What's your story about anyway?

I’ve been meaning to put something in my profile about my current novel.  I’ve been waiting until I can write the perfect paragraph.  Or at least not a sucky one.  You see I’ve been burned before. 

I do the rounds of the agent and publisher blogs.  I’ve seen them repeatedly telling us to perfect our one line and one paragraph pitch.  Intelligent as always I put it off.  You see I’m a stay at home mom.   My water cooler gossip happens with cartoon characters and my board meetings are at the changing table. Nobody I know in person asks about my writing other than “You still working on that?”  Except my mom and The Engineer and they already know more than they want to.  So who is going to ask “what’s your story about?” 

Then my cousin discovered I was writing a book.  She called and asked the fateful question.   Now, if I had listened to all the wonderful advice I would have had a breathtaking, smooth, enticing answer.  Instead I stumbled and mumbled, “You see he wants…. But she’s really…. And then they go to this place….That sounds kinda dumb but believe me it’s really interesting.”  That’s the point when I got the sharpie marker and wrote LOOSER on my forehead.  Then I got to work.

 I’m still trying to find the right turn of phrase, something that doesn’t inspire me to write on myself.  Hopefully I’ll get something up soon, especially now that I’ve finished the plot rewrite. (Hooray!)

What about you?  Want to share your pitches?  I’m still looking for good examples to copy…I mean learn from.