Guess the Title of Killer Unicorns 2 – NOW WITH WINNER!

Since one of the most frequently asked questions I get regarding RAMPANT is if there is going to be a sequel (often phrased as, “what about this plot point?”), I thought it would be a good time to remind everyone that yes, there is a sequel, though it will be available approximately three published works of fiction by Diana Peterfreund from now. Otherwise known as next September, 2010.

This week, we are having a contest to guess the title of the sequel. The winner gets a copy of the as of yet uncreated ARC of said sequel when it’s finally available (in a few months). Everyone is eligible to guess, except (obviously) people I’ve already told what the title is. I’ll be coming in at various times to drop hints. Multiple guesses are okay as well.

Have at it.

HINT #1: (though most of your guesses are falling along these lines anyway) The Title is one word.

HINT #2: (disappointing Liliyana) The Title does not start with the letter R.

HINT #3: (You guys are getting marvelously close with some of your guesses. Maybe this one will help you hone in on the theme.) Behold, the flap copy:

Astrid Llewelyn is now a fully-trained unicorn hunter, but she’s learning she can’t solve all her problems with just a bow and arrow. Her boyfriend Giovanni has decided to leave Rome, the Cloisters is in dire financial straits, her best friend’s powers seem to be mysteriously disintegrating, and Astrid fears that school, home, and her hopes of becoming a scientist are nothing but impossible dreams.

So when she’s given the opportunity to leave the Cloisters and put her skills to use as part of a scientific quest to discover The Remedy, Astrid leaps at the chance. Finally, she can have exactly what she wants…or can she? At the Gordian Pharmaceuticals headquarters deep in the French countryside, Astrid begins to question everything she thought she believed: her love for Giovanni, her loyalty to the Cloisters, and – most of all – her duty as a hunter. Should Astrid be saving the world from killer unicorns, or saving the unicorns from the world?

Updated Saturday Night: All right, guys. This contest is about guessing the title of the book, not filling the comments thread with every word from the dictionary. So I’ve got a new rule. Starting with comment number 239, every entrant is allowed three more guesses. THREE. TRES. Not three more comments, three more words. This rule is in effect until I put out hint #5 (if we get that far). So think carefully.

THE TITLE HAS NOT BEEN GUESSED. So do not repeat any of the words already guessed (though several would, in fact, fit).

Ready?

HINT #4: Like RAMPANT, the title is a term of heraldry.

_________________________________________________________

THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Wow, I was just about to come in and say, okay guys, hint #5, “it’s an English word,” or hint #6 “it ends in -nt,” or hint #7 “Tiff almost guessed it.”

But I didn’t have to. Because at 9:31 a.m. on Sunday, while I rode hte BoltBus to the Books of Wonder signing in New York City, on her 45th guess (though only her first since I instituted the new rule), Abby guessed the title of RAMPANT’s sequel.

The title is:

ASCENDANT

Abby, you have won yourself an ARC, though they will not be printed for a few months yet. Congratulations!

And thank you all for your wonderful guesses. I can’t tell you how many of your guesses were on the list of titles my editor and I batted back and forth for months. As I said somewhere in the comments section, the working title of the manuscript was REMEDY, but there was a concern that it sounded too medical and would not resonate with people who had not read RAMPANT and were unaware of the significance of that word inside the world of the book. It was a long time before we struck upon ASCENDANT, and when we did, it clicked into place right away as the perfect title for this book.

ascendant (n. or adj.)

1. (adj.) moving upward; ascending or rising; increasing in power.
2. (adj.) Dominant in position or influence; superior.
3. (n.) An ancestor.