On this blog every Tuesday and Friday I write about story techniques, structure, and/or publishing. Comments and questions are welcome. I also have a personal blog, Amy Deardon, on which I write about a variety of topics purely as they catch my fancy.

I've written one novel, A Lever Long Enough, that I'm honored to say has won two awards. In my life BC (before children) I was a scientist who did bench research.

My book, The Story Template: Conquer Writer's Block Using the Universal Structure of Story, is now available in both hard-copy and e-book formats. I also coach would-be novelists and screenwriters to develop their story. YOU CAN CONTACT ME at amydeardon at yahoo dot com.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Sample Pitch: DRACULA

DRACULA: (212 words)

An unlikely group of professionals and friends discovers a mythical evil that is surprisingly real and determined to infiltrate 1900s England.

A young English solicitor, Jonathan Harker, travels to Eastern Europe to do business with a Transylvanian noble. Although the local people urge Harker not to proceed, and one woman even hangs a crucifix about his neck, he enters the mysterious castle of Count Dracula. Soon he learns his host climbs walls like a bat, has no reflection in a mirror, and will not let him go. Three dreamlike women hunt him and almost steal his soul; he fears he will go mad.

Harker escapes to England and rejoins his five friends, only to find the dear friend of his fiancée dying from a mysterious wasting illness. A learned professor, Van Helsing, recognizes the unusual symptoms. Further educated by Harker's observations of his terrifying ordeal, Van Helsing leads the hunt to extinguish the vampire Dracula before the Count can wreak more damage. Dracula has more influence and cunning than expected, though, and soon establishes a strong presence in England. As the group of friends helplessly watch, Harker's fiancée falls ill with the same symptoms that killed her friend. Can the small band of vampire hunters stake Dracula before he kills them all?

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