Grunts - or Writing (Fighting) the Blurb

Oh, I know what you’re thinking – “grunts,” not sexy and this woman claims to write romances. I agree with you that grunting does not evoke romantic ideals. Sensual imagery be damned. I’m grunting, sighing, and spitting out less polite noises, because  finishing a blurb is my goal today.

“Grunt”

My beloved and protective spouse spent the day sitting beside me, growing alarmed by the strange sounds escaping from his wife. He worries and I scared him. Every time I made a noise, he responded by asking if I’m OK. At one point, he picked up a cell phone with fingers poised to dial 911, because the grunting grew too frequent and too loud. I hope he was joking.

He tries to sympathize, but my work falls well beyond his area of expertise. Creating a blurb of 200ish words describing a story in the most enticing of ways, "grunt," turns out to be difficult. A peak at try number 20+ appears below:

Abby Faa had no choice but to adjust to a new life after awaking in the arms of the wrong man. Her diet is limited to blood, her world filled with the creatures from her nightmares, but she refuses to bow to her maker’s ultimatum: become his blood-mate or her human family dies. She dresses for seduction, arms herself for murder, and accepts the fact that to ensure her family lives, she must die.

Advice from a friend ruins her well-laid plans when she faces the one person she never thought to see again. Torn between the man she loves and the one who will destroy her, Abby must choose with whom her faith lays. As her time runs out, and passion builds, she fights to escape her fate and create a new world where humans and paranormals live side by side.

Perfect, no - I still have some work to do, so I’m grunting again then off to promise nothing is wrong before the whambulance arrives.

I'm A Writer

A dream is just a dream until you do something about it – by me

I love quotes, collect them and use them constantly to spark inspiration and motivation, and sometimes for entertainment value, or to win a game of trivia. For a few decades now, I’ve had a dream, and year ago I decided to stop storing ideas, plot outlines, character studies, and rough drafts in the closet, and honestly go after my dream. In the hunt for quotes, I discovered many referencing dreams, but nothing inspired me more than the words at the beginning of this blog.

This quote manipulation led me to another one, “don’t complain about how easy someone’s job is until you’ve done it yourself.” Lesson learned, and I’m issuing an apology to Stephan King, because growing up I thought he had the easiest, most fun job in the world. Write horror stories for a living - sign me up. (A pile of horror stories is hiding somewhere in my closet.)

I didn’t comprehend the work involved in each manuscript, my apologies Mr. King.

What I did understand, could sympathize with, is the compulsion to write, the driving need to write, an impossible urge to keep going. I’m an addict and writing is my drug – new quote!!

Unpublished as of yet, I write every day, and every day my writing strengthens and I learn a little more about myself, about my characters, and about the business. I wrestled with and won over plot development, character growth, emotional impact, tension, sex scenes, and commas – commas and I disagree from time to time. Sometimes the process is painful, definitely more work than I ever imagined, but always rewarding. Part of my personal reward is to say, “I’m a writer” and have a paranormal romance, the first of an exciting series, to back me up.

The next step is publishing, and I am embarking on this journey with zeal, a dash of crazed glee, and a bit of mild trepidation. As I complete this exercise, I will check in here to discuss my progress, vent my frustrations, and touch other topics I dream up. I invite everyone to peek in and join the ride; I’m anticipating a good time and on that note, I’ll close with my daily inspiration.

“A dream is just a dream until you do something about it.” – by me