Titles, Titles, and More Titles

Inspiration can appear in many places when you're brainstorming ideas for titles. The beautiful, fragrant lilac was my inspiration for the title of my first Hollyhill book. The Scent of Lilacs. Almost until it was ready to go into print production, I had the title The Smell of Lilacs. Then I was standing behind the old bus my husband's quartet used to travel in and being almost overcome by diesel fumes which I really hate to smell. And it hit me! A smell is not always a good smell. Ah, but when you say scent, you think pleasant odors and I definitely had in mind pleasant odors for my scent of lilacs in that Hollyhill book. Fortunately, it wasn't too late for me to say, "Hey, how about we change smell to scent?" If it had been too late, I'd have probably always been thinking diesel fumes when I saw the title instead of the heavenly scent of lilacs.

As I told you Sunday, I've been brainstorming for title ideas for my book in progress. I jotted down everything that came to mind and then looked on Amazon to see how many books were already using those titles and how long since they were published. Titles are used over and over. For instance, one of the titles I thought up as a possibility was Promise Me Tomorrow. Lots of other authors had already thought that title up. Many books with that title. Also Tomorrow's Promise was a popular, much used title. So I threw those out as too popular and too recent. 

I want my book to have a unique and fitting title.  I'm not sure I came up with any unique and fitting ideas. I really prefer to wait until I've finished the book to brainstorm title ideas, and this book is far from finished. I'm still feeling my way and not totally sure how the ending is going to go. But the publishers need a title now. Maybe I need a title now too. Maybe that will focus my thinking and let me see the story in a clearer way. My working title for the book is Far from Rosey Corner. But while I was brainstorming I kept wanting to throw love into the title or chance or wind/winds. So we'll see. The publishers titling committee will look at my suggestions and try to figure out which title would work best. They might also brainstorm new titles of their own. Since I'm not particularly attached to any of the titles I came up with, I'll have an open mind ready to consider whatever they suggest. That's not always the case when I'm attached to the title I've decided is best for the story.


Many of the titles I have come up with have ended up the final titles on my books. I've also been told that I write to the title. I do tend to intertwine the theme of the title into my story. I certainly did that with The Seeker. And I have done that with The Gifted, my Shaker novel that will be out in July since a major theme of that book is the gifts we are given by the Lord. So it will be good to have a title for this work in progress, so I can continue to brainstorm the story. 


How important are titles to you in picking a book? What are some great titles? Gone with the Wind - that's classic. I like Cold Mountain and Snow on Cedars. But sometimes it's a combination of a story you love plus a title like The Secret Garden or Charlotte's Web.  

Thanks for reading, and I always enjoy reading your comments.

Double Fun

Almost two years ago I was rushing to get the book that became The Believer finished before these two little ones made their appearance in the world. And now here they are full of smiles for their grandma and their grandma is rushing to get yet another book finished, my fourth Shaker book, as yet nameless.

~~I've been brainstorming names for it and have a whole list but none of the names are settling down and sticking to the story. So we'll see on that. Right now I need to get the story written. I'm into my quota period. That means I'm ordering myself to write so many words or pages every weekday. I stayed with the schedule last week so we'll see how things go this week.

~~But aren't the boys cute? I am blessed with a whole baseball team of healthy grandkids. And cute ones, too.

~~I went with the Patriot Quartet to sing tonight. Well, they sang, and I listened. Got my ego boosted a little by one of the ladies there who had read a couple of my books and came back to the product table to buy all the other books I had with me. I told her I was going to take her on the road with me. That was fun, but you know a boosted ego today is likely to turn into a busted ego tomorrow. With writers it's an up and down rollercoaster ride. Tonight I was up on the top of the ride with the kind words about my book. Tomorrow I might be at the bottom with a new review that isn't as kind or maybe a letter from the publishing company saying one of my books is being taken out of print.

~~Actually I got one of those letters last week. My last Hollyhill book, Orchard of Hope is going out of print. But the good news about that is the publishing company has plans to repackage and reissue the three Hollyhill books in the next couple of years, possibly as a set. That's good news for me, but I guess it would be a higher point if the books had stayed in print because readers loved them that much. Every writer's dream.

