Tag Archives: book cover

Given your wonderful comments when I announced my pregnancy recently, I thought some of you may be interested in a little bumpdate (bump update). Today, I’m 15 ½ weeks pregnant and I’m not ‘showing’ too much yet. According to my husband, my bump isn’t even big enough to warrant a photo on the blog yet (bah!).

I seem to look more pregnant in the afternoons and evenings than in the mornings (I’ll let you figure that one out), and I’m still waiting for the first trimester fatigue to wain (which is very irritating but at least I don’t feel nauseous any more!). I’ll keep you posted as things progress.

Next topic – that blasted book blurb. I’ve made some more changes based on your feedback, and feel like I’m much closer to nailing it. Who knows, maybe this is the final version. As always, keen to hear your feedback!

Blurb

Ceara’s desperate for love; Seb’s desperate to get laid. Ceara adores reading novels; Seb hasn’t finished a book in years. Two strangers, both moving from small country towns to Brisbane – the big smoke. As they prepare to attend the same university, their paths seem set to collide, but they keep missing each other. Maybe fate is keeping them apart, or maybe it’s just chance.

When the semester starts, things get complicated. Ceara’s best friend withdraws from her, Seb’s closest mate turns into a sleazebag, and the relentless demands of university make their stress levels soar. Before their first semester is over, both Seb and Ceara will be forced to question who they are and what they want from their lives. Will they have the courage to find the answers, or will they crumble under the pressure? And when they finally meet, will it be love at first sight or a collision of headstrong personalities?

Let me know your thoughts!

Write Club

Have you heard about Write Club? The first rule of Write Club is to talk about Write Club. So that’s what I’m doing!

Essentially Write Club involves sending in 500 words of your writing anonymously and going into the ring against another writer. Fellow bloggers vote on their faves and the rounds keep going until there’s a final winner.

The writing can be any genre, any style (even poetry) with the word count being the only restriction. There’s an amazing line-up of agents who’ll decide the final winner so I’d definitely consider having a crack. First round kicks off 30 July.

Your turn

What do you think of the blurb? Are you thinking of participating in Write Club? Anything else exciting going on in your world?

Again, thank you so much to everyone who commented on previous versions of my blurb. You’ve helped me focus on The Big Smoke‘s key selling points and ‘hook’.

I’m quite happy with my latest attempt, but I’m keen to hear what you think. Here it is!

Revised blurb

Ceara’s desperate for love; Seb’s desperate to get laid. Ceara adores reading novels; Seb hasn’t finished a book in years. Two strangers, both moving to the same Brisbane suburb for uni. As they prepare to attend the same university, their paths seem destined to cross. But they keep missing each other. Maybe fate is keeping them apart, or maybe it’s just chance.

When university starts, things get complicated. Both their best friends start acting weird, and the relentless demands of uni make their stress levels soar. Before their first semester is over, both Seb and Ceara will be forced to question who they are and what they want from their lives. Will they have the courage to find the answers, or will they crumble under the pressure? And will they finally meet, or remain strangers forever?

Your turn

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! I promise I’ll stop bugging you about this very soon… maybe.

Thanks so much to everyone who commented on my draft blurbs yesterday. I considered the feedback and wrote a new version on the train this morning (and then revised it in my lunch break, so I could post it immediately – there’s that impatience again!). Obviously I couldn’t take everyone’s individual suggestions on board, but I’m keen to hear whether you think the version below is an improvement and what more could potentially be done to really hook the reader.

Revised blurb

Although Ceara Wilson and Seb Barkley are strangers, they have a few things in common. They’re both seventeen, due to move from their tiny hometowns to Brisbane for uni and both totally unhappy with the people they’ll be moving in with. For Ceara, it’s two people from high school who hate her. For Seb, it’s a weirdo cousin he hasn’t spoken to for years.

Ceara’s desperate for love, Seb’s desperate to get laid. As they move in a street away from each other and prepare to attend the same university, both think they know the challenges that lie ahead. But when Ceara’s best friend withdraws from her, Seb’s closest mate turns into a wanker and the relentless demands of uni increase their stress levels to the max, they realise that life in the big smoke will test them in ways they’d never imagined.

Before their first semester is over, both Seb and Ceara will be forced to question who they are and what they really want from their lives. Will they have the courage to find the answers, or will they crumble under the pressure?

Your turn

Let the comments rip!

*Edit: do you think I should tone down the wording (e.g. ‘get laid’ and ‘wanker’) considering it will appear on the back of the book, on Amazon, and on other people’s blogs?*

As you all know, the front cover of my book is complete. The designer is now ready to start work on the back cover. He just needs one minor thing from me first… a blurb.

EEK!

I don’t know about you, but I find blurbs notoriously difficult to write. What can I say about The Big Smoke in less than 200 words that will convince people that they not only want to read the book, but that it should go to the very top of their to-read piles?

I’m sure most authors probably feel the same way, but 150-200 words doesn’t seem enough to convey all The Big Smoke has to offer. The fact that the story has two equally important protagonists also makes things that little bit trickier to summarise.

So, once again, I’m asking for your help. I’ve written two versions of a blurb (which have some similarities), and I’d love to get your thoughts on what you like and what you don’t. Feel free to pull them apart entirely!

Blurb 1

For Ceara Wilson, tomorrow is the biggest day of her life – the day she moves from her tiny hometown to Brisbane for uni. But thanks to her clueless mother, tomorrow will be a nightmare, because she’ll be moving in with two people from high school who think she’s completely worthless.

On the same day Ceara is due to move to Brisbane, so is Seb Barkley. Unlike Ceara, Seb’s psyched about escaping his hometown. As far as he’s concerned, 17 years is long enough in a town as small as Mildah. He can’t wait to meet a city chick and finally have some ‘success’.

As Ceara and Seb move in a street away from each other, both think they know what to expect from their first uni semester. But they couldn’t be more wrong. The next six months will challenge them in ways they’ve never imagined. Their closest friendships will be put to the test, long-buried secrets will be uncovered and they’ll be forced to question what they really want from their lives – a question that, at times, seems almost impossible to answer.

(182 words)

Blurb 2

Ceara Wilson and Seb Barkley may be strangers, but they have a few things in common. They’re both seventeen, they’re both due to move from their tiny hometowns to Brisbane for uni, and they’re both totally unhappy with the people they’ll be moving in with. For Ceara, it’s two people from high school who think she’s completely worthless. For Seb, it’s a weirdo cousin he hasn’t spoken to for years.

As Ceara and Seb move in a street away from each other, both think they know the challenges that lay ahead in their first semester at uni. But they couldn’t be more wrong. The next six months will test them in ways they’ve never imagined. Their closest friendships will be put to the test, long-buried secrets will be uncovered and they’ll be forced to question what they really want from their lives.

Will they have the courage to find the answers?

(151 words)

Your turn

Fire away! Do you like one better than the other? Hate them both? If so, why? What are they missing? If you love one of them, why? What’s working for you? Or maybe there are parts you like in one and other parts you like in the other. If so, what are they? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!