Miles."
                              It's from one of my favorite movies--
                              "Benny and Joon."