Blog Tour de Force and My Story Pitch

January snow... and more snow... and yet more... It's pretty, but what to do if you're not a snow bunny and the -30 wind chill is slicing your cheeks and pinching your nostrils, and all you want is to stay indoors?



Why, take part in the Indie Book Collective's Blog Tour de Force, of course! Showcasing a new indie author for every day of the tour, and giving you a zillion chances to win a Kindle.


Meanwhile, Kate Kaynak is reviewing and critiquing pitches for all sorts of unpublished novels, from a wide variety of genres. Thank you, Kate! Mine'll likely be up tomorrow or the next day. Here's what I submitted:

Title: Out of the Water
Author: Deniz Bevan
Genre: Historical romance, set in 1492
Word Count: 100,000

Exiled from her Spanish homeland by the Inquisition and separated from her family as they flee their home, 18 year old Rosa must place her life in the hands of a stranger from the Ottoman Empire. Baha, estranged from his own father and returning to his homeland after ten years, is her one hope of reaching Constantinople and reuniting with her family. The fact that he's attractive and tender is an unexpected pleasure.

As they travel together, her burning drive to be reunited with her loved ones is matched by a deepening desire for the man at her side -- but all too soon they may run out of time to be together. Rosa's family will likely not accept her marriage to a man of different faith, let alone one who has been renounced by his family. Yet before she can even introduce them, their reunion is cut short by the arrest of her father and brother at the hands of the Sultan's Grand Vizier. Rosa and Baha are the only ones that can rescue them, and together prove that their love can withstand their differences.

There's a wee problem, however. I seem to be gaining words as I edit, and I'm up to 131,000. Never had this happen before...

Comments

Talli Roland said…
Wow! I'd love to gain words as I edited!

Hope you're surviving the winter freeze.
Zan Marie said…
Hi, Deniz. Good luck with the rewrite/edit. I love your query in this post. It really points up the romance angle this way. Great job! This is much more focused than before.
Lola Sharp said…
I never gain words when I edit...I hack at it with ruthless zeal.

Good luck with your editing...and the frigid temperatures. (we have an ice storm here, and snow still on the ground here, too.)

Have a delightful week.
Love,
Lola
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks Talli and Lola. It's snowing again, but warmer. As for words... I've never gained like this before. I don't know what to do! But I'll bet there's stuff in the middle of the novel that I can cut swathes out of. There better be!

Thanks, Zan Marie. I'm so glad it's starting to work...
Denise Covey said…
This is different. I'm dumping all my edits in a 'bits and pieces' file and they'll probably stay there. I'd like to gain a few!

A new Publication Party started today with author Clarissa Draper. If you can come by, you may win prizes. I'm sure you'll love to read what Clarissa has to say.

Denise :)
Hi Deniz,

Yes, your pitch critique will be up tomorrow (Wednesday). I'm really happy with the revised version you submitted.

And I have a soft spot for romances featuring attractive and tender Turks. :)

As for editing, if you want to cut the word count, search for "ly" at the end of words (adverbs) to cut, as well as dialogue tags ("he said," etc.). Eliminate as many as possible; the word count will go down and the writing will be tighter.

Hope this helps!
Tara said…
I always gain words on the edit - you know me and my lack of description the 1st go round - but by the end I usually find entire scenes that can be cut. That always evens things out ;)
Deniz Bevan said…
That's what I'm hoping for Tara - I'm sure there's some dreck down the middle somewhere...
Deniz Bevan said…
I'll be by, Denise!
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks for all your help Kate!
And oh yes, that -ly editing will come soon. As soon as I have a fully fledged draft...