Short, Sweet, and to the Point

(...or, the art of blurb-writing, by Jamie Hill)

 

 

 

"Man hates whale, man pursues whale, whale destroys man." 

Name that book in ten seconds.

Does this help?

"When Ishmael sets sail on the whaling ship Pequod one cold Christmas Day, he has no idea of the horrors awaiting him out on the vast and merciless ocean. The ship’s strange captain, Ahab, is in the grip of an obsession to hunt down the famous white whale, Moby Dick, and will stop at nothing on his quest to annihilate his nemesis."

Apparently back in the 1800's authors weren't required to write a blurb--just the book. Somehow they managed to sell a few copies anyway. Today, with more than a million different books available on Amazon, the blurb and the cover are the only things a reader might ever see about your book. 

An eye-catching cover is a given. Without that, busy readers might not even stop to give your blurb a chance.

A catchy title might get you a second look. You've drawn the reader in. Now snag him or her with your blurb!

The blurb sets up the story, but unlike a synopsis, it shouldn't give too much away. Tease the reader with the plot. Give them a hint of what the book is about, make them want to read more.

For my novel-length romantic suspense books which show two characters' point-of-views, I like a two paragraph blurb. One about her, one about him. For example:

Family Secrets

As if stumbling over a dead body isn't enough, Crystal Cartwright finds herself playing surrogate mother to two small boys when their father--her neighbor--doesn't come home. The kids aren't much trouble, but the thieves, drug dealers and kidnappers they're about to encounter are.

Detective Jack Dunlevy, a cop down on his luck, draws the cases no one else wants. A simple investigation involving a dead homeless man quickly changes as Crystal enlists Jack's help with the children. Drawn into a mystery that none of them could have anticipated, they're faced with a situation that will change their lives forever.

 

*~~**~~*

Family Ties

With a couple of dead bodies thrown in, Detective Brady Marshall's stolen goods case has just become a lot more interesting. His love life takes a turn for the better when he meets Gina Morris, a feisty waitress at the club where the latest victim has surfaced. A happily unattached ladies' man, Brady isn't looking to settle down. But after meeting the beautiful Italian spitfire, his thoughts are shifting in that direction.
 

Gina Morris doesn't date cops. Until she meets Brady, that is, and gets won over by his dogged persistence and winning smile. With things in her past that are best left unspoken, Gina hesitates to get too close, but can't resist the handsome detective's charm. When his case runs smack dab into her past life, both of them are forced to make choices they never dreamed possible in an attempt to salvage their relationship, and possibly even save their lives.

 

*~~**~~*

Family Honor

Bodies of dead women are piling up and Detective Melanie Curtis is doing everything she can to solve the ‘Cheerleader Slasher’ case. Surprised to discover her chief has requested help from the FBI, she’s even more shocked when she meets the sexy FBI special agent sent to assist her.

SSA Nate Willis tracks serial killers for a living. The slasher case is a challenge, but nothing compared to the feisty police detective he finds leading the investigation. Their attraction is swift and mutual, but the killer is escalating and they need to solve the case before they can focus on their personal relationship. When the unthinkable happens and the investigation is turned upside down, is their chance for happiness also in jeopardy?

*~~**~~*

Fun factoid (okay, fun for me, anyway). The first line of each of these books mentions a dead body. So do the blurbs. That's my style. Every author should have his or her own.

A few things to remember:

Don't write one line only, or merely use a line from a review as your blurb. (Somebody else wrote that.) Come up with some thoughts of your own. It's your book, after all.

Do double check your blurb for typos and consistency. Ask anyone who proofreads your manuscript to look at the blurb and make sure it's clean and compelling. If it's ho-hum, you need to know before the book gets published.

You spent a long time writing the book. Spend a bit longer making sure the blurb is going to get your masterpiece noticed.

Find these books and more at Books We Love:

http://bookswelove.net/authors/hill-jamie/ 

 

 

SUNDAY SNIPPETS #sundaysnips

This week, I'm sharing six paragraphs from a scene in Time Tantrums, in which a pioneer woman and a modern day female attorney switches places and time...or and husbands who think the woman is his wife.  In this scene, starts, Mariah's journey to the future:

“Pa, can we stop please? I need to pee real bad.” Jacob’s voice held an urgent tone.

Frank reined the horses next to a boulder. “Here ya go, son, this should give you some privacy.

