Yesterday afternoon and then later at night, I started working on my upcoming pitch to an agent next weekend. One of the RWA chapters I belong to has invited two agents to come in and speak and then allowed their members to sign up for individual appointments. Great opportunity, right?

Well I’m having some trouble. It wasn’t until I’d turned the computer off last night that I realized that what I’d been working on was more suited to a back-of-the-book blurb. And while that’s great, it’s not really what I need. I need something that’s going to cover maybe 3-4 minutes of the 6-7 we have with the agent. I figure I need to leave some time for introductions, pleasantries, and questions.

Some advice I was given (which I thought seemed reasonable) was: write up one index card for ‘her’, one for ‘him’, and one for the situation. Trouble is, the book is more of a chick-lit style coming of age sort of story, so ‘he’ doesn’t factor in nearly as much as ‘she’ does.

Plus, I’m writing the back of the book blurb to flow well–I’m using long sentences, clauses, etc. But I don’t talk like that, and I don’t want to read the cards, so I’m sort of starting from scratch today.

Anybody done this before? Any thoughts, advice? It would be GREATLY appreciated.

1. The sunny, windy days with low humidity

2. The smell of the breeze, the grass, the spring flowers

3. Visits to Home Depot to load up with flats of annuals

4. Texas Bluebonnets

5. Putting away the winter clothes, pulling out capris and skirts and t-shirts. (I don’t wear skirts much in the winter–too cold!)

6. Coloring Easter eggs and hiding them.

7. Easter Sunday…pretty spring dresses and handsome duds for the little boys

8. Tiny Jellybird Eggs and Cadbury Creme Eggs

9. The color of spring clothes…geranium, coral, butter yellow (or lemon), lime, periwinkle, lavender.

10. Outdoor activities, trips to the park

11. Spring Break! This year we’re going to San Diego!

12. The Ten Commandments…We watch it every year.

13. Mother’s Day, a very sweet holiday that I appreciate much more now that I’m a mom.

No one actually officially tagged me, but I took the idea from SciFiChick.

1. YOUR REAL NAME:
Alyssa

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first three letters of your name, plus izzle)
Alyzzle. Sounds like a slurred ‘a little’

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three of your last)
Agoo. Being in the middle of the cold season…yuck.

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and fav animal)
Red Penguin

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, Street you live on):
Kate Winding Springs. Maybe I’m playing a Native American…

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom’s maiden name)
Gooal Arm. Sounds like a soccer foul.

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (favorite color, favorite drink)
Red Izze. That could be my Gangsta name… I would have put Coke, but I’m not supposed to be drinking it…and cocoa is seasonal.

8. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of your dad’s middle name, 1st letter of a sibling’s first name, last letter of your moms middle name)
Loergke. Huh.

9. YOUR STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/body spray)
Happy. Hahahahaha

10. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father’s middle name)
Anne Eugene. Don’t like it.

I’m tagging Stacy, Sara (come on, Sara, you can’t pass this one up…), and Beck