What is your book about?

Today, I showed up to work and was humbled by all of the interest that I received about my book.  For some reason, I forget that I broadcast pieces of my life on the internet, so it always throws me off when my real and cyber worlds collide.

The question that I received repeatedly, "What is your book about?"

Seems easy enough.  I just get so self-conscious about sharing my writing soul to real live people, (somehow internet people, even if they're actually the same people, are less intimidating!).

My one sentence answer:  A couple that is frustrated with their jobs and life and decides to sell everything to travel separately.

Not the most poetic response, but truthful.

Even trickier, however, is putting my 59,089 words into a couple of meaningful and engaging paragraphs.  If you've already read my previous attempts, save yourself the time now, stop reading.  Tonight's attempt is likely no better than before, and more likely than not, will drive me crazy with revisions.

However, if you're new to my explanation of my book, read on!  As always, thoughtful input is welcomed.

Expecting Happiness

Kristen and Jake are like many couples in their late twenties. They were told that they could be anything they wanted when they grew up. The problem is, beside each other, they can’t figure out what they want. Somehow, they’ve found themselves stuck in windowless cubes, trudging to meaningless jobs, grasping for purpose. Most nights, they forget to even look at each other.

After a failed pregnancy reawakens their dreams of adventure, they quit their jobs and sell their house to travel. Unable to agree on a shared vision of escape, they embark on separate journeys.  Jake, a lanky but attractive runner, heads across country by car, intent to live out his teenaged fantasy of the open road. His first destination, Las Vegas, Nevada, hotbed of sin. Kristen, a striking contrast of dark hair blue eyes, sets off for Germany, feigning the desire to visit a long-lost cousin. In truth, she secretly hopes to reunite with a handsome Spaniard living in Paris.

Torn between the allure of seductive foreigners and their own unrelenting longing for one another, an ironic twist of fate ultimately forces Kristen and Jake to decide whether the life that they left behind held the secret to what they truly wanted all along.

Expecting Happiness is part travelogue, part love story, part cathartic escape from a generation’s discontent.