The Elevator Pitch

Someone asked me yesterday what the book I’m working on is about. The flip answer is “80,000 words.” I don’t blame people for asking that question. It’s the natural one to ask. It just happens to be very difficult to answer. 

Think of books you’ve read. What is APrayer for Owen Meany about? What is Angleof Repose about? Could you explain, on a moment’s notice, what Nineteen Eighty-Four was about? In three sentences?

Of course, you would not be prepared to do that. As the creator of a book, perhaps I should be. Certainly I will need to invent a book blurb at some point to entice people to read the book. That is quite different from what people are looking for when they ask that difficult question, though. So, here goes.

It is a book about the origin of a tribal culture’s world view and how a nearly forgotten historical event misshaped their entire understanding about life.

Boom. Give the man a peanut.