Thursday, December 29, 2005

Cover Copy Caper ReCap

Update: The winners have been posted and my name isn't there. But it was still fun to play! A few days ago I mentioned the SBTB Spam Cover Copy Contest. I'd hoped they'd post the winners by this morning (although I do not have high hopes of my name making the list!), but I just checked and alas, no joy. BUT, even though the winners aren't posted yet, the voting deadline has passed, so I will now come clean about which anonymous entry is mine, since no one who tried in comments ever guessed it. I wrote entry #10: "Sweet Shining Daemon". The Spam phrases that I was inspired by and/or incorporated into my entry were: "savage be abstinent on damnation", "be talk of shining daemon", and "venial sylph" (that last one being from my own inbox rather than part of the supplied list of Spam phrases). To refresh your memory (or for those who weren't brave enough to go look in the first place! HA!) here's what I wrote. (Keep in mind the contest was to write a parody of the back cover copy of a romance novel!):
"Sweet Shining Daemon" Ravishingly beautiful Virginia Vickers, the innocent daughter of Vicar Victor Vickers, was untouched until the night she walked into a moonlit glade and lost her heart to a man like none she'd ever seen before. His name was Damon. Half-human, half-daemon, he had the face of an angel and a body made for sin. He fit into neither the world of men, nor of daemons, and he thought he would never know love until he looked into Virginia's shining eyes and knew she could be his salvation. They shared one passionate kiss, and as Virginia felt their hearts beat as one, she was ready to sacrifice her innocence upon the altar of his mighty thews. Then suddenly he disappeared from her arms, sucked into the depths of hell, where only the magic of Virginia's virginity can save him from his daemon father's curse. Will he fall under the spell of a venial sylph in the pits of hell, betraying Virginia and utterly destroying their chance for happiness? Or will her savage be abstinent on damnation, allowing Virginia to raise him to rapturous heights and forever make him her Sweet Shining Daemon?
Doesn't that just make you want to weep? Heh. I just wanted to mention that one person did, in fact, immediately guess correctly which one I wrote - my sister, Sandy! (Who is feeling much better. Yay!) Here's the email I got from her this past Monday: OK, is yours #10 "Sweet Shining Daemon"”? Me: YES!! You are the ONLY person to have guessed correctly!! Her: I knew it!! I read them all and that was the only one that sounded like you!! ; ) Very Buffy! And it was a perfect parody of the back of a romance novel. Down to ending the last sentence with the title of the book! Perfect touch!! That made me smile because she picked up on exactly what I was trying for - even the Touch o' Buffy-ness. (Anyone who knows me well knows I'm obsessed with all things Whedon.) The alliteration was a clue too. I loves me some alliteration. So there you go. It was possible to pick out which one I wrote without names on them. It just turns out that to do so, it's very helpful if we share some genetic material and have known each other for 36+ years. [grin]