Category: Publishing

What am I doing to promote my books, anyway?

6/4/2016

Someone asked me recently what goes into promoting a book. I'm sure really savvy best-selling authors do really smart important stuff, but this is a run-down of what I've been doing since my fourth historical mystery, A DEATH ALONG THE RIVER FLEET (Minotaur, 2016), came out in mid-April. (I should add that this is all on top of a full-time job, teaching, and 2 kids, so there's that...).

But, basically I've been...

Writing a whole bunch of blog posts...

2016 Mary Higgins Clark Nominees: Hailie Ephron, Lori Rader-Day (winner!), Catriona McPherson and Yours Truly

....like what being nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark means to me (Femme Fatales)
& What Would Mary Write? (Jungle Red Writers).

Partying at the Edgars Banquet....

w/ awesome authors Hilary Davidson & Lindsay Faye

W/editors Kelley Ragland & Elizabeth Lacks

w/agent David Hale Smith

(Some people would probably refer to this as 'networking,' but I call it making friends and having fun...)

Paneling at Malice Domestic...

Agatha Nominees for Best Historical 2016 (Laure R. King won!)

And writing MORE pieces in which I...

Hey my name is on the cover!

... ponder tricky research questions, like:
How fast can a horse travel anyway?

...discuss how murder ballads inspired my novels...
("A True Account of a Most Monstrous Act, and Other Strange Happenings…" over at Criminal Element)

Back in my pirate days...

...describe How it Happened
(my path to publication).

This story is a tale of pirates, a broken leg, and a decade-long secret. It is, at heart, also a love story...

... and co-interview my college pal Duane Swierczynski (Edgar-nominated author of CANARY)
about our time writing for the La Salle Collegian and stalking, er, talking to Clive Barker...

[In a pretty rare event for me, I even reviewed Duane's book at Criminal Element!]

Enjoying having my books paired with different beverages, including wine...

At Taste in Rogers Park, paired with a nice Claret and a Reisling

...and Gin Iced Tea...

Laura Brennan over at Mystery Playground even put together this drink, with recipe and everything!

...And Scottish Whiskey...

Check out this cocktail
"A Death Along the River Peat"
Love it! Recipe included!!!

(Thanks Criminal Element!)

Completing a few interviews, in which I share:

What I would tell my 13-year old self, and what I REALLY have in my refrigerator (Crimespree Magazine)
How I think about plotting, character development and 17th century bloodletting (Destination Mystery, Episode 7, audio and transcript)
My scariest moment doing research (Hint: it happened in a Library!] (The Big Thrill)

And of course, speaking at a bunch of fun book talks at local book stores and other venues:

At 57th street books. Photo by John Thomas Bychowski

Wine pairing at Taste in Rogers Park with Books-n-Bottles

At the Book Stall in Winnetka with Jamie Freveletti (photo by John Thomas Bychowski)

At Boswell Books in Milwaukee (photo by Crimespree)

[Of course, posting these pictures makes me realize that I wear the same outfits to all my book signings!)

So clearly, another day I should write about how to balance all this craziness, but putting this post together was probably the most exhausting thing I've done!

And now, back to writing novels!!!

0 Comments

How a set of questions became a novel, A DEATH ALONG THE RIVER FLEET

4/14/2016

0 Comments

I'm often asked about how I write my books, whether I outline them first or just start writing. But really my books come to me in a series of images and then questions, which I then seek to answer.

For A DEATH ALONG THE RIVER FLEET, the image that came to me is essentially what has been portrayed on the cover.

The image was of a disheveled woman, barefoot and clad only in a simple shift, covered in blood that was not her own. In my mind, she had no memory of who she was, or what had happened to her.

But that's where the questions started....

First, I needed to think about where Lucy could encounter her that was plausible. I thought maybe on the London Bridge, but the Bridge had been damaged by the Great Fire, and I didn't think Lucy could be walking in that direction. So I thought about other options, and ended up having Lucy encounter the woman on Holborn Bridge, by the rancid River Fleet when out delivering books.