Jacob scurried behind the large rock and reappeared, moments later, fastening his pants and smiling. “Thanks, Pa, I feel better now.”

When Jacob was back in his seat, Frank flicked the reins. “Giddyap,” he yelled.

The horses failed to respond. Instead, they whinnied, snorted and reared back on their hind legs. One animal turned its face, displaying eyes wide with fear. The distinct rattle of more than one snake came from nearby, and Mariah instinctively knew Jacob had disturbed their nest.

“Rattlesnakes!” Frank had heard it, too. “Hold on, everyone.” He leaned back and yanked the reins. “C’mon, girls, calm down. Whoa... whoa.”

The wagon rolled backwards and jostled from side to side on the uneven ground. The frightened animals bolted into a dead run through deep grass and thistles off the beaten path. Mariah grasped the side and bottom of the seat so tightly that splinters pierced her fingers. Concerned with the safety of her children, she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and glanced  over her shoulder. Callie and Jacob clung to each other, their eyes saucer-like.

Available at Amazon.

Now, for more Sunday Snippets, visit my friends at the urls below:

http://www.jamiehill.biz (Jamie Hill)
http://triciamg.blogspot.com (Tricia McGill)

http://romancingscifi.blogspot.com/ (Vijaya Schartz)

http://connievines.blogspot.com (Connie Vines)

FRIDAY FREEBITS #frifreebits

The smell of decomposition hung heavy in the air of the small bedroom—a nauseating odor that defied description. A homicide detective in Philadelphia for nearly five years, Michelle Wallace still found dealing with death unsettling. 

She clutched a tissue to her nose to help block the stench. Nerves beneath her skin shuddered as she surveyed the posed body of the deceased. On the queen-sized bed, a naked woman in her late twenties or early thirties lay with arms crossed over her breasts, her blue eyes fixed in a permanent stare toward the ceiling. Her mouth, lips painted bright red, twisted in what was probably her last attempt to scream. The piece of rope embedded around her throat left ligature marks on her otherwise flawless skin. 

The room hummed with activity while uniformed officers with gloved hands went through drawers and the closets. No one dared touch the body until the medical examiner arrived. Michelle didn’t need confirmation. She already knew. In an unbidden vision, she’d seen the bits and pieces unfold. The occurrences weren’t frequent or regular, and when young, she’d tried to seek an explanation from her mother but got only a dismissive wave and words uttered about an overactive imagination. 

Shell’s gaze shifted to the nightstand, noticing the novel next to the lamp, titled The Perfect Crime. 

Would there be ramifications if her fellow officers knew she authored the book. Her pseudonym, consisting of her initials and her mother’s maiden name, kept her writing persona separate from her professional side. Although proud of her work, she dared not brag. The guys would never let her live down the fact she’d used facts from past cases to pattern her storylines. Only Mom and her best friend, Naomi, knew about Michelle’s fiction passion and they’d been sworn to secrecy. No book signings or personal appearances would be scheduled until she wrote that breakthrough novel, earning her rights as an author and enabling her to leave the force. 

Her attention flipped back to the hectic scene transpiring around her, especially the three officers ogling the shapely corpse. Shooting them an icy glare, she motioned them away. “Geez, move it along, you guys.” She rolled her eyes, disgusted at the lengths some men went to for a glimpse of a bared breast—even on a dead woman. 

Finishing his conversation with the building super in the hallway, Michelle’s partner, Tony Rizetti, strode inside. He eyed the body, his brow raised. “How long you think she‘s been dead, Meesh?” 

God, she hated his nickname for her. Why couldn’t he call her Shell like everyone else? So many times she’d asked, but the sparkle in his eyes when he defied her showed his stubborn side. 

A Novel Murder is available on my Amazon page if I've tempted you to read more.  :)

Now, hop on over to Juliet Waldron's and see what Friday has in store for you there:

http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/

"Way to go, Paula! Way to go!"

by Jamie Hill

"And they all lived happily ever after." I totally concur. I'm a nut for Disney movies, Hallmark movies, Lifetime movies...wherever I can find them, as long as they have a HEA (happily ever after) ending.

To sit through a movie for hours and have it end unsatisfactorily is a bummer for me. I want to see the couple get together in the end (if not sooner.) The bad guy should get his comeuppance, the mystery should be solved. Come on, people, don't leave me hanging. Those movies that end suddenly with a black screen and I have to ask my husband what the hell just happened... No thanks.

