The Dreaded Blurb

Readers browsing for a new book will scour the shelves, looking for a their favourite author or genre, and will no doubt be swayed by an attractive book cover. Then what?

The dreaded blurb! Dreaded by the authors, that is.

Browsers will turn over to peruse the blurb on the back cover. This promotional statement is perhaps the most difficult collection of sentences that a writer will ever have to create. Perhaps more difficult than writing the entire book. In a few precious lines, the author has to convey the nature of the plot, characters and genre, but also leave the reader wanting to know what's going to happen; so much so, that the browser will hopefully carry the book to the tills, in order to find out how the book unravels.

So when did the blurb make an entrance?

An American humourist called Gelett Burgess provided a drawing of an attractive woman on the back of his book, Are You A Bromide? over a hundred years ago in 1907. This alluring woman had the job of increasing sales. Burgess gave her the name, Miss Belinda Blurb! From then on, having a blurb to promote a book stuck with publishers - if only in text form.

As I don't yet (I have to stay optimistic) have a publisher for Lies and Linguine, I've written my own blurb without any professional input. No doubt when (still optimistic) the magical day arrives, an editor may suggest changes or a complete re-write. However, in the mean time, I'd be interested to know if my blurb would entice you to buy.

I have a (fairly) tough hide. You can be honest and say if you'd put the book back on the shelf.

When long-suffering Tess tells her best friend that she's leaving her boyfriend Blake, she's unaware that her puerile boyfriend has eavesdropped on their conversation. Blake devises two plans in order to stop her. When Plan A backfires, he relies on Plan B - a wicked and unforgivable lie.

Handsome artist Daniel is haunted by two tragedies from his past. As he prepares for his first art exhibition, can he overcome his obsessive compulsion which he believes will protect him from a third trauma?

Holly is an incorrigible flirt and Tess' best friend, but jealousies arise when they both fall for the same man. Can their friendship survive the green-eyed monster?

Daniel's twin sister, Denise, believes she's truly blessed with her family and life in London. She's never had to battle for anything in her life, but when she discovers a breast lump, she must battle for life itself.

As each person struggles with their own demons, is there room for romance in their lives? Can Daniel conquer his compulsion? Does Denise have the strength to fight? And will Tess discover Blake's deceit in time to find true love?

Sugar and Spite

Opening paragraph from my second novel, Sugar and Spite.

Frantic knocking disturbed Erin Forrester as she placed a bottle of Brouilly to warm next to the kitchen radiator. With heels click-clacking upon the fudge-coloured Minton tiles, she hurried down the hallway. Pulling open the front door of Magnolia House, Erin was greeted by an icy February blast which whipped around her ankles. Having listened to a few breathless words from the person standing in the doorway, the air was knocked from her lungs as a primordial howl filled the purple gloom outside.
It would only be later that she'd learn, it'd been her own voice which had wailed into the night.

First Public Reading! Ahhhh!

I've worked hard for my dream and thanks to a wonderful agent called Juliet, it has come true. Thank you Juliet for having faith in my work.

I know that finding an agent isn't a ticket to publication. Having read Natalie Whipple's blog, I know how difficult it is in the publishing world right now. Plus, you only need to read the papers/writing mags etc. But I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to find a professional in the business who sees something in my work, and that they're willing to put their name next to it.

I'm a member of two writing groups in Nottingham. Tomorrow, Nottingham Writers' Studio are holding a Word Of Mouth event at Antenna. I am reading the first chapter of Lies and Linguine, and although I'm very proud, my stomach flips each time I remember that I'm doing it! Will the public like it? Will the male audience yawn as I read contemporary women's fiction? Will it stand up against the wonderful other writers who are reading?

I suppose all writers have moments of doubt. But reading my work out loud for the first time is a bit like the nightmares I have when I'm naked in public!

I hope my next post is letting you know that I didn't fall over my words or even worse - chicken out!!!

'Tweaking!'

I'm back! Has it really been so many months since I last gave an update?
As well as moving house and setting up a new business with my husband, I've also found time to write. I've started my second novel called Sugar and Spite, but at the moment I'm tweaking Lies and Linguine. That's the new working title of my first book.
I've had some wonderfully helpful feedback from two literary agents and two publishers. Before you congratulate me - wonderfully helpful doesn't always mean good. Yes I've had some confidence-boosting praise, which acts like the sugar that makes the tweaking easier to swallow! I've been told my novel is better than chic-lit, very competent, pacy and engaging with some good imagery. Not only am I delighted to hear this, but I'm grateful that these busy professionals took the time to let me know what they liked about Lies and Linguine. Not as lovely - but equally as valuable, is the tweaking which is also suggested! My antagonist is apparently too antagonistic. Having re-read my book, the agents are absolutely right. If I was Tess, the protagonist in my novel, I wouldn't have stuck around for half as long! So I've spent the last two months tweaking Blake! This encompassed giving him a conscience and some redeeming features. Just enough to make Tess stay with him until the last straw!
I've also joined Nottingham Writers' Group since I last blogged. We meet twice a month, alternatively listening to a speaker or sharing our work with the other writers. I'd recommend this to any new writer as it helps to receive positive critisism by people who understand that your work is precious to you, but that it also might need improving with the help of tactful suggestions. At last night's meeting we held the 'Verse of the Year' evening. I will hunt out my entry and post it shortly.
I've sent out two further submissions to literary agencies and I'm crossing everything!