It’s no easy task to write an enticing book cover blurb. I’ve always believed that my first responsibility as a writer is to attempt to fulfill the expectations of readers each time I write a romantic suspense novel. It follows then that an enticing cover blurb is my solemn promise to readers that they will, in fact, discover within my books the stories I’ve promised to give to them. So, yes, I am writing an enticement, but it must be a truthful enticement.
Boiled down to its true purposes, a book cover blurb accomplishes two things. It provides the reader with a verbal snapshot of the essence of an entire story, and it entices that reader to sample the opening pages of the novel prior to making the purchase.
What really prompted me to blog on this topic? I’ve heard from a broad cross-section of readers in recent months – readers from my past and new readers from the present. To be honest, I’m amazed by the sheer volume of the correspondence, and I’m dazzled and grateful for their praise and the warmth of their welcome. Stay with me here, though, because there’s a downside …
One email in particular from a first-time reader illustrated an underlying note of frustration expressed by several readers, and that’s what I want to share with you. The reader wrote, in part, “ … and thank you for your accurate summaries of your books. My pet peeve is being misled by a writer, and it happens over and over again with e-books. When a writer promises a certain kind of book, I expect that promise to be kept … let me know when your next book will come out … ”
Her words are now etched permanently into my brain. It is my firm belief that all writers should heed her words. Simply put: if we disappoint our readers, why should they buy our books? Once burned, twice shy??? We count on those loyal readers, because they appreciate our hard work and they help us to build and sustain our writing careers.
Now for the fun part … the real key to writing book cover blurbs is to begin with the broad landscape of the story, and to condense, condense, and then condense some more. Ask yourself the following questions: What are the most important points of the story? Why would those points interest a reader? Is there a specific genre language base I can employ to entice my potential readership demographic without the use of clichés? Once you’ve dealt with the preceding, write it all down. You may end up with one or more pages of text. Not to worry. Condense, and keep condensing until you’ve synthesized your book into one or two essence-capturing paragraphs.
Trust me when I tell you that my learning curve has been steep. Like many writers, my roots are in the traditional publishing world. It is challenging to capture the essence of a novel in one or two paragraphs! Prior versions of my books contained cover blurbs written by some of the legends in the publishing world. At the time, I didn’t understand the skill they brought to the table. I do now!
The following are the book cover blurbs for FALLEN ANGEL, DESERT ROSE, and MIDNIGHT STORM, Special Author’s Cut Updated Edition of novels originally published as Bantam Loveswepts. I must share the credit for these book cover blurbs, because they resulted from a successful collaborative effort with my new publisher, Blue Jay Media Group.
FALLEN ANGEL
Geneva Talmadge makes it a habit to thwart the advances of any man who approaches her. Why? The simple answer: she was once an expert bomb-maker for the Central Intelligence Agency. The not so simple answer: if she gives her heart to a man, she fears that he will reject her if he learns the truth about her past in the shadowy world of covert ops.
When attorney Thomas Coltrane returns to his Northern Nevada roots in search of a simpler lifestyle, he refuses to be held at bay by the beautiful, hearing impaired, and all too skittish Geneva. He is a man accustomed to success – in the courtroom and in the bedroom. So begins Thomas Coltrane’s relentlessly sensual pursuit of the alluring Geneva Talmadge. In a love story that melds powerful emotion and sizzling passions, two world-weary souls risk their hearts in the ultimate mating dance.
(Note: the preceding started out as 5 pages of text – 3 full rounds of editing resulted in the book cover blurb you’ve just read for Fallen Angel.)
DESERT ROSE
The secret police of a renegade Middle East nation holds two politically sensitive prisoners separate from the others … Marine Corps aviator David Winslow and humanitarian relief worker Emma Hamilton are the sole inmates of a special cellblock. They bond emotionally and sensually, despite being housed in separate cells, as they endure interrogations, torture, and the constant threat of death. When fate unexpectedly liberates them from the prison compound, their dash for freedom includes the seductive culmination of weeks of emotional foreplay. But once they flee the country, David doubts Emma’s certainty that she is in love with him. He fears that she feels only gratitude.
(Note: the Desert Rose book cover blurb took so many rounds of back and forth editing, I stopped counting!)
MIDNIGHT STORM
Even though Jessica Cleary loved Marine Corps pilot Devlin MacKenzie, she cancelled their wedding. That was ten years ago. She still loves the bold jet jockey, but she remains haunted by the loss of her aviator father during an earlier war. After being shot down and rescued in the Middle East, Devlin turns up without warning at Jessica’s bed and breakfast inn under the guise of needing a place to recover from his injuries and avoid the media, thus setting in motion a deeply sensual rekindling of a love never completely abandoned. And while a tornado threatens to destroy the lakefront bed and breakfast inn to which Jessica has devoted herself, Devlin MacKenzie threatens to shatter her emotional resistance to him with a scorching seduction and the promise of a shared future.
(Note: the Midnight Storm cover blurb literally wrote itself – a rare and priceless event! I hope there are a few more of those in my future.)
If you’re looking for additional examples of enticing book cover blurbs, check out authors such as Cynthia Wright, Patricia Rice, Rebecca Sinclair, Peggy Webb, Judith Arnold, E.B. Walters, Mary Tate Engels, Angela K. Roe, and Eve Gaddy. These writers have it goin’ on!
Hope you’re all doing well. As always, I welcome your feedback. You’ll find me on Facebook, Google +, and Twitter, so stop in and say hi. For my part, I shall continue to entice with accuracy, honesty, and brevity! Hugs all around . . . Laura
Postscript: FALLEN ANGEL, DESERT ROSE, and MIDNIGHT STORM can be found at Amazon Kindle Store, B&N Nook Store, Apple iBookstore, and at Smashwords. A fourth romantic suspense novel, INTIMATE STRANGERS, is my free gift and heartfelt thank you to readers – you’ll find it on Smashwords, at the Apple iBookstore, and on this blog page. And if you have time, please consider leaving a book review.
