The Dreaded Book Description - Am I the Only One Who Just Can't Get This Done?

You would think after writing a novel, even a short one, that a 250-word book description would be a breeze. But you’d be wrong. For some reason, it’s harder to come up with a good description than just about anything else I've written..
 
Now that my new novel - The Call House - is ready to be released, and by ready I mean it’s got a great cover by Al Pranke at amp13; it’s been given a good read through by my favorite editor Lorraine Fico-White at Magnifico Manuscripts (I did make changes after she saw it so any mistakes are my fault); and; John Low at eBook launch has done a great job on the interior. All that’s left is to upload and launch.

Except.

I still have to write that pesky book description.


I’ve read all the good advice, especially by Bryan Cohen, the book description guru. I know it needs a good headline, And followed Joan Reeves advice about taglines and loglines. 

It’s got to have punch and appeal to your emotions.

But here’s the thing.

The Call House is based on a true story. A series of events that happened in Washington, DC, in the early 1940s.  That’s where it started. Then I invented characters and scenes. Dialogue and events.  In other words, it’s a work of fiction.

The book is really about Washington, DC, before World War II. The city itself. How somehow it manages to change people in subtle ways. It’s not like high-energy New York. Or laid-back LA. You don’t even realize it until you notice that you’re paying more attention to the news, politics seem to matter, lust for power takes the place of sexual desire. You get the idea.

So that’s the backdrop and in a way the main character.

But then there’s the young woman Mattie from Tennessee who’s looking for adventure. And the idealistic congressman from Michigan. And the young policeman who’d rather be in college. All caught up in a town that’s in transition.

And what about the head of the DC Police vice squad? The head of the FBI? The head of the District Committee in the House? Where do they fit in. We’re talking 250 words.

Plus, it’s not really historical fiction. Only it sort of is.
And it’s not really romance. Only it sort of is that, too.
And it’s got hopes of being literary fiction, only it’s a little too quirky.
You see my problem?
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If you’ve been there and figured out how to solve this, I’d love to hear from you.
 

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