Monday, April 2, 2012

A-Z Challenge: B - Bug


B is for Bug


Left: Bug
I first laid eyes on him when I was at boarding school. I was only thirteen years old and had never had a boyfriend. He was a couple of years older and had an air of confidence and experience about him which made the age difference seem more than that. He looked so cool, with a faded denim jacket casually worn in place of his school blazer, the top few buttons of his white shirt undone, and fashionable black boots under the school uniform trousers. He was small and skinny and I remember him staring at me, all floppy black hair and intense brown eyes looking out under enormous bushy eyebrows, like a giant hairy caterpillar crawling across his forehead. I wasn't the least surprised when he said his name was Bug.


This was a very short extract from my memoir 'Mr Right From The Start' which I am currently editing so I can send it some agents, who have actually requested the manuscript (eeeek!).

I have made a first stab at a summary. What do you think:


The hilarious, heartwarming, true story of how two High School sweethearts find each other after a 30 year separation, only discover they are living on opposite sides of the world.

Claire, forty-something, saggy-boobed, cellulite-thighed single mother of two, has not set eyes on her first boyfriend, Bug, since she unceremoniously dumped him at the age of thirteen while at boarding school in the leafy suburbs of England. Re-discovering him over 30 years later she is surprised, yet somewhat relieved, to find him living 5,000 miles away in California. But with one short, innocent email Claire reignites Bug’s love for her with such passion that he throws caution to the wind, prepared to give up everything he’s worked so hard for, to win back the love of his life. But as the childhood sweethearts hilariously encounter one obstacle after another: from volatile teenage step-daughters to over-protective sisters (who nick-name him 'The Black Deathwatch Beetle'); from humiliating shopping expeditions to buy sexy lingerie to overwhelming Immigration beaurocracy; from drunken Monty Python madness to psychotic dogs; they begin to wonder if they really were meant to be together after all.

Deathwatch Beetle
This beetle gets its name from the tapping sound it makes as a mating signal. An old superstition said this was an ominous warning of impending death.

Well - not the best nick-name for your soulmate, is it?




What unusual nickname do you have? And I would love to hear feedback about my summary.

25 comments:

  1. Sounds a very interesting concept of a bug being a soul mate. I hope things work out for them. I'll be keeping an eye on it.

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  2. Thanks Sally - Bug is kinda unusual!

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  3. haha Deathwatch Beetle, now there is a nickname to have, not sure any of mine can top that..haha...not a bad summary either, captures the readers attention, which is what you want to do.

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  4. Love the summary...I must remember to tap more...

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  5. I think this is terribly romantic! I'd love to read more!

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    1. Aw thanks. There are some early draft chapters on Scribd and I will upload revisions soon.

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  6. The only thing I would change is where you use hillariously to describe your encounters. I think it's overstating the obvious. I can't wait to read this book!

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  7. Aww! Your memoir sounds great! Love the description and the excerpt has so much voice. :)

    Cherie Reich - Author

    Surrounded by Books Reviews

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  8. I thought the summary was good. Good luck!!!

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  9. My husband calls me Sexyhoney. Not quite on par with bug, but it'll do.
    Good excerpt.

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    1. Ooh Sexyhoney is good - in fact, it's better than good!

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  10. Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it! I SO want this book!

    Let's be friends, and I'll tell you the story of how my husband and I met and reunited. lol!

    My husband calls me "Rosie", after the Maurice Sendak character Really Rosie, who responds to defeat with a resurgence of enthusiasm. :) Could be worse, eh?

    In middle school, my nickname was Merv, because I was crazy about the Merv Griffen show! ~shakes head~

    Marian Allen
    Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

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  11. Yes please - let's be friends :) I would LOVE to hear about your reunion story. Merv LOL

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  12. I would read that! keep up the good work

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  13. Fun story. And that beetle...let's just say I have a hard time with bugs.
    Nice to meet you on the challenge.

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  14. Sounds like a very interesting story! I really get into memoirs and it sounds like one I'd enjoy. Tiny bit of advice. Don't say things like 'hilarious', just give us small details that might insinuate the comedy. Nice to meet you. And thanks for following my blog. I've reciprocated! :o)

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    1. Thanks Jessica. Yes, someone else suggested that too. Great advice.

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  15. Interesting story, where did you go to school. I was in boarding school in Dorset for 6 years.

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    1. Were you? My school was in Ashtead, Surrey. Sadly closed now. We should swap stories.

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