Writing book descriptions is challenging

It's no secret among authors that writing book descriptions is challenging. Extremely challenging. It's easy to assume that after spending months or years working on a novel, writing a short description of the book would be a snap. That may be for some authors, but it's not true for me, nor is it true for any of my writing buddies.

I threw an initial description together some time ago but knew I needed to improve it and expand it a bit. But I was stuck. I had no good ideas. Then it occurred to me to just write a series of statements—not a book description, just basically a list of things I knew about the book. I made no effort to string them together in a logical or artful way.

That list freed up my mind, allowing me to get going on the description again. The current description in progress draws from the list, as well as from the last description I did. I'm going to paste it in here, because sharing my work is progress is one of the things I like to do on this blog. I think it's valuable and fun to share the process and receive feedback along the way. So here it is:

Book cover for The Kiminee Dream — the cover is a work in progress, too!

The Kiminee Dream, description in progress

Odd things happen in Kiminee, Illinois. Lilacs bloom in winter. Pigs play kick the can. Gravel glows golden on occasion. So when Carly Mae Foley is born with extraordinary gifts, the community takes her brilliance in stride. Life goes on much like it does in any small town. But when a fearsome twister tears through, Carly Mae is maimed, dashing everyone’s hopes for her future. Her father is swept up and away and, after fruitless searches, assumed dead. And her mother slinks out of town after creeping, naked, with her lover from the remains of a ruined home. It is up to Carly Mae’s grandmother to hold what’s left of the family together.

Support comes from a cast of quirky, contrary characters who love Carly Mae as their own. But when further heartbreak hits, long-held secrets surface, revealing confounding connections and animosities that test the entire community’s mettle. In a place where forces beyond everyday reality both help and hinder, will these people rise above their differences, accept what can never be and embrace big dreams anew?

What do you think?