Then, I began to think about what Lucy would do when she found the woman--how would she react? Lucy, being Lucy, decides that she can't just leave this poor afflicted woman to the devices of suspicious townspeople, and takes her to a physician she knows.

And then that led to more questions. What would a more educated person think about the woman's illness? What kind of healed wounds might the woman have, under closer inspection? How could they learn the woman's identity--what kind of clues could be on her person?

And of course lastly--whose blood was on the woman?

Those are the types of questions that I would ask myself, to keep my story moving forward....

If you are interested in reading an excerpt, you can see how these questions involved into the story at the heart of A DEATH ALONG THE RIVER FLEET.

0 Comments

Writing Young Adult Crime Fiction... some thoughts from novelist Bridgette R. Alexander

3/13/2016

0 Comments

I am delighted to be joined on my blog today by Bridgette R Alexander, author of SOUTHERN GOTHIC: A Celine Caldwell Mystery (to be released March 15, 2016).

I had the pleasure of reading Bridgette's debut novel a few weeks ago, and I was struck by the authenticity of her main character's voice. I thought that her amateur sleuth, Celine Caldwell, came across as a "real" teenager--which is actually not an easy feat. So I asked Bridgette to talk about her experience with writing YA fiction.

SC: Bridgette, why did you decide to write YA?
BA: I grew up loving ABC’s after school specials. What I liked about them was that each story was told from the perspective of a teenage girl, usually, and it gave me a sense that I wasn’t alone in my day-to-day struggles as an adolescent. By that I mean, adolescence is a tough place to be in and you’re there for a long period of time. You are caught between two worlds, one world of a child – its only two or three years ago you were taken to the junior’s section of a department store and your mother was selecting clothes for you. Your world was pretty much being established by the adults around you. Then, there is this other world of [looming] adulthood. Total and complete agency – by you; at 14 or 16 you can make some decisions for yourself, at least what you’re going to wear and who your friends are; and the biggest of all – eros – your attraction and your identity.

For me, those moments were paramount. So much so, that I like to view being an adult as an old-kid with benefits.

SC: Are there any authors who particularly inspired you?
BA: I was introduced to some of my all-time favorite authors when I was in the 7th grade: Mark Twain; John Steinbeck; James Baldwin; William Faulkner; Tennessee Williams; and Hermann Melville. I loved how those works transformed me into the worlds the authors created and caused me to think about the world I inhabited. Then on my own I found the works of other authors and also fell in love with them: Jackie Collins; Harold Robbins; Judith Krantz; I know, I know…they are not exactly children’s authors, but I so loved their works. Mystery and thriller writers I just adore – Agatha Christie, Steven King Joyce Carol Oates and Sarah Paretsky; and of YA writers I really love the work of Sarah Dessen, I love her stories. She totally captures the voice of a strong, independent teenage girl. There are sooo many writers I love, these are just a few of them.

SC: What do you enjoy most about writing YA?
BA: I like seeing the world fresh again.

SC: What kinds of challenges have you faced in writing YA?
BA: In writing…not so much. At the moment when I could visualize Celine Caldwell and her life, then her all of her friends and their lives, it was like a motion picture – fluid, moving, colorful and rich with characters.

For me it’s been more of a head-game I've had to overcome. The notion of the solitary artist…alone in his or her misery as the only path to creativity is a romantic construct. One that at the on-start of developing and trying to write the Celine Caldwell Mysteries, I thought I was bound to adapt. It was difficult. As a scholar my life was writing among other scholars; sharing my works and dissecting that work with other scholars. As a scholar and thinker I led a fully engaged life. Only in the archives and the library stacks would I actually be in solitude. When I adapted to my writing the engaged-life I was used to, it felt real and true. I am creating characters, developing scenes, structuring the chapters, going back and forth with my editors.

