My Novel Described
My new novel, A Place of Meadows and Tall Trees, has now got a product description on Amazon.com:
"Impoverished and oppressed, they'd been promised paradise on earth: a land flowing with milk and honey. But what the settlers found after a devastating sea journey was a cold South American desert where nothing could survive except tribes of nomadic Tehuelche Indians, possibly intent on massacring them. Silas James fears he has been tricked into sacrificing everything he loves for another man's impossible dream. But despite his hatred of the politically adept Edwyn Owen, and under the watchful eye of Indian shaman Yelue, a new culture takes root as an old one passes away. A Place of Meadows and Tall Trees is a lyrical and insightful evocation of the trials of the first Welsh Patagonian colonists as they battle to survive hunger, loss, and each other."It is presumably written by my editor, Penny Thomas, and I am pleased with it. I think it is concise, accurate and (of course) positive.
posted by Clare Dudman at 11:59 pm
6 Comments:
Excellent! I like the "possibly intent on massacring them." That "possibly" makes all the difference, I should think.
Yes! Exactly, Debra - it conveys just the right amount of threat.
Congratulations, Clare! I went to Amazon.co.uk first, and although you can already pre-order the book there (which you can't on Amazon.com yet), the product description isn't there on .co.uk although it is on .com. Might be a good idea to get it on .co.uk as well? Anyway, I for one am really looking forward to reading it!
Hi, Clare - Do you prefer having someone else write product descriptions for your books, rather than you having to do it? I should think the objective perspective would be helpful to the author.
Thank you, Maxine - that's really kind.
I agree it would be good on Amazon.co.uk too, I expect it will very soon. They seem to be a couple of days behind their American colleagues for some reason.
Mary: I think summing up a book is surprisingly difficult, and getting the balance right - making it both enticing and accurate - is quite a skill. I think what is essential to avoid is disappointing a reader and claiming something that's untrue. I think I would rather have a restrained description than one filled with too much hyperbole.
In answer to your question I think this is often better done by someone else - for instance I would feel a little embarrassed to find myself describing my book in complimentary terms.
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