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Monday, June 16, 2014

Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway for Maltipoos Are Murder by Jacqui Lane



Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, hosted by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, for Maltipoos Are Murder by Jacqui Lane.  Please leave a comment or question for Jacqui to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter below.  You can also follow the rest of her tour here, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning. 


BOILING A NOVEL DOWN TO ITS ESSENTIAL PARTS:
THE BLURB AT THE BEGINNING
Jacqueline Corcoran (the Jacqui in Jacqui Lane)
         
     One technique that people often think of as the end result when you are getting ready to query agents or publishers is creating a blurb (also called “the “blurb,” pitch,” “log-line,” “hook,” or “the premise”).  However, it is also an excellent way when you haven’t written a word yet of a story to test out its concept.  You need to know, before you start writing, that you have a big enough idea with all the fundamental elements in place that will sustain novel length.  I am teaching this in a mystery writing workshop right now, and one of the participants realized that was the reason she had so many half-finished projects – because many of them did not have enough to propel them through to the end.   

     How to write a blurb?  For movies, “the pitch” generally is only a one-liner, but novels sometimes require up to three lines (or more if your publisher asks for it).  In her blog, the Dark Salon, screenwriter and novelist Alexandra Sokoloff, has the best breakdown I’ve seen (but I also have other references below that may be helpful) with the pitch having the following elements  

  • a defined protagonist
  • a powerful antagonist
  • a sense of the setting
  • conflict and stakes
  • a sense of how the action will play out


     Here is an example from MALTIPOOS ARE MURDER:  Cara Rogers has left her enviable Washington D.C life and lobbyist boyfriend in disgrace to run her aunt’s pet spa in Virginia’s hunt country.  When she finds her aunt’s body in the pool where the dogs’ swim lessons are held, outdoorsy police detective Cole Sampson wants to rule the death an accident, but she fights him – and her growing attraction.  Can a murder investigation keep these opposites from attracting? 

This pitch has all the elements named above: 
  • a defined protagonist (suspended Veterinarian Cara Rogers)
  • a powerful antagonist (an implied murderer)
  • a sense of the setting (Middleburg, Virginia)
  • conflict and stakes (conflict is inherent in the fact that she is trying to solve a murder and the murderer doesn’t want to be discovered; there is also conflict in that she is on opposite sides of the case with the developing love interest).
  • a sense of how the action will play out (it’s a mystery and a romance, so there are certain conventions)


     What I like about this exercise is that it pushes you to define some of the main elements of your novel and ensures that it has enough going for it so that it may one day interest a publisher.  

      Again, this exercise has so much value because it not only provides the foundation for your story, it can also be used to query agents and publishers, and, once you are published, it can be used or expanded upon as your book description.  As an example of how the original blurb can be written as a book description, here is one from Amazon for MALTIPOOS ARE MURDER: 

Can a murder investigation keep these opposites from attracting?

Cara Rogers wants a fresh start after a slew of bad luck in Washington DC. Moving to Virginia to help her aunt run La Maison de Chien, a doggie spa, is just the peace of mind she needs. No stress. Just her aunt, the dogs, and wide-open country.

But when she finds Aunt Marian floating in the doggie swimming pool, the rest she so desperately needs flies out the window. The only witness to the death is Rex, an apricot maltipoo, and while he may not be able to talk, he’s communicating the only way he knows how—one paw at a time. And Rex’s clues lead to murder.

Can Cara keep the doggie spa afloat, convince Middleburg homicide detective Cole Sampson that Aunt Marian’s death was no accident, and keep Rex from the killer’s clutches before they all end up as dead as dogs?

Read More Blog Posts on This Topic:









Maltipoos Are Murder
By Jacqui Lane
Doggie Day Spa Mystery, Book 1

Publisher:  Ignite (Entangled Publishing, LLC)
Release Date: May 27, 2014
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Length: 146 Pages
ISBN:  978-1-622665-32-7
ASIN:  B00K48GVGK

Add to Goodreads

Buy Links:  Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes | ARe


About the book:

Can a murder investigation keep these opposites from attracting?

Cara Rogers wants a fresh start after a slew of bad luck in Washington DC. Moving to Virginia to help her aunt run La Maison de Chien, a doggie spa, is just the peace of mind she needs. No stress. Just her aunt, the dogs, and wide-open country.

But when she finds Aunt Marian floating in the doggie swimming pool, the rest she so desperately needs flies out the window. The only witness to the death is Rex, an apricot maltipoo, and while he may not be able to talk, he’s communicating the only way he knows how—one paw at a time. And Rex’s clues lead to murder.

Can Cara keep the doggie spa afloat, convince Middleburg homicide detective Cole Sampson that Aunt Marian’s death was no accident, and keep Rex from the killer’s clutches before they all end up as dead as dogs?


About This Author

Jacqueline Corcoran and Lane Stone have teamed up to write about some of their favorite topics – dogs, mysteries, and Middleburg, Virginia, which is known as the nation’s horse and hunt capital.  MALTIPOOS ARE MURDER is the first in their doggie day spa romantic suspense series.

Jacqueline Corcoran lives in Arlington, Virginia with her rescue animals, husband, and two children. She holds a Ph.D. in social work and is on faculty at the Virginia Commonwealth University. She has published numerous professional academic articles and fourteen books in her field.  Her mysteries include Maiming of the Shrew (Cozy Cat Press), A Month of Sundays(Whimsical Publications), Backlit (Etopia Press), and Memoir of Death (Etopia Press).  See her website at http://www.jacquelinecorcoran.com/

Lane Stone and her husband, Larry Korb, divide their time between Sugar Hill, Georgia and Alexandria, Virginia.  She’s the author of the Tiara Investigations Mystery series.  When not writing, she’s usually playing golf.   Her volunteer work includes raising money for women political candidates and conducting home visits for A Forever Home, a dog foster organization.  She is on the Political Science Advisory Board for Georgia State University, and she serves on Sugar Hill’s 75th Anniversary Planning Committee. 






Tour Schedule
June 9 –   deal sharing aunt – Interview
June 10 – Community Bookstop – Review
June 11 – Melina’s Book Blog - Review, Guest Post
June 12 – Kelly P’s Blog – Interview
June 13 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – Guest Post
June 14 – readalot blog – Review
June 15 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Interview
June 16 – Queen of All She Reads – Guest Post
June16 –  Darla King Series – Review
June 17 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – Review
June 18 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review
June 19 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review
June 20 – Latte Da – Guest Post
June 21 – Brooke Blogs – Guest Post

2 comments:

  1. This sounds like an awesome book! Thank you for this opportunity! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for the awesome giveaway!! :)

    ReplyDelete