'From the blurb, I expected a kind of ‘Twilight for adults’. What I got was intricately-imagined fantasy, suspenseful action, two beautifully interwoven love stories (not the kind of paranormal love triangle I was anticipating), and a lot of well-crafted drama. Brilliant – I want more!'
Read HERE
In hindsight, I should've definitely re-written the book's blurb - shown below:
‘Every Unknown is a Beginning’
Bea lives a simple life residing in a South London second-hand bookshop. It had been an especially difficult year, first with Bea’s uncle dying, then splitting up with Brandon, her philandering, druggie boyfriend. The shop's trivial daily conversations, local faces and calm were all she desired, but that was all about to change.
No-one expects to bump into supernatural beings, let alone two opposing sects of a forgotten race. Bea’s quiet existence turns into turmoil as she slowly starts to unravel a secret past. A lost history in which love, revenge, betrayal, magic, power and karma are not mere cycles of a soul, but a sacred journey upon a web of many possibilities.
The future is not set in stone and the choices that Bea makes ripple through the cosmos. As the secret unfolds she realises that no matter what form your soul takes there are consequences for one's actions in which time has no relevance – we call it karma, they call it Vororbla.
Will she cope with the heartbreak and truths before her?
What would you do if your very existence came into question?
Join Bea as she uncovers the truth of her past via A Carpet of Purple Flowers.
To something like this, perhaps?
Discover a new fantasy world with a unique love story.
'Four Souls & Three Hearts'
No-one expects to bump into supernatural beings, let alone two opposing sects of an otherworldly race. Bea’s quiet existence as a bookshop owner in SW London turns into turmoil as she starts to unravel a lost history. Reality quickly becomes blurred with folklore, and as the secrets unfold, she realises that no matter what form your soul takes, there are consequences for past actions in which time has no relevance – we call it karma, they call it Vororbla.
What would you do if your very existence came into question?
Hmm. I'm going to work on book two's.
FICTION BLURB TIPS - T K. H
Note that the goal of the blurb is NOT to summarise the book. Rather, the goals are to:
- Implicitly reveal the genre or subject. This should reinforce the message conveyed through the title and visually by the cover.
- Entice the reader to look inside.
That’s it!
Here is a fiction blurb checklist:
- Be concise. Did you say anything that was unnecessary?
- Arouse curiosity. Did you give anything away? Does it read like a summary?
- Genre. If strangers can’t read the blurb and guess the precise sub-genre or have some idea as to the content, your blurb has miserably and utterly failed to be an effective sales tool.
- Engage. You need to draw interest immediately; most customers won’t be patient and let you build things up (true of your Look Inside, too). Come out swinging with your best stuff, but also pack enough punches so that you can engage interest throughout. When you run out of punches, stop writing your blurb.
- Flow. Check that it flows well. A hiccup, such as when a reader has to stop and figure out how to correctly parse a long idea, is like stumbling on your way to the cash register.
- Spellcheck, aisle three. If you can’t get the spelling and grammar right in a hundred words or so… Look, it’s not an option. You have to get it right.
- Vocabulary. It needs to match your target audience. Words they don’t understand can scare them away (but if such words are common in the prose, you also don’t want to create false expectations).
- Research. Do your homework. Check out blurbs of successful books similar to yours.
Feedback. Ask for opinions on your blurb. Before you publish, this can help you generate buzz.
Did you know Amazon has 30,000,000 different books to choose from? Wow!
Love and light,
Trace
xoxo
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