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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Name that Book

Have I ever mentioned how terrible I am with titles?  I can come up with plots, scenes, characters… but naming a story continues to be the bane of my writing existence.  In fact, even naming pets and children have proven difficult.

 My first cat was simply called “Pussy.”  My gold fish was called, you guessed it, “Fishy.”  I recall going into labor at thirty-three weeks with my first child and my husband and I going through names while I’m being prepped for an emergency C-section.  By the time the baby was born, we only had girl names.  Thank God it turned out to be a girl.  For my second child, I had the guests at my baby shower play “Name that baby”.  Up to her birth we still did not have a name and settled on one that we'd previously considered during the mad rush to name our first child five years earlier.  With my last child, we actually left the hospital without naming him.  Thank God in our city we have up to a year to submit the name of a child to the birth registry.
Now I’m at that point again.  I’ve almost completed my WIP and I don’t have a name for it.  I’ve done all kinds of permutations and can’t think of a suitable catchy name that will tell what the story is about.  So I’m going to do something that hasn’t been done on Novelspaces before.  We’re going to play, “Name that book.”  I will give a very brief synopsis of my WIP and you will suggest a name that is both catchy and tells something about the book.  Whoever chooses the winning name will win their choice of, “A Marriage of Convenience” or “Holiday Brides.”  Here goes...

Kyle, a hard-partying young American and, Alia, an ambitious indigenous Caribbean beauty queen despise each other.  But as fate would have it, they are thrown together during a devastating hurricane. During the hardship following the hurricane they both make incredible selfless sacrifices that bring out the best in them. Not only do they gain respect for each other, but they find themselves falling in love.  Unfortunately, they know their love has no future once Kyle leaves the island.  Kyle invites her to America with him, but Alia is reluctant.  Despite losing her home and her job, Alia knows her place is with her people helping to rebuild her country.  After a magical whirlwind romance, Kyle finally convinces Alia to return the States with him.  That’s when the real difficulties begin. Kyle’s family and friends are uncomfortable with the new, more mature Kyle.   Convinced that Alia is an opportunist, they make every effort to tear them apart. Kyle and Alia must decide whether their love that withstood the terrible aftermath of the hurricane, could withstand the pressures of Kyle’s family and friends.
I’m depending on you to help me find a name for this nameless story.  Let the name game begin!



12 comments:

  1. First thing that popped into my head was...AFTERMATH. Of course, would have to have a way cool cover to really make it work.. Hope it helps, and best of luck !

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  2. "Out of the Storm" occurs to me. I'll keep thinking.

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  3. Sean that title sounds really intriguing... appropriate for action, thriller, romance, just about any genre.
    All of the others sound interesting too, though Cyclone could mean hurricane as much as it could mean tornado.

    Thanks guys, you've really got my juices flowing. Keep coming with the titles.

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  4. Sounds like a great read. A few that floated around my head - Through the Storm, After the Storm, Weathering the Storm, Against the Odds, A Natural Love and Surviving the Elements. Good luck!

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  5. I second After the Storm. Was about to suggest that but someone beat me to it. Or Stormy Weather.

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  6. The only one that I could think of is a bit cheesy but here goes:

    American Pressure, Carribean Love.

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  7. Sounds great! What about Blown Away By Love? Or just Blown Away. Windswept? Confession: I'm title creating impaired myself. LOL

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  8. Mrs. TDJ, "A Natural Love" came to mind too since most of the plot takes place in Dominica, aka Nature Island of the Caribbean, but then I thought it sounded a bit too sedate.

    I like "After the Storm" too. "Against all Odds" was a movie that came out in the '80s also a Phil Collins song.

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  9. G, I agree, it is cheesy, but cute.

    Lynn, I like Windswept, but there are just so many novels with that title.

    I have to examine these titles and see which one best embodies the feel of the novel and at the same time will make a reader pick up the book. I know they say never judge a book by its cover, but the cover and of course the title is the first thing a reader sees.

    Thanks so much!

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  10. From The Hurricane Into The Storm?

    Kind of like not seeing the forest for the trees! But a little on the wordy side...

    Heart, Hearth, and Home?

    I think I need to get some sleep!

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  11. Bettye, that is an interesting title, but I have to agree with you, it is a bit wordy.

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