~~So through the ups and downs I just have to hang on and not get too excited or worried about either one. Instead I need to keep pressing keyboard keys, keep putting words together and figuring out what happens next. You can be sure I'll tell you when what happens next is I write "The End." That's a few weeks away.

~~Hope you're having more ups than downs this week.

Necessary but Troublesome

~~These wildflowers aren't troublesome. Necessary for the spirit and for the bees. These are Dutchman's britches, my mom's favorite wildflower. For my favorites, I think the trilliums are hard to beat and of course the Jack in the Pulpit is fun to find in the woods. If you look really closely at this picture you can see the little spider that's spinning a web onto the middle flower. I didn't even notice that until I loaded the picture on the computer. Last fall I took my camera out and tried to find a spiderweb for a post I did on how a story line is like a spiderweb with all the interconnections and couldn't find a good web anywhere. And now here this little spider was spinning right in front of my eyes and I didn't even notice him. Or maybe her.

~~But no, the troublesome but necessary thing is my computer. It had a major glitch last night and today. Spent an hour talking to this one troubleshooting guy. He couldn't fix it. Had me punching this key and that key and going into Safe Mode and to the C:/ prompt. I don't know why something called Safe Mode makes me so nervous, but I'm sure my computer will never be safe again when I go into that program. My son would be laughing at me now if he saw that. He's a computer techie. Anyway I finally called the right guy and he had it all working in five minutes. Just goes to show you got to know what's wrong. The first guy didn't and the second guy did. Shame I didn't call the right guy first. But the best thing is I can read my e-mails again. And there was more work on there, but good news too that if I can come up with a nice blurb for my new book, The Seeker, it might get some nice pub. That's the necessary part of the computer and internet. You've got to have it these days. So you put up with the troublesome parts. And if you're like me, wish you knew more about why it gets in trouble.

~~Another necessary but troublesome thing is my titling questionnaire about my book in progress. The one I should be writing more words for right now to meet that looming deadline. Can you believe they actually want me to tell them a title when I have no idea? I mean just because it's only a couple of months until I'm supposed to have it finished. This one is my fourth Shaker book and the others have all been The something. The Outsider. The Believer. The Seeker. But I have run out of ideas to go with The. At least anything that fits with this story. I'm hoping the perfect title will pop in my head before I finish the questionnaire.

~~Then there's that place where they ask you to come up with a couple of snappy sentences to say what your book's about. Two sentences to describe a 100,000 word plus book! If I was good at snappy sentences I'd be writing ad copy. Oh. I guess that's what I'm needing to do. Write some copy that will help the publishers sell my many more words. As you can probably tell, I'm not crazy about filling these things out. I don't know if any author is, but - and here's the not only necessary part but the very welcome part of this troublesome task - but it means I have a new book coming out in the future. And that's not troublesome at all. That's exciting! So I'll keep brainstorming on that title and strain my brain to come up with those snappy sentences.

~~Hope all your necessary tasks are no trouble at all for you this week. And maybe even fun.

A Snowy Day Down on the Farm

~The weather people talked about snow for days and it finally showed up down here on the farm. We got about four inches - a light dusting compared to what they got west and south of us. But plenty for me. I like a little snow every winter, but I'm always ready to see it go, too. This morning it was so cold when I went out that the snow squeaked and crunched underfoot and blew up little mini-puffs of snow in my wake. A good kind of walking snow. Tonight would be a good night to take a snow walk since the moon is almost full and is reflecting off the snow making a glistening light almost as bright as day out there. But it is very chilly.

~I took my camera out on Saturday afternoon and took this picture of the hay bales and cedars. It made me think of the title of the book Snow Falling on Cedars. That's a very evocative title for a book, but one that I doubt I would have ever had the nerve to suggest to a publisher. But then again, maybe I would. I did The Scent of Lilacs. I did Wish Come True and Bridge to Courage for a couple of my young adult books. Not exactly the same feel as the snow falling title, but I think interesting titles. And all fit the story. I read Snow Falling on Cedars, but it's been a while and I can't remember if the title was central to the story or not.