As a reader and lover of romance, of course I want the books I read to end HEA. When I started writing, before I knew many publishers wanted HEA, I wrote it anyway. It just felt right. First and foremost, I had to write what I liked to read.

(The big exception is when I write horror. Horror, I like to leave unsettled, hanging so you're wondering... huh? But that's a whole 'nother animal.) Romance, to me, needs HEA.

I don't mind HFN, though these acronyms are getting a little tedious. *LOL* HFN, or happy for now, is sometimes necessary. When I'm writing a short story that takes place over a matter of hours, it's not always feasible for the characters to fall in love. We settle for HFN, and know that they're going to give it their best shot and see what happens. Lots of movies end that way. We don't know for sure what's going to happen with the couple, but they're going to have fun trying to make it work for a while, anyway.

Two of my favorite movies have the best HEA endings. In An Officer and a Gentleman, when Richard Gere walks through the paper factory with the theme song pounding in the background, my heart melts. "Way to go, Paula! Way to go!"


 


In Pretty Woman, when Richard Gere (do you sense a theme?) climbs the fire escape to 'rescue' Julia Roberts, and she rescues him right back...sob. I could watch those endings over and over again.



My Blame Game series ends happily ever after. In fact, I follow the main couple's family for twenty years, and in the epilogue everyone gets their own HEA. If you like romantic happy endings as much as I do, I hope you check the series out!

Find all my titles at my publisher's website, Books We Love

http://bookswelove.net/authors/hill-jamie/

NO MORE WEDNESDAY FEATURE -GINGER'S IMPROVISING

Counting Coup?

stuntkills.blogspot.com

I'm sure many of you have heard the term 'coup' (pronounced coo or ku) used in western movies.  Coup points were awarded to distinguish the bravery and daring of an Lakota Sioux warrior.  Originally, coup was awarded when one touched an enemy with hand or coup stick, but later, other acts were deemed worth of coup.  At the same time, symbols played an important part in recognition of said deeds.  The first warrior to make contact earned the right to wear a golden eagle feather in an upright position at the rear of his head.  The second brave to touch the same enemy garnered entitlement to wear an eagle feather, but tilted to the left.  The third could wear the feather horizonitally, while the fourth and last wore a buzzard feather which hung vertically.

It's important to note that coup was earned for touching, rather than killing the enemy, and men, women and children counted in that category.  Also, the coup must have been witnessed and sworn to by another member of the tribe, and any warrior who had coup counted upon himself bore great dishonor.

Not all coup was achieved by touch.  A warrior who killed a combatant hand-to-hand, earned the right to display a painted red hand upon his

www.native-net.org Chief Sitting Bull

clothing or horse.  Anyone rescuing a friend from battle earned a painted cross on his clothing, and to have ridden the friend upon one's mount may have earned dual crosses to display.  Stripes on leggings also indicated coup status, such as red vertical signified someone who had been wounded.  Notched feathers had significance as did the number of horse hooves painted on someone's clothing.  Stolen mounts were not only a way to garner status, but horses were considered valuable assets in bartering as well as determining one's status in the tribe.

www.pinterest.com

The number four plays an important role in the rituals and beliefs of the Lakota people: Four classes of Gods (superior, associate subordinate, spirits), four elements (sun, moon, sky, stars,) four direction, West, North, East and South,) four times (day, night, month and year,) four parts to all plants (root, stem, leaves,  fruit,) four classes of animals (crawling, flying, four-legged, two-legged,) and four phases of life (infancy, childhood, maturity, and old age.)

As important as the four, also the "round" symbolized the earth, the sun, the moon, and the sky.  Likewise, the winds circled the earth,  the round bodies of animals and plant stems.  The tepee was built in a circular pattern, and the contents arranged likewise.  As with warrior status, the walls inside and out bore the achievements of the lodge dweller.  The historical legacy of a family was often displayed in drawings for all to witness.

From the quilled, beaded, and painted garments they wore, to their decorated horses, lodges and bodies, our brothers and sisters of the Lakota Sioux are a very spiritual group.  They have been for documented centuries and much of the history I've shared today has been garnered from a wonderful book called "The Sioux," by Royal B. Hassrick.