SC: How do you make sure your characters are “authentic”? In terms of voice, dialogue, mannerisms?
BA: At the beginning of writing Celine Caldwell Mystery series, I organized a teen council made up of girls between the ages of 12 and 18. We’d meet and I’d give them a Celine-Scenario and ask them what would they do or if Celine’s actions were authentic for a teenager, and not just as a teen being driven by an adult. It was important for me to remove myself as much as possible from the equation of Celine Caldwell, 16 year old art world sleuth. Now that’s more of the technical work I’ve done, compared to the easy going fun time I make time for in talking and listening to teen voices. I continue to spend a good deal of time with teenagers because I strongly believe from where I stand it easy for me to “slip” back into the voice and mannerism of an adult person.

SC: I know you have a daughter...did you learn anything from her that helped you write your book, or offer insight into the teenager experience?
BA: My daughter is the inspiration behind Celine Caldwell. I created [Celine] when my daughter was a newborn. I’d often imagine her future -- how would she relate to the world; what would she look like once she becomes a teenager. My daughter’s life is very different from my upbringing. Her life looks more like the character Celine Caldwell’s with the big exception, my daughter has a doting mother and father.

SC: What advice if any would you offer someone interested in writing YA?
People or writers hear this a lot…but it stands to be repeated. Write what you know and do it from your soul.

Bridgette R. Alexander is a modern art historian. She received her graduate training in 19th century French art history at the University of Chicago. Alexander worked with some of the world’s greatest museums in New York, Paris, Berlin and Chicago and developed art education programs; curated exhibits; she has taught and published in art history. She’s been featured in a number of publications including, Art + Auction Magazine; the Wall Street Journal; and the Washington Post.

SOUTHERN GOTHIC is her debut novel. Alexander currently lives in Chicago and when not writing, she takes her husband, daughter and friends on midnight tours of the cultural institutions. Visit her website (http://celinecaldwell.com).

0 Comments

By Any Other Name... The thinking behind pseudonyms by author Sharon Pisacreta

2/29/2016

2 Comments

There is a long tradition of authors using pseudonyms or writing under Anonymous, and I'm always curious about what makes someone wish to write under someone else's name. I asked Sharon Pisacreta to join me on my blog today, to discuss why she uses pseudonyms (FOUR!) and how she chose them. Her first book in a new series, DYING FOR STRAWBERRIES, will be released November 1, 2016.

Along with spies and people in the witness protection program, authors often feel compelled to change identities. My upcoming mystery series will be released under ‘Sharon Farrow’. It will be the fourth name I’ve used as an author.

When my stories and articles first began to appear in magazines, I proudly used the name I was born with. Although it was a tricky Italian name that few non-Italians could pronounce, it made my family happy. However I learned that Shakespeare’s question “What’s in a name?” has special meaning for authors.

After I sold my first novel, I thought I’d make things easier for my readers and decided on ‘Sharon Kirk’ as a pseudonym (yes, I’m a Trekkie). Unfortunately, someone in production forgot to read my contract and released that first book under my Italian name. Two other books followed, accompanied by numerous calls from my publisher asking how to pronounce ‘Pisacreta’. Sales reps ran into problems with my name when speaking with distributors. One of my novels was sold as part of a six-book package on the Home Shopping Network, eliciting more questions on exactly how the TV host should say my name. My editor finally asked if I would mind taking a pseudonym. I was happy to oblige. This time I went with ‘Cynthia Kirk’. It sounded British, elegant, and impossible to mispronounce.

Soon after, I put aside novel writing and returned to magazine work under my maiden name. I got back in the novel writing game when a friend and fellow author convinced me to team up with her on a mystery series. Because our previous novels were in the romance and western genres, we needed a pen name for our historical mystery series. Marketing is everything in publishing, and an author’s name is a form of branding. If readers want to buy your mystery novel, they don’t want to be confused if you also write science fiction under the same name.