~I enjoy thinking about titles and wondering where the authors might have come up with them. With my Shaker books, the publishers suggested I use a The Something theme and we came up with The Outsider for the first one. The Believer fits the second story perfectly and The Seeker is right for Charlotte and Adam's story. I have absolutely no idea what The Something the next book is going to be. But then I often write the book before I come up with a title. I guess I keep hoping my subconscious will nudge a great title up into my conscious mind and I'll go bingo and know it's the perfect title. Of course, right now I'm just hoping my subconscious will push a good story up into my conscious mind. I like my new characters, but they seem to be very secretive about their stories. I need them to start whispering some of those secrets into my ear. Or they can just run them straight through my fingers if they want to.

~I'm about rested up from my grandbaby sitting, but my desk is still looking like a disaster area. Plus I can't seem to locate the book I was reading before I headed to WV. No, it's not under all the paperwork on my desk. I've already checked that out. It takes talent to lose a book in your own house, but that seems to be what I've done. I gave up on finding it. Now I'm just waiting to discover it in whatever interesting spot I last laid it down. Either that or the reading gremlins carried it away. Do you have gremlins at your house? You know those mysterious beings that run off with paperclips and scissors and all your inkpens when you most need to write something down.

~Some of you have already entered my February book drawing for two of my books and The Frontiersman's Daughter by Laura Frantz, but for those of you who haven't, you still have time. I won't be doing the drawing until the end of the month. If you want to throw your name in the hat, just send me a message from my website or leave a comment here. I appreciate each and every one of you. Thanks for being reading friends.

A Book by Any Other Name - Titles

Another Sunday. A hot one here in Kentucky. Humidity level is at that point where if you walk outside you get real humid and start sweating before you take two steps. I'm one of those people who isn't all that fond of refrigerator air all summer, but it doesn't feel half bad this week. I used to work at an insurance claims office and they kept the air so cold in there that getting into my car that had been sitting out in the sunny parking lot all day felt good for at least five minutes at the end of the workday. That nice extra warm heat. Here at the house if we keep the thermostat high enough that I only have to wear a sweater and not drag around a blanket, then Darrell's sweating and complaining. I was going to say if we set it cool enough for him, but then I decided we probably have never set it that low. There would be icicles hanging off my ears if we cranked the thermostat down that low. How about you guys? Do you have a variance of heat or cold tolerance in your house or where you work?


Thank all of you who responded to my newsletter. I've got you entered in the drawings for July, but even better I enjoyed hearing from you. Writing can be a lonely endeavor. Even writing a blog. I talked last Wednesday about addressing my journal to Dear Nemo (or nobody). I appreciate my signed in followers who give me hope that I am writing to someone now. To those of you who haven't gotten back with me about signing up for the book giveaway, you still have plenty of time to enter the drawings before next Sunday and then on until August. So send me an e-mail from my website, http://www.annhgabhart.com/.


I promised several weeks ago to do a post about titles. I work hard to get the right title for my books and often don't name the books until after "the end" has been written. I like having a title that is catchy and that suits the story and that might be interesting enough to make a person who has never read any of my books pick this one up and give it a look-over.

What makes you decide to pluck a book off the shelf or check one out on the internet? Titles are that first eye catcher along with the cover. Cover art makes a tremendous impact on the casual book browser. The back copy or blurb might be second most important, but that doesn't always convince me. I read the copy, but it doesn't tell enough most of the time for me to make a sure decision. And I have to admit I don't always read the recommendations. I've done a few recommendations, and I hope that what I wrote helped some readers give the books I recommended a second look. But I still don't often read them. I do sometimes scan bits of reviews.

But one of the first impressions a book makes is through the title. That title can catch a reader's eye. I've had some good titles and some I wasn't all that crazy about. The publishers changed the titles of the first two books I published. Mine weren't eye-catching enough for the historical romance market at the time back in the early eighties. A Kentucke Dream became A Forbidden Yearning. Shadows over the Heartland became A Divided Heart. I wasn't too excited about either title, but I was extra excited about the books being published, so that was great.


Then with my young people's books, I thought I came up with good titles usually. I liked Bridge to Courage, Wish Come True, and Secrets to Tell. And the Hollyhill titles fit the books. The publishers came up with The Outsider. I would have probably rejected it out of hand because of the famous young people's book, The Outsiders. But it is a good title for the book and lends itself to more titles such as the new book, The Believer. Then the third one for 2010 is The Seeker. Who knows what book four will be. I'll have to think The something. Or maybe not. Maybe we'll head off in a new directions with the titles.

