Cast Into the Deep Sea of Stars, my work-in-progress



© 2014 Lisa A. Nicholas
A DIY cover mock-up
I created for my beta readers
I've taken a long holiday from blogging while I labored over draft 3 of my science fiction novel, Cast into the Deep Sea of Stars, which I'll be publishing under the pen name Kit Pascoe. I've sent the draft out to beta readers, played around with cover concepts (the accompanying illustration is my own, which will NOT be the cover of the published work). And I've been reading other writers' work for inspiration, so I'll have some things to discuss with you as soon as I get a chance. (I'm working on the second half of my review of the Kindle sample for John Scalzi's Old Man's War.)

Today I thought I would show you my first serious attempt to come up with a back cover blurb for the book. For guidance, I used "4 Easy Steps To An Irresistible Book Blurb," which I found over on the Digital Book World site. It's the best, most straightforward advice on blurbing that I have found. This article suggests the four-part format: Situation, Problem, Hopeful Possibility, and Mood.

When you look at my blurb, you'll see that I haven't yet come up with the fourth part, which describes the "mood" of the story.  I'll have to give "mood" some more thought before I decide what (if anything) to say about that. I think the blurb works pretty well without it, but I would love to get your thoughts, so please leave comments.

Here's draft 1, both a single-sentence blurb, and a back cover blurb. Would either of these make you want to take a look at the book? Tell me why or why not.

One sentence teaser

When her first job on a planetary survey vessel goes belly up, Kate Malone finds her life and love threatened as she is swept into a vortex of events beyond her ken or control.

Back cover blurb

Kate Malone is beginning to wonder if she made a mistake in leaving her home on Old Earth to join a three-year planetary survey mission on the other side of the galaxy. Her boss, the senior biologist on the team, seems to delight in tormenting her, and her fellow junior officers love to sneer at “the little princess from the museum planet.” The only good thing that has happened to her since she joined the R J Boscovich was meeting Perry Auslander, a fellow misfit who quickly becomes her constant companion and adoring admirer.

But just when she thinks her budding relationship with Perry might make the whole experience worthwhile, their growing bond is put to a severe test when the mission is cancelled, and personal tragedy throws her life into turmoil. Abandoned on a remote space station, cut off from everything and everyone she has ever known or loved, pursued by mysterious, malevolent strangers, Kate must grapple with a harsh truth: she can never go home again.

Rocked by stunning revelations about her loved ones and her own life, Kate must cast herself into the deep sea of her troubles and trust providence to steer her toward allies who can help her regain control of her life and chart a course for the future. Only in this way can she weather the storms of circumstance and destiny that threaten to overwhelm her. 
What do you think? What tweaks would make you want to pick up this book and start reading? Let me know in the comment box!



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