Writing a novel is hard. Writing a book description is even harder. Let’s take a look at an example and see what we can learn!
I usually go through the description in a linear fashion, but it looks to me as though Lynn is employing an interesting technique that nudges me to try a different tactic for this essay. Look what she’s doing here:
- “When fire creates the perfect disaster…”
- “…causes her to change Samantha Ellison’s life forever.”
- “…people start looking for answers.”
- “…only a matter of time before he uncovers the truth.”
- “…whether he discovers Willow’s secrets in time…”
Lynn is making use of the rhetoric of mystery. She’s proposing a lot of questions. It’s hard to condense a whole book into a 200-word description; perhaps the author gets a lot of mileage out of simply stoking our curiosity. While we don’t get a ton of specifics–I’m wondering who Samantha Ellison is, for example–the reader is told very clearly that there will be a lot of suspense in the book. There are many questions to be answered!
It’s a small and silly note, but I love the approximate symmetry of the name “Willow.” There’s a pleasing tone to the “w” sounds and the vowel-“l” sounds between them.
Something I might change: Like most other people, I am saddened by Alzheimer’s and the pain that it causes to victims and their families. While I am not caught up on every detail of the current research, I don’t believe that scientists are near a cure. As a result, I wonder about the genre of the book. If Willow is looking for a cure and finds a candidate, is this science fiction? Fantasy of some kind?
What would make me click “purchase?” The author has something of a hook in describing the deterioration of Willow’s father. There’s definitely a discernible arc in such a condition, with fits and starts, good days and bad. It might be interesting to see how Lynn depicts these changes in prose.
It also bears mentioning that Mandi Lynn is a very interesting member of the writing community. In addition to her writing, she is also a prolific YouTuber who has lots of good information for all of us. Take a look at ! Here’s a recent videos of her that I liked. (And to which I related!)
Check out the author’s web site and read her book!
