Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Beverly, Draft 3

And now, draft 3 of Beverly is finished! The last few weeks have gone quite smoothly overall with lots of editing and re-reading and a little research. Sending it to friends to proof-read draws a real line under the work and stops me from tweaking here and there. I'll be going back to polish off a final draft in December, with my fresh perspective plus friends' feedback.

In the meantime, I can't promise to leave it alone entirely. I'll be thinking about the synopsis and blurb and already I find myself saving draft text messages with thoughts. 


For now, here's the first draft of the blurb. Please don't judge a book by it's initial blurb! This is just a starting point. As with Orla's Code, I'll probably change it about a million times before I'm happy.


Beverly has made her life manageable. Her best friend and flatmate, Ella, answers the phone, answers the door and introduces Beverly at parties. She could be jealous of Ella's gregarious charm and the spotlight she lives under, except her long-term boyfriend Roland provides romance and security and means she never has to face the dating scene. She works from home and only 
corresponds by email because she has a bad stutter.

We join Beverly's story six months after Roland has broken it off. Ella has been her rock more than ever but on this regular Sunday morning, as they dissect the night before, Ella confesses that Roland has asked her on a date and she intends to say yes. Beverly is ready to end their friendship. But shortly after, she is faced with a bigger dilemma: she has to do a presentation at Work or lose her job. Now she needs Ella's help more than ever...

Thoughts and comments are of course welcome.