Double dare - Book blurb Friday #42

Henrietta Haverthwaite, expelled from her expensive boarding school, wangles her way into  Archie Demijohn’s  heart and his father’s good books by seemingly galvanising him into doing some work, for a change.  

But no sooner does he earn his first £1million than she gets restless and dares him to chuck it all in and move to the States to earn a living following his dream of becoming a photographer.  

Appalled, Archie’s father – who fancies Henrietta more than a little himself – challenges her to earn $1million, and promises to double it if she manages it within six months.

Henrietta has several ideas of how to ensure that she doubles her money, some more above board than others, but which will be the most successful, and will Archie approve of her methods, not to mention his father?

Week #42’s response to Lisa Ricard Claro’s Book Blurb Friday challenge and Christina Claro's challenging photograph. Each week Lisa posts a photograph which represents a book cover.   Participants are challenged to “Write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that potential readers would feel compelled to buy the book”  http://www.writinginthebuff.net/p/book-blurb-friday.html

Just over a year ago

This was the scene outside my house in November last year - lovely though it looks, I'm glad it's not like this now.

Flight and pursuit - BBF#41

 

Rebecca was politically ambitious, verging on ruthless
Paul only wanted a family
In the first flush of love she acceded
But when bright opportunity competed with the dirty insistence of motherhood
a nanny was too hastily employed, credentials insufficiently verified.
When nanny and child disappeared, it was Paul who gave up his job to give chase.
Until a ransom note insisted that the child, now in Italy, only be handed to Rebecca
in the week of the general election.
Husband and grandparents argued for family
Party and constituency threatened to howl for her blood should she go
While the police pondered motive, veracity, suspecting a set-up.
Rebecca was torn

Week #41’s response to Lisa Ricard Claro’s Book Blurb Friday challenge and Ashley Ortiz inspirational photograph. Each week Lisa posts a photograph which represents a book cover.   Participants are challenged to “Write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that potential readers would feel compelled to buy the book”  http://www.writinginthebuff.net/p/book-blurb-friday.html

More about book covers

 An article in Saturday's Telegraph Review section led me to Google Suzanne Dean - the book designer cited by Julian Barnes in his Man Booker Prize acceptance speech.   It is an ever-fascinating topic to me, not so much at the high class, thing of beauty end (although I appreciate that) but how well books which appeal to me actully signal that fact in their cover.
Links for more about Suzanne Dean and book design are at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8929045/Suzanne-Dean-the-secret-to-a-good-book-cover.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/dec/02/beautiful-book-covers?newsfeed=true

An experience from my childhood:  a cheap edition (Dean) of a classic story in which one character calls herself 'George' - depicted in the line drawing as a blazer-clad schoolboy with cap. (And having Googled this I find it was a Famous Five, which I read very few of, my father disapproving - the book itself I threw away in disgust.)

Not Wanted [7] - today's favourite version - and [8]

I have to say I prefer these to the one posted in October ... but there'll doubtless be several more

This has a slightly out-dated feel to it in some ways;  has the look of books my father, a librarian, used to bring home, when book covers had more appeal than their content. I'd have been around eleven at the time ...maybe, but cannot find an example of what I'm remembering in my copy of 'Front Cover'(Alan Powers) 

Apple and serpent - not working on 'Voyage'

Some more displacement activity while I wait for the words to start flowing again - I have the mysteries of Ian to reveal and the supposedly nightmare-ending rendezvous for Sarah to work out.

In the meantime I thought about an alternative cover design for my NaNo novel and fancied re-using the apple and serpent images created for a screenprint some half a dozen years ago.   I spent a good three hours playing with multiple Photoshop layers to achieve the best possible colour combination.
But my original idea - of a couple of columns of this motif, an outline ship - just did not gel, so I scrapped the lot.

Not a disaster - it allows me to play again another day.

Strangled up in blue - BBF#40

Stockholm’s Triangle Bar, on the eve of the Baltic Triangle, a yacht race to Helsinki via Riga run in never-ending daylight.

Surveying the crowd Georgia Simmond knew this year’s event contained more than the usual number of triangles, but not that it would end in tragedy.   Her affair with Erlend Olofson had begun in the dark depths of winter, after learning of her errant spouse’s affair with her one-time best friend Ingrid Borgsdottir.   Ingrid’s motives had been ulterior, her intention being to distract and thus sabotage Toby’s chances, but her husband’s affair with the wife of Finnish champion Per Alstrand divided her loyalties.

When, at Riga, midway through the race, the nubile body of Anita, Per’s teenage daughter was discovered, strangled, in an alley, at the same time as members from the British, the American and the Danish crews disappeared, questions were asked about more than basic navigation. 

[189 words]

Week #40’s response to Lisa Ricard Claro’s Book Blurb Friday challenge which, having provided the photograph and having finished NaNo (though not the book) I could not resist.  But for evidence that I could not have started this year’s NaNo without BBF see my blogpost from last Wednesady.

Each week Lisa posts a photograph which represents a book cover.   Participants are challenged to “Write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that potential readers would feel compelled to buy the book”