A major moment for any pre-pub book is getting the blurbs in. Who blurbed it? What'd they say? What part of that favorable sentence to put on the cover. WHERE on the cover?! Authors may *think* the hardest part of the journey is over when their books come out--but nooooooo. Now you've got blurb requests pouring in. Books to read, pithy statements to come up with. It's harder than it looks. I should know--I tried. Some of my top reads for 2010 (no particular order), are lauded in blurb form below:
- BEAT THE REAPER
Josh Bazell masters the art of the reveal. I’d follow Peter Brown anywhere—from a safe distance, of course.
- THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY
Books that speak to the darkest parts of what we could become. They have everything—best of all, they have Katniss.
- YOU
Heartbreaking in its intensity, its events, and most of all, the truth it reveals.
- GHOST COUNTRY
Petrifying…Unbelievable, but seems like it could happen tomorrow. I hope there really is a Travis Chase out there somewhere.
- DIVERGENT
We’ll have different factions. We’ll love Four, or we won’t. But we’ll all agree: DIVERGENT is an incredible read.
So now you try it. Love a book you read in 2010? Blurb it here! 20 words or less. We'll look them over and choose a winner in two categories:
1. Blurb that would make me pick it up. (Best in Show)
2. Funniest blurb (keep it G-rated. OK, PG-13)
Off-limits words: "Tour-de-force," "Compelling," anything using "virtuoso" in any form.
The prize? You'll get a 15-minute Skype (or some other type of) chat with moi to evaluate your online presence and talk about social media. Entries close at 5 pm Friday (1/7). Ready? GO!!!
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Five Random Things About Suzie
1. I drink so much orange soda, it's probably running through my veins. I've been known to go through a twelve pack of diet sunkist in a day.
2. I'm legitimately nocturnal (or a vampire). I will be so exhausted at two pm that I'm falling asleep standing up - it has happened before, at Six Flags no less - but as soon as the sun goes down I'm wide awake.
3. I have a gorgeous unused $6000 Reem Acra wedding dress hanging in my closet, and it showed up on my doorstep the same day my (now ex) fiance broke up with me. And thank God for that. I wouldn't have wanted to waste that dress on him.
4. Social anxiety plagues me daily. I write a script and practice in front of the mirror when I have to make a phone call, but most people who interact with me have no idea how nervous I am (or perhaps they lie) because I've worked so hard to try to overcome it.
5. I'm actually worried that I will never love my children (when I do have them in the far off future) as much as I love my dogs. I just like animals better than people - they're sweet and innocent and soft and furry - is that so wrong?
36 comments:
I am without skype, so I'll just read and enjoy what others post.
:-)
Hunger Games Trilogy:
A heart-pumping, edge of your seat emotional roller coaster ride that takes Katniss to the edge of humanity, where she must dance along the knife's edge and look deep into herself to find the courage to survive.
Blerg. I suck at these things. Anyway - good luck to everyone! :)
Jack Reacher is Worth Dying For
Those without Skype: fear not!! We'll work it out! You can still win!!
If I Stay by Gale Forman
A fuzzy read...because my eyes were filling up with tears every two minutes.
Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
Tracking the Seven Sins with a hot, unmentionable, muscular Diesel would make anyone gluttonous.
Mockingjay --
Sometimes the future falls, not for lack of a hero, but for lack of those willing to be saved.
tell me more about this art of the reveal. How do I do it.
Mer, Whoa. Who won't love Four? Because I might have to beat them up and scream DAUNTLESS!
Dan, you already do.
A Clockwork Orange:
Alex thinks he can beat the system. The System has other ideas.
“Numb” questions how much abuse a suit can take.
Fall for Anything:
WARNING: This story makes you *feel*. It knocks you down, then punches you in the gut--but you want more.
Sophie Littlefield's BANISHED:
A dark and tangled tale that will keep you up late reading, scared to turn off the light.
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Ned Vizzini takes us into Craig's most inner thought's during Craig's lowest loneliest time, and within pages wins us over.
Are we allowed multiple entries?
THE PASSAGE:
For those who are torn between a love for vampire apocalypses and a preference for literary fiction.
You know who you are.
THE PASSAGE:
For those torn between a love for vampire apocalypses and a preference for literary fiction.
You know who you are.
A man with sewage between his toes saves democracy forever more.
Pericles Commission
Enter as many times as you like. These are fun!
Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
Monkeys and Fart Jokes FTW!
13 REASONS WHY
A marveling guilty introspection: We are all close to suicide. Too close. Discover how not to become a reason why.
TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, a heart-pounding, edge-of-your seat suspense thriller. Will the old man die or not? Move over Dan Brown, Mitch Albom is here to stay.
Yours,
Greg the Intern
Sadistic men cause pain. Depraved men enjoy pain. This man feels no pain. Who is worse off?
NUMB by Sean Ferrell
(Also, can I "steal" your Saul Bellow quote? I'm a librarian and I LOVE it.) :)
~Rita Meade
Mortal Instruments (Books 1-3)
Sexy, sexy incestuous lust. A fun read for all ages!
The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks
It’s a testament to Week’s storytelling skills that you never want to leave a world as messed up as this.
The Sookie Stackhouse Novels
Hire a sitter. This highly addictive series will have you neglecting your children.
I'm trying to not get carried away here, but this is really fun! (Especially when I should be working on cutting down my manuscript's word count.)
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
A boy who spends over 450-pages running for his life couldn’t ask to have better talking dog at his side.
Sex With Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge by Eleanor Herman
Through true accounts, Herman unveils surprising heart, humor, and insight while delivering on the inevitable heartbreak and – of course – scandal.
Room by Emma Donoghue
Room’s disturbing circumstances are made all the more unsettling by the young narrator’s honesty, naiveté and utter lack of self-pity.
Okay, okay, okay. I'm official done and shall no longer be getting carried away. (And I didn't get any word cutting done this evening. Bad writer! Bad!)
The Cates Series:
Jeff Somers' heart-pumping sci-fi series will make you cringe, gag, gasp and beg for more.
Numb:
You'll feel for him.
13 REASONS WHY
A map of connected guilt. We are all close too close to suicide. Discover how not to become a reason.
Hunger Games Trilogy:
No sparkles. No supernatural beings. Just a girl who will do anything to survive. Even kill.
Brains:
Fight for zombie rights! Not all of them can...
Day One:
An abused wife, a runaway teen, a few dead bodies, and an unsolved murder collide on Day One.
Anna and the French Kiss:
You'll squirm from embarrassment, laugh out loud, and most of all you'll fall in love.
Delirium:
An edge-of-your-seat race for the right to love.
Ha, that's pretty fun. Hard, but fun. :)
KNOCKEMSTIFF
Donald Ray Pollock gives us the dustoff huffing speed addicts version of Aesop's Fables except you don't learn nothin.
The Southern Vampire Mysteries -
The nightlife's dead, the neighbors suck, and business bites. Bon chance in Bon Temps.
Entries closed! Thanks so much to all my blurbers!!
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