Vindaloo is Whoo Hoo... Margaret Atwood Came to St. Louis... and Back-of-the-Book Blurb #77

         A month ago I fell in love with a vindaloo sauce. Slip some chicken into that stuff, bake it, and it was spicy... but just the right amount of heat.

        My husband looked for more (at the same grocery store) but they had discontinued stocking it. I was cranky acting like I always do. I was jonesing for some vindaloo. 

        Hubby came to the rescue. Or was he trying to kill me? He found some online, and ordered a six pack of the jarred concoction of the gods. Waiting for that package was difficult as I salivated over future vindaloo dinners. I promised my daughter-in-law a jar of it. ("It would make a great quick dinner for you, after teaching all day," I said. Little did I know that my promise might later be construed as premeditation...)

      Well, that sauce that was delivered was labeled "hot and spicy," and they didn't mean hot by white-as-notebook-paper people standards. Immediately, I discovered that "hot" by Indian standards means "permanently burn your tastebuds" hot. 

      (If anyone would like a jar of it, I'd be happy to give you one. Don't be nervous when I hand it to you and I've got an oven mitt on...)

       Now onto a hot writer--Margaret Atwood.

       She's the author of The Handmaid's Tale and earlier this week, she came to St. Louis. I didn't get to see her, but my daughter sent me a link to an article about her appearance... in case you're interested.

        Tonight I'm going to see Sherman Alexie (I am pinching myself, I'm so excited) so I won't be able to respond to the dozens one comment on this post until much later this evening. 

        And now onto book blurb stuff:


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 a love story about a senior citizen and her bingo dauber? Is it an insider's tale, exposing the horrors of bingo halls? 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. Thankfully, she and her hubster and their home are safe and sound. (By the way, years ago, Lisa predicted that writing these silly blurbs would help with writing the real thing and by cracky, she's right.)

          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: 

   

Jean’s Packin’ Something in Her Depends

Jean was sick and tired of the fast and loosey-goosey bingo games at the nursing home. She’d complained. She’d written letters. Now she’d have to show them she means business.

Every Tuesday, she’d come early, set up her daubers and her good-luck trinkets, and then she’d peruse the prize table. No matter what Jean set her sights on—a dollar-store stuffed animal or a plastic rain bonnet—and no matter what threats she’d hiss (“That one’s gonna be mine! Stay away from the pink panda or I’ll slip you a whole box of Ex-Lax in your pudding.”), some blue-haired biddy would snatch Jean’s prize before she had the chance to win it.

Some hot lead will show ‘em she’s serious. Are those old folks feelin’ lucky… ‘cause Jean sure is. (128 words)

For those who want to work ahead on next week's blurb, here is the photo:

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:

Do Blondes Have More Fun?

       There's been once or twice that I've chosen a box of hair dye that's blonder than I like. I tend to go for the redder, more coppery hues. Do I have more fun for those weeks days until it fades? I don't think so.

       When I had white-blonde hair when I was younger (up to four or so) and then dishwater blond (until I was 12), I had lots of fun, but I attribute the good times to my young age.

       Our dog Radar (who has reddish-blonde hair) enjoys every minute of almost every day. Getting his nails clipped. Going to the vet for a shot. He doesn't enjoy those moments, but he more than makes up for it with his romps in the back yard and his games of fetch and his get-a-treat-every-time-he-comes-in treatment.

      At the end of the month, however, we're welcoming a temporary new blonde into our home, and here she is:

      

         Winslet (the bottom left golden) is going to join us as a foster dog. She's flying in from Istanbul, but I'm sure she'll quickly learn English. 

       Hopefully, Radar will be a gentleman and treat her in a polite way.

       All four of these dogs will be coming to St. Louis in a few weeks. If you know anyone who wants to foster or adopt a golden retriever, please direct them to Love a Golden...

       ... And wish us luck. Radar can be quite, uh, exuberant.

 

Kids in Crisis... Music for Writers... and Back-of-the-Book Blurb #75

        First of all, if you haven't read my most recent post on The Muffin, check it out. (You'll get to see a pig that can fly... You'll also get to see a quilt made by Lynn Obermoeller.)     

        Now away from that little bit of self-promotion... This is my 29th year of teaching. In every one of my classrooms there's been at least one kid in crisis.

• a 3rd grader who was promised a plastic crown at an amusement park, but her father changed his mind (for no reason) and broke her heart

• a little boy who was threatened on a regular basis with going to a foster home because of his school misbehavior

• loads of kids (too many to count) who dealt with their parent's addiction/mental illness

            It saddens me to see adult issues being heaped upon kids. Modifications are made, interventions are held, gatherings take place and phone calls are made. We do what we're able to do... and hope for the best.

            I have a couple of students who are struggling. They each have a mountain of problems and a canyon of sorrow they're dealing with. Please send good thoughts their way...

           I recently read how a writer uses music. Unfortunately, I can't write while listening to music with lyrics. I get sidetracked and end up paying attention to the songs and forget about the writing.

           This particular writer found a song that fit the mood of his manuscript, and he listened to the same song, over and over while he wrote. It became white noise.

            That technique intrigues me. This November we're doing NaNoWriMo. I'll be doing it with 4th-8th graders. My students from last year are excited. The 4th-6th graders--who I didn't have as students last year--are a bit nervous. However, we're going to head off on that adventure together, and it will be a blast. 