What are some of your favorite titles? Gone with the Wind has to be in there along with To Kill a Mockingbird. I'll have to think on titles this week while I'm trying to do the rest of my housecleaning. I painted my kitchen and then the kitchen ceiling. What a job! My neck is still telling me about it. And I have definitely decided that the rest of the ceilings look just fine. At least right now. Walls I can handle, but no more ceilings for a while.

Hope you're planning lots of fun things for July. Maybe even checking out a new book called The Believer at the end of the month. ;-) Have some fun and enjoy.

Creative Moments

Hi everybody. Hope you had a tremendous week with good blessings chasing you everywhere you went. You know sometimes we stay so busy that we don't always pay attention to the blessings around us. At church we have a Thanksgiving and Praise List in our bulletin where we mention special blessings of the week and those everyday blessings too. Things like the sunshine and the rain. The birds and the flowers. The smile of a child. A good sermon. An appreciated card. Being alive. There are so many reasons to be thankful. What are some of your everyday blessings? A good day at work. A restful night's sleep. Maybe a baby sleeping through the night for the first time. A new rosebush. An old rosebush blooming. We are so blessed.

We're also blessed with numerous electronic devices to entertain us. At least I think that's a blessing - most of the time. But I read an article this week about boredom and how now we have so many electronic means of entertainment such as i-pods, cell phones, laptops, and DVD players, that we don't have as many of those times when we're not busily trying to fill our minds with outside noise and pictures. Times when our minds are just idling with nothing to occupy us. Times when we might be bored. But those times are also times when we allow our thoughts to wander and from that wandering comes new ideas. When I first got married and had two little children, time was at a premium. But I had to iron every week. There's nothing much more boring that pressing pants and shirts, but that was when I could think up new things and write poems in my head. And what sounds more fun than sitting on a porch as the sun comes up or goes down and letting your thoughts meander down memory lane. A person has to have a few quiet moments now and again and a little boredom never hurt anybody. Unless of course you grew up on a farm and you made the mistake of telling your daddy you were bored. Then you might be out in the field picking up rocks or chopping thistles! So hope you have some restful moments this week to gather your thoughts and come up with some great new ideas.

A little writing news update - the Blue Grass Book Festival wasn't all that well attended this year. No Paula Deen to pull them in like last year, I suppose. I didn't get to go to the Blue Grass Festival last year, but all my writer friends who did kept telling me how wonderful it was and how many book buyers were there. So I was really looking forward to seeing a lot of readers this year. But alas, the sun came out after several days of rain and I think everybody stayed home to mow their yards and plant flowers. Who can blame them?

Still it was a fun day. I met some great writers and a few kind readers. I sat at the same table with Susan Green Gilmore whose book is titled Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen. Isn't that a great title? And the book looks like fun. My titles aren't bad. Summer of Joy and Orchard of Hope. But let me tell you, when people walked by our table, they were pulled in by Susan's title and more times than not bought her book. I told them I was going to rename my book Summer at McDonalds. No, that doesn't do it. It has to have the salvation in there too. How about Joy and Salvation at McDonalds? Of course there weren't any McDonalds in Hollyhill back when I wrote about Jocie and her family, so that won't work either. Oh well, I'll just stick with Summer of Joy.

Titles are important eye catchers. I sat next to a guy once at another book fair whose book was The Aluminum Christmas Tree. People were drawn to that one as well. It caught their memories. Next time I want to sit next to somebody whose book is titled something dull and uninteresting, say Today is Another Day or The Brown Cow. Or Red? Oh, wait, I think that one did very well. What is your vote for most un-eyecatching book title? Whatever it is, I don't want to use one like that on my next book. I want one that makes people stop and pick up my book to read the back copy. Maybe my new book, The Outsider, will have that kind of title. For sure it has that kind of cover art. It's very eye-catching. You can check it out on my website www.annhgabhart.com if you want.

So count your everyday blessings this week and I hope you run out of fingers and toes to count them all on. ;) Check in later this week for the quotes of the week.