I'm glad you enjoyed it, Glenda. You'd surely have my attention at a wedding reception! My follow-up question to you would be: Is it a memoir?

I know the feeling of wanting to avoid it, Ellen, lol. I think you could easily pull in a listener with what you have. Let me take a stab at "conversational-izing it:"

"Shelter Me" is a cross between women's fiction and romance with a humorous twist. The main character is Kathleen, a youngish, catholic widow who mentors pregnant teens. She begins a romance and gets into some funny situations when her new lover needs her as much as the teens do.

I predict no glazed-over eyes when you spill that out!

Got it. It's very intriguing- good luck!

Thanks for this. The "her" refers to Alisa's sister :).

Your three sentences are great, Christine. Here's how I'd make them even more conversational:

Alisa is a fifty-ish divorced and unemployed reporter. She's about to become homeless when she inherits her deceased aunt’s house. The trouble is the aunt appears to Alisa and wants her to investigate her [not sure if this refers to Alisa or her aunt] sister's drowning 32 years ago.

You'd have my full attention!

That's an amazing return on investment, Sara! Thanks for sharing your success and another resource many writers can check out.

It's a great conversational line, Denise. And you're smart to keep it simple while you feel out your audience--something I hadn't thought about. I'll admit romance isn't my preferred genre, but I'm sad to know there are romance haters. Good thing that hate is offset by all the romance lovers!

I'm so glad you found it useful, Eileen. Thanks for bookmarking it!