We wanted an easy name to spell and remember. The result was D.E. Ireland. Since our series is based on Shaw’s Pygmalion and stars Eliza Doolittle, we chose her initials, transposing them for our first name. Ireland was selected because George Bernard Shaw was born and raised in Dublin. As a writing team, a pen name seemed necessary. Few teams publish under one of the pair’s real name. A notable exception is the Ian Rutledge mystery series by Charles Todd, written by Charles and his mother Caroline. Normally, a new pseudonym is created for the duo, such as Alice Alfonsi and husband Marc Cerasino who write as ‘Cleo Coyle’.

All writers should keep a few pen names in their back pocket. If you’re prolific, publishers don’t want to flood the market with too any books under one name in the same year. Because Dean Koontz sometimes published eight books a year, he wrote under eleven different names. Famous authors may feel constrained by their success and want to try something new under a pseudonym. J.K. Rowling writes mystery novels as Robert Galbraith, Stephen King’s alter ego is Richard Bachman. When Anne Rice switched from vampires to erotica, she did so under two pen names. And prolific romance author Nora Roberts chose to write as J.D. Robb for her futuristic mysteries.

Because mysteries are so popular, many authors meet demand by writing more than one series under different names. Vicki Delaney writes cozies and suspense novels under both the pseudonym Eva Gates and her own name. Eva K. Sandstrom uses the pseudonym JoAnna Carl for her long running Chocoholic series. Some authors simply prefer using a pseudonym. Janet Quin-Harkin became Rhys Bowen. Juliet Marion Hulme writes as Anne Perry.

As we did with D.E. Ireland, choosing a gender neutral pen name also helps attract male readers not prone to buying novels by women. Famous examples include Marion McChesney Gibbons writing as M.C. Beaton, and Edith Mary Pargeter as Ellis Peters. A publisher might also insist on a pseudonym if books written under a previous name had lackluster sales. They often feel it is best to start fresh with a new writing identity.

Whether it’s due to a difficult name to pronounce, being too prolific, a poor sales record, switching genres, a writing collaboration, or a desire to conceal your gender, taking on a pseudonym is always an adventure. Finally, writing under a pen name provides a measure of anonymity – and a bit of welcome distance. A bad review directed at books written under your real name cuts a little sharper than one aimed at one written under a pseudonym. It may sound odd, but it’s true. That alone may be worth a name change.

Sharon Farrow writes The Berry Basket Mysteries set in Oriole Point, Michigan. The first book in the series, DYING FOR STRAWBERRIES, will be released on November 1, 2016. While this is her debut as ‘Sharon Farrow’, she wrote romance novels under both ‘Sharon Pisacreta’ and ‘Cynthia Kirk’. In 2013, she took on another pseudonym as one half of the writing duo, ‘D.E. Ireland’, the Agatha Award nominated authors of the Eliza Doolittle/Henry Higgins mystery series.

2 Comments

My fourth book cover revealed! A Death Along the River Fleet

8/21/2015

1 Comment

I think it looks beautiful! Great movement--a fresh direction. Who is that woman anyway..? Why is she running...?

All secrets will be revealed April 2016...!!!

1 Comment

Celebrating Rejection? I don't think so...

7/28/2015

10 Comments

A head-scratcher here...

Recently, a friend of mine lamented on Facebook that she had just received another rejection to her agent query--and was clearly getting frustrated--a state to which I could relate. I made some sort of sympathetic comment about hanging in there, that every author experiences rejection, and to keep persevering. Or maybe even start a new project and set that one aside for a while. Platitudes perhaps, but sincerely meant.

Well, I was quite surprised when other people jumped all over my comment, saying that rejection should be celebrated and that I was in the wrong for expressing sympathy. That rejection wasn't supposed to be viewed negatively.

Now, I do understand about learning from feedback, no matter how negative, but celebrating rejection seems counter-intuitive. Giving yourself permission to take risks, permission to fail--these are things I believe in too. But permission to celebrate rejection and failure, as if these are the expected end products of a writer's journey--that I can never endorse. (Unless of course one wishes to remain unpublished, than by all means, celebrate rejection.)

