Titles, Titles, Evermore

My pal Colleen Gleason is canvