This is the description of my book that I submitted to Amazon. What do ya think?
Description:
Horror fiction meets metaphysical truth in this tale penned by one incarnate and one discarnate author. The story, which began, in author Lily Strange's words, as a standard "lonely lady meets sexy male vampire" Gothic romance, made a drastic metamorphosis to include mythological creatures from various pantheons and allusions to real events which occurred in the extreme Metal underground in the 1990's. This metamorphosis was due to the incarnate author's accidental contact with a spirit who had inside information regarding certain incidents. This spirit is highly imaginative, and in Lily he found the perfect medium to not only help him exercise his frustrated creativity but to impart an important message to those who are still living--especially those struggling with severe depression or other mental illness that might prompt them to harm themselves. Fifty percent of profits generated from this book will be donated to the World Health Organization's Mental Health Division.
Author bio(s):
Lily Strange has had precognitive dreams ever since she can remember. She is able to sense the emotions of both the living and the discarnate. She does not hear the voices of spirits with her physical ears, she discerns their thoughts and emotions. She is also adept at reading Tarot cards. Lily copes with Type II Bipolar Disorder. This disease is characterized by severe depression alternating with periods of heightened self-esteem and optimism. Type II Bipolar is not characterized by extreme mania and is therefore difficult to detect. One of Lily's missions is to end the stigma that the mentally ill endure. Lily's co-author wishes to identify himself simply as "the ghost" at this time. He does not wish for any Earthly notoriety, much of which he considers to be "false advertising" to be a selling point for the book. He has two very important missions that he wishes to accomplish. His first mission is to prevent more souls from enduring the trauma caused by suicide, the reason for his own death. He hopes in some way to improve the current treatment available to those who are suicidal, which is why he wishes for his portion of the profits to be donated to the World Health Organization's efforts to assist the mentally ill and lower the suicide rate worldwide. "Those in so much pain that they consider ending their own lives should be treated with sympathy, not disdainfulness," he says. His second mission is to warn people not to mess with forces they don't understand. He says that while these forces may seem very attractive to a person whose life is going wrong, they have no allegiance to nor affection for those who call on them and will be perfectly happy to "bring even greater unhappiness to those foolish enough to mess with them." His third mission, he says, is to "prevent people from reading crappy writing." Therefore his recommendation is for everyone to "throw out all your other books and read this one. In fact, drop everything else you are doing and read it now."
Backcover copy:
With her long-awaited second marriage finally about to become a reality, acclaimed novelist Terry Bruckham is besieged with painful and terrifying memories. Those most closely associated with her are also assailed by disturbing dreams and obsessive thoughts. A sinister plan is being enacted in the Earth's Dreamlands, home to the sleeping and the Earthbound dead, as a troubled spirit wrestles with the warring pieces of his own psyche for the well-being or destruction of everything that exists. Discover the world beyond the wall of sleep and its marvelous residents, both good and evil. Lily Strange is the pen name of a creative soul who describes herself as "a reluctant medium." In real life, she is an emergency medical technician by profession. She is currently employed in a retirement community. Due to her innate abilities and personal challenges, Lily is also a lifelong student of both psychology and parapsychology, inspired by psychic and empathic experiences from her earliest memories, and challenged by emotional difficulties due to type II Bipolar Disorder, which onset at puberty. While editing a story which she had created 14 years previously, Lily had an experience which radically transformed not only the story but her own perspective on the living world and the world that lies beyond the veil of material existence. Inspired by the works of classic horror writers such as Ambrose Bierce, H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King and aided by the skillful contributions of a literal "ghost writer," Lost Beneath The Surface is the first in a unique series of esoteric horror novels. Lily reluctantly decided to publish her creative work under a pseudonym due to the desire to protect the privacy of her family and to preserve her professional life from the potential ramifications of her controversial beliefs.
Inside-flap copy:
A group of psychically and emotionally bonded friends battle deities and demons to prevent the germination of the Dark Mind.
Author comments:
This is a much more unusual book than I had ever intended to write. The original story was simply a literary expression of the pain I was feeling about my decaying marriage. I picked it up again after it had collected dust for some thirteen years. Not long after, I accidentally contacted the spirit who would become my co-author. Neither of us had any intent for this to happen. It just worked out that way. I now consider my co-author to be as real a friend as any of my incarnate cohorts. He is very present in my life. The truth about him may surprise people. He is brilliant, imaginative, and, in spite of rumors to the contrary, has a great sense of humor. While I often consider my mediumistic abilities to be a mixed blessing, in this case I feel very blessed to have made such a treasured friend. Both authors hope that their their literary efforts will entertain, inform, and lead to a greater understanding and better treatment of the mentally ill.