I thought this was an isolated incident, until I read a piece today by author Bryan Hutchinson, who talked about being wary of the rejectionists:

"There’s a new bandwagon in the writing community, actually, it’s in nearly every community. The trend dictates that it’s okay to fail, in fact, it’s not just okay – you should expect to fail. And if you’re not careful you might jump on, tricked into not living your passion and not striving to achieve your goals."

I could not agree more.

Over the last few years I've had the good fortune of being able to spend a lot of time with other published authors--at conferences, at bookstores, or just over a drink--and one thing that still amazes me is how hard every single one of them had to work to get to where they are. I don't know a single author who doesn't have stacks of rejections and years--even decades--of toil, heartbreak, and anguish behind the image they present to the public, no matter how successful they appear now. Striving to get an agent, striving to get a publisher, striving to get the next contract, striving to develop a readership base...its all there.

Every author I know says persistence and determination (and yes, maybe a lucky break) are crucial. We may cope with rejection in different ways, but the common element seems to be to grit your teeth and move forward and just...keep...trying. (I'm not saying this has to be done without copious amounts of ice cream, or alcohol, or rejection letter bonfires...)

Simply speaking: There are no overnight successes. Just look at Jenny Milcham's fabulous Made it Moments blog and read through the inspirational stories there. No author's "Made it Moment" is the same, but the sense of perseverance is ever present. (Heck, check out Jenny's own story--she's incredible).

Bottom line:

Rejection, yes it happens. It's painful, it hurts, its part of a writer's journey. LEARNING FROM REJECTION (or FAILURE)=GOOD THING.

But CELEBRATING rejection, as if rejection should be the end in itself?!... NO! That's when dreams die.

10 Comments

Pirates and plagiarists....stealing your books since the early modern era...

6/26/2015

2 Comments

It seems like every day I receive a Google Alert, kindly informing me that another site has popped up, allowing my books to be downloaded for free. Not only are these parasitic companies stealing from me and other authors, but to add insult to injury, many users actually post comments on these sites, thanking these bottom-dwellers for the "service" they provide to readers. Sometimes these comments are so heartfelt it makes me wonder if the users don't realize they are committing an actual crime. Is that possible?

Taking a step away from my indignant high horse for a moment, I do find it interesting that plagiarism and piracy of books has been around since the invention of the printing press. Initially, imitation in the Renaissance was seen as a compliment, a form of flattery, at least in art.

In the world of the cheaply printed piece, necessity and practicality were at the heart of imitation. Printers regularly used the same woodcut again and again--say, of someone being hanged--most likely for ease of use and to evoke a certain image or memory in the audience.

But over the next century or two, there seemed to be growing concern with the ability of printers to simply reset a piece and sell it for themselves. On occasion, advertisements to booksellers were created, informing them when a "sham" edition of a book had been created.

They would implore the bookseller to consider the nature of property; they also seemed to speak to the bookseller's sense of quality, by reminding them of the inferiority of the sham piece. For example, this next advertisement reminds the bookseller that "The sham edition has several mistakes and blunders, contrary both to sense and grammar."

1702 E4:2[95]

Some of these advertisements even specified that the printer, publishers and dealers would be prosecuted by the Company of Stationers, who as a royal guild had the sole power to oversee the publication of most written work, including almanacks as described in this next advertisement.

In particular, I like the last line, which warns against those who would claim not to have known they were doing anything illicit: "This notice is given to prevent all persons from coming into trouble through ignorance."

Lastly, I suspect this is where the practice of authors signing their own books came from--the author was attesting to the authenticity of his (or possibly, her) books.

I don't know if its particularly heartening to realize that piracy and plagiarism are not a new phenomenon for authors. But it is interesting to think that such acts had long been condemned by the publishing community, even if the problem is still present 200 years later.

In my next post, I will tell you what happened to one of these plagiarists...

2 Comments

A DEATH ALONG THE RIVER FLEET--my fourth book has a title!

2/20/2015

2 Comments

My fourth book has had several different titles, but none that really resonated with me or with my editor.

I've talked before about the image that prompted this novel initially--although, alas, that too has changed somewhat--and about the difficulties I've had with titles generally. But naming a book is a difficult thing--it has to be right!

The new title--A DEATH ALONG THE RIVER FLEET--feels right. (I mean, I also liked Murder at Fleet Ditch, but it was deemed a bit too harsh for my Lucy books, which I can totally see now).

Here is the working premise:

Crossing Holborn Bridge, where it crosses the River Fleet, Lucy Campion—printer’s apprentice--encounters a distraught young woman, barely able to speak and clad only in a blood-spattered nightdress. To the local townspeople, the woman is mad, afflicted with the devil’s tongue, but Lucy, feeling concerned for the woman’s well-being, takes her to a physician. When the woman is shockingly identified as the daughter of a nobleman, Lucy is asked to temporarily give up her bookselling duties to discreetly serve as the woman’s companion while in the physician’s care. As the woman recovers over the month of April 1667, she begins—with Lucy’s help—to reconstruct the terrible event that occurred near the bridge, as well as the disturbing events that preceded it. When the woman is attacked while in her care, Lucy becomes unwillingly privy to a plot with far-reaching social implications.

But, given that I don't like to disclose too much about my work-in-progress, this is all I will say!

2 Comments

Sleuths in Time, Tracking Crime

2/14/2015

2 Comments

I'm delighted to say that recently a group of us--eight authors who write historical mysteries--joined together to form a new collective: Sleuths in Time, Tracking Crime.

We write historical mysteries set in England, Scotland and the United States, ranging in time from the 1660s to the 1930s. Connect with us on Facebook and Pinterest (Sleuths in Time Authors) or follow us on Twitter! (@sleuthsintime).

We've got some great things planned, including some giveaways and a scavenger hunt at Malice Domestic. Stay tuned for details!

Tessa Arlen writes a mysteries series set in the early 1900s featuring amateur sleuth Lady Montfort and her housekeeper, Mrs. Jackson.

Her first book in the series DEATH OF A DISHONORABLE GENTLEMAN was released January 6, 2015. A Party For Winston, the second book in the series, is scheduled to hit the shelves January 2016. www.tessaarlen.com Check out her blog too, The Redoubtable Edwardian.

Susanna Calkins writes the Lucy Campion mysteries set in 17th century England. Her first novel, A Murder at Rosamund's Gate, was shortlisted for the Sue Feder Historical Award (Macavity) and her second, From the Charred Remains, was shortlisted for a Lovey and the Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award (Lefty). Her next book will be released April 14, 2015! Counting down the days!

Anna Lee Huber writes the Lady Darby series set in 1830’s Scotland, which features a gifted portrait artist with a macabre past, including instruction in anatomy.

A Study in Death, the fourth book in the series, will be published by Berkley in July 2015. Other titles that follow the detecting exploits of Lady Kiera Darby and inquiry agent Sebastian Gage are The Anatomist’s Wife (nominated for RITA Awards and a Daphne du Maurier in 2013), Mortal Arts (Sept. 2013), and A Grave Matter (July 2014). To learn more, check out my 2013 interview with Anna too!

D.E. Ireland, writes the Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins mystery series in which the celebrated professor of Wimpole Street and the former Cockney flower girl join forces to solve crime in Edwardian London. WOULDN'T IT BE DEADLY has been nominated for the Malice Domestic Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel of 2014.

MOVE YOUR BLOOMING CORPSE will be released on Sept. 22, 2015 and continues the adventures at Ascot racecourse. Check out my interview, where they explain how they manage to write together without killing each other!

Anna Loan-Wilsey writes the Hattie Davish Mystery series set in 1890's America featuring a traveling secretary who solves crimes in every historic town she visits.

The upcoming Hattie Davish book A Deceptive Homecoming will be released by Kensington in July 2015. Earlier books in the series are A Lack of Temperance (Sept. 2012), Anything But Civil (Sept. 2013), and A Sense of Entitlement (June 2014). www.annaloanwilsey.com

Christine Trent writes the LADY OF ASHES series about a Victorian undertaker solving crimes that Scotland Yard cannot.

Full of details about funeral customs in the Victorian era, LADY OF ASHES was a 2014 Daphne du Maurier finalist, and the fourth book in the series, THE MOURNING BELLS, releases on March 31, 2015. Christine's long-suffering husband is very understanding of her need for cats (5), books on shelves (4,000+ and counting), and scrapbooking supplies (don't ask).

Alyssa Maxwell writes The Gilded Newport Mysteries, set in Newport, RI, in the 1890s and featuring Emma Cross, a female society reporter who is a distant cousin of the Vanderbilt family. Kensington will release the next book in the series Murder at Beechwood in May 2015.

Previous series’ titles are Murder at the Breakers (March 2014) and Murder at Marble House (Sept. 2014). She officially became a USA Today Bestseller the week of Sept. 4, 2014.

Ashley Weaver is a Louisiana librarian, unabashed bookworm, and the author of the Amory Ames Mysteries, set in 1930’s England.

The first book in the series, MURDER AT THE BRIGHTWELL, has been nominated for a 2015 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The second book, DEATH WEARS A MASK, will be released on October 13, 2015.

2 Comments

A funny thing about book titles...the Dark Side

1/30/2015

1 Comment

Star Wars "The Charred Remains" version :-(

Every morning, when I check my email, I'm reminded of a funny (funny-weird, not funny-humorous) thing about book titles. Because I have a daily Google alert on my titles, I get a little summary about how they have used been used on the internet. For my first novel A Murder at Rosamund's Gate and for my third novel, The Masque of a Murderer, I get alerts that actually pertain to my book.

But for my second book, From the Charred Remains, I am treated to all sorts of terrible and strange news stories--usually house fires--of things or people being found after a fire (this gem to the right is one of the better things that's come this way).

Literally, this illustrates the dark side of book titles. There are terrible things that happen in the world--beyond what happened on the mythical Tatooine--and every day those come to my inbox because of how I titled my book.

I shouldn't be surprised--after all, the premise of my book is that a body has been found in a barrel outside the Cheshire Cheese after the Great Fire has devastated much of London.

So as I sort though new titles for my fourth book--the soon to be renamed Stranger on the Bridge--I find myself avoiding titles that reporters might use to describe particularly grisly stuff.

It's ironic really. The title of my first book didn't make it through marketing, but it was originally called Monster at the Gate. I thought the concept of monster fit well with my time period, but that title was deemed too harsh and supernatural. I can only imagine the kinds of Google hits I would have gotten, had I kept that title.

The original title of my third book, Whispers of a Dying Man, didn't make it past my own internal scrutiny. Bleagh. Glad I changed that one. The Masque of a Murderer is a much better title.

But From the Charred Remains sailed through easily. I still like the title, but I'm still a bit wary when I see what Google has sent me.

Now, I'm still pondering the title of my fourth book. Stranger on the Bridge just isn't resonating for me. So at New Year's, after describing the premise, I asked a bunch of my friends to all put single words (nouns and adjectives) into a hat. Then we all picked three or four slips of paper and formed titles. The best of this admittedly drunken endeavor was Across the Misty Divide. Probably won't go over either (sorry Steve!). Maybe the parlor game method of naming books is not the best method.

So hopefully something connects soon!!! I'll keep you posted!

1 Comment

<<Previous

What am I doing to promote my books, anyway?

How a set of questions became a novel, A DEATH ALONG THE RIVER FLEET

Writing Young Adult Crime Fiction... some thoughts from novelist Bridgette R. Alexander

By Any Other Name... The thinking behind pseudonyms by author Sharon Pisacreta

My fourth book cover revealed! A Death Along the River Fleet

Celebrating Rejection? I don't think so...

Pirates and plagiarists....stealing your books since the early modern era...

A DEATH ALONG THE RIVER FLEET--my fourth book has a title!

Sleuths in Time, Tracking Crime

A funny thing about book titles...the Dark Side

Susanna Calkins

Blogs I enjoy

Categories

Archives