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Hello everyone! Thank you for visiting! Today I'm participating in Victoria Danann's Blog Tour for her Novels, My Familiar Stranger & The Witch's Dream! You will read a Guest Post by the Author, and there's a Giveaway, so read the Question below, answer it, and you could win! And, I was going to Review these Two Novels, but that will be posted here later, so look out for that soon! :)
Guest Post
BLURBS
by Victoria Danann
If blurbs were herbs, they'd be called Authors
Bane. A blurb is a short description of a book. It's distinguished from an
actual "book description" by length. It's basically a paragraph.
Smashwords allows 386 characters. Sounds sufficient to describe a 113,000 words
book?
If you're a reader you take these mini-synopses
(Yes. I had to look up the plural of synopsis.) for granted, just as authors
did before we became authors. It looks easy. A ten minute task at most. Four
months and a hundred revisions later, I'm still tearing my hair out.
You say: "Come on. How hard could it be?
Has anyone ever called you melodramatic?"
I say: "Well, yes. They have. But that's
not relevant to this discussion. Really!"
I would much rather write a full length novel
than try to compose a blurb. Trying to pare that 113,000 words down to 75 is
not just hard, it's torture. It's cruel, I tell you. The short description that
I currently use for My Familiar Stranger
follows. This is the best I can do while avoiding spoilers.
"Minutes
ahead of inevitable assassination, Elora Laiken is forcibly transported to an
alternate dimension similar, but not identical, to her own. She is stranded.
Alone. Far from home. A stranger in a "strangish" land.
Of course a girl could suffer worse problems than having gorgeous suitors.
Perhaps more importantly, in the midst of an epidemic of vampire related
abductions, can she stay alive long enough to choose between an honor debt,
true love, or the breathlessness of single-minded passion?"
I can't tell you how often reviews will say
something to the effect of "don't pay too much attention to the
description". See, the problem is that I wanted to create something that
hadn't been done before, something that defies both formula and genre
categorizing. I succeeded at that, but, it turns out that, like everything else
in the universe, that comes with two sides. The good news is that it's
different. The bad news is that the difference throws a wrench into the way the
industry is set up to market books.
The second book in the series, The Witch's Dream, is due to release
October 14th and the problem has expanded. It's snowballing. Here's what I've
got so far...
"From New York to Ireland to
Edinburgh to Siena to the Texas Hill Country to Napa Valley, a witch, a demon,
a psychic, a berserker, an ex-vampire, modern day knights, heroes, werewolves,
elves and fae come together where emotions intersect. The story maps a trail
from rages to hunts to epiphanies, but, in the end, proves that true love can
find you in the strangest places, when you're least expecting it, even when
you're far, far from home."
See what I mean? There's no way to give a SHORT
description of this book without having it sound stupid or juvenile or both
which leaves me standing here as usual saying, "But it's not! I
swear!"
My
Familiar Stranger, By Victoria Danann
The Order of the Black Swan, BOOK ONE
77 FIVE STAR reviews on Amazon (10/01/12)
Genre: Paranormal ROMANCE
Publisher: 7th House
Date of Publication: April 21,
2012 ebook ISBN: 978-1-933320-49-6 WORDS 113,000
Date of Publication: August 31,
2012 print
ISBN: 193332077X
PAGES 328 (5x8 paperback)
Book Description:
A secret society, hot
guys, and vampires come together for a once in a lifetime adventure and a once
in a lifetime opportunity proving that true love can find you in the strangest
places, even far, far from home.
Minutes ahead of inevitable assassination, Elora Laiken is forcibly transported
to an alternate dimension similar, but not identical, to her own.
Of course a girl could suffer worse problems than having gorgeous suitors.
Perhaps more importantly, in the midst of an epidemic of vampire related
abductions, can she stay alive long enough to choose between an honor debt,
true love, or the breathlessness of single-minded passion?
My Familiar Stranger is a full length, stand alone, Paranormal Romance novel
that also sets up the foundation for the Black Swan series. It is loved by fans
of paranormal romance, fantasy romance, and urban fantasy.
Erotic
quotient: A few steamy scenes. No menage. No BDSM.
The
Witch's Dream, By Victoria Danann
The Order of the Black Swan #2
Genre: Paranormal ROMANCE
Publisher: 7th House
Release Date: October 14, 2012
ebook ISBN: 978-1-933320-56-4
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/177745
(Amazon ASIN tba 10/06/12) WORDS: 100,000
print ISBN: 978-1-933320-63-2
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/tags-on-product/193332063X/
(available 10/06/12) PAGES: 298 (5x 8 paperback)
BOOK DESCRIPTION: For maximum enjoyment, read the series in
order.
He was left behind when Elora Laiken
made her choice. Now he’s had it with love, but a transplanted witch who
happens to be the world’s best tracker hopes she can change his mind.
The Witch’s Dream begins with B Team on loan for
temporary assignment to Black Swan headquarters in Edinburgh where they are
supposed to fill in for stretched-thin resources and assist with a werewolf
issue. They’ve been given permission to stop in Ireland for a few days and help
Ram and Elora celebrate their handfasting at the palace in Derry.
When they reach Edinburgh, the
afterglow of an elftale wedding quickly turns all business. A missing person
report turns into a demon abduction. A simple werewolf sanction becomes a
diplomatic issue requiring the one thing Elora is no longer willing to give -
finesse. From New York to Ireland to Edinburgh to Siena to the Texas Hill
Country to Napa Valley. From promises to rages to hunts to epiphanies.
This is a story that proves true love
can find you when you’re least expecting it – even when you’re far, far from
home.
Erotic quotient: A few steamy
scenes. No menage. No BDSM.
About The Author
For the
past thirteen years, Victoria has illustrated and authored Seasons of the Witch calendars and planners.
Though works of fiction are a departure for her, she
has had this series simmering on the back burner of her mind for years. In
addition to authoring and illustrating Seasons
of the Witch, she plays rock music and manages one of Houston's premier
R&B/ Variety/ Pop bands.
This
series will eventually include some of my actual experience in the paranormal
with fictionalized anecdotes from my journals during the years when I was a
practicing "metaphysician", but most of the material is fantasy - of
course.
WEBSITE: http://www.VictoriaDanann.com
TWITTER: @vdanann
*Giveaway Question*
“Since the ancient Greeks, and probably since we became sentient, men have been asking the question, ‘What do women want?’ I think I know what the answer is – at least for a lot of us - and it’s related to why Paranormal Romance is so popular with women and so satisfying to the core in a way no other genre can be. Before I began writing for this audience, I read about two hundred PNR books and realized that there is one element common to almost all and that it can only be expressed in a fantasy world. Can you guess what it is?” (NOTE: You don’t have to match my answer to win. I’m always interested to hear what other PNR fans think.)
The prize is a free download of M.F.S. with Smashwords coupon. Anyone who gives a thoughtful answer wins.
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