            Many students want to write while listening to music, but too often, they spend more time finding songs and less time on writing. If they don't want to listen to Vivaldi or Miles Davis, I'm going to suggest they find one song and listen to it over and over.

            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 a romance about a boy and his rat named "Ben"? Is it a guide for animal lovers? 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. Also, she's currently dealing with an unwanted guest named Irma, so think good thoughts for her as well...

          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:

Bryce the Unbearable

Bryce was a brat. He was spoiled rotten and everybody knew it except for his parents.

His teacher drank every evening and on the weekends, she OD’ed on chocolate. On the rare days when he was sick and absent from school (most germs were too weak to land on Bryce) his teacher shrieked with excitement.

When they saw Bryce loose and wreaking havoc on the sidewalk, the neighbors ran back into their homes, locked their doors and stayed away from the windows--in case Bryce was tempted to barge in or felt like lobbing around rocks. All the aunts, uncles and even the grandparents avoided Bryce.

But his parents thought he was “destined for greatness” and felt limitations would stifle his creativity.

Will Bryce live to be five? Or will his mom and dad finally find the banks of the River Denial and climb out of the water? 147 words

And if you want to play along next Friday (or Saturday, if I have computer troubles like I had last night), here in the photo for the next book blurb:

Just Six Words

        At the beginning of the school year, my students worked on six-word memoirs. The 4th-8th graders all created slides that summed up their lives or said something important--in just six words.

        The above is a slide I made last school year. It sums up what I feel about footwear. Much to my daughter and granddaughter's dismay, I value comfort way over style. If the shoes are butt-ugly but feel like slippers, I'm all over them.

        Today is Labor Day. To celebrate the holiday, I'm taking it easy working hard working at procrastinating as long as possible before I write my lesson plan for Tuesday.

        How would you sum up your philosophy of life in just six words? You could even think of two, which is what I suggested to my students: think of a serious one and think of a humorous one. (They made them anonymously, without their names on the slides, so they would feel free to be honest.)   

A Thread Runs Through It... Catching Up... and Back-of-the-Book Blurb #74

 A Thread     

       Almost a year ago (in November, during NaNoWriMo) , I began writing something. It was easy (the writing part). It wrote itself at times. The research part, on the other hand, was incredibly difficult at times, because my manuscript focuses on a historical event that our country tried to sweep under the rug for decades. Now, most of the survivors are dead... it was that long ago.

      Just recently I finished it. Finished--meaning I wrote the last lines. However, there is slang I need to check (Did people say that in 1921?) and way-of-life questions I have. (Is that a kind of gum that was popular back then? What did racist white people say or what did they do when they passed black people in those days?)  Revising with those things in mind will involve some interviews with an elderly person (someone more elderly than me, for those who were about to gleefully shout, "But YOU are old, Sioux.")

      A little less recently, I decided to have a thread of a question running through the story. I have the final frayed edges of that thread at the end. It will be simple to add additional bits here and there in the middle. It's the beginning that's slaying me.

     How do I add the beginning of this question so that it's a seamless part of the story? Certainly, I don't want to do a background dump. I also don't want anything to stick out, since it might give the end of the story away. 

     I could share it with my writing critique group, but I'd rather have it as polished as possible before I do that.

    Writing. When it sings, when it flows, there's not much finer... When I reach an impasse, it's quite frustrating.

Getting Caught Up

     Yesterday I could have gotten off work at 2. We had a faculty meeting, and when it was over, most of the staff skedaddled off. I had stacks of student work (some of it had already been graded). Spending the time grading writing work, writing replies (some of the papers were friendly letters) and inputting grades was satisfying. By the time I left at 6, I had three piles of papers, one for myself and the other two for the other two teachers I work with.

     It's satisfying... until the work piles up again.

     Is there anything you've gotten caught up on? 

     And now (on time this time): back-of-the-book blurb business.

Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book. You choose the genre. Is it a romance about a boy and his rat named "Ben"? Is it a guide for animal lovers? 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. Currently, she's working with the director on casting for the movie version of her first (of three) romance novels, Love Built to Last and it's rough work. Who's the frontrunners, you ask? Benicio del Toro. Viggo Mortensen. Jason Momoa. (Lisa told the director, "I couldn't care less about hanging around for the screen tests for the female leads." I wonder why...) So, because she's so busy with such grueling work, you're stuck with me.

          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:

For Margot

“Do you need to use the bathroom? If so, do it now.”

Margot would ask her husband if he needed to go… that way, she could take a leisurely bath uninterrupted. He’d dutifully empty his bladder.

Aaah. Thirty minutes of serenity.

Four minutes after Margot started her soak, invariably, she’d hear the door being pounded on.

“Get out. Hurry. I gotta use it.” That meant a smelly catastrophe was about to happen. It also meant her bath—and the only alone time she could carve out for herself in their tiny house—was finished.

After years of dealing with her complaining about not enough bath time (they only had one bathroom), Cecil decided to shut his wife up with the biggest bathtub and the biggest statue he could create.

Will Margot appreciate Cecil’s sense of humor? Or will he find himself in serious hot water? (143 words)

And for anyone who'd like to play along next week, and want a sneak preview of the photo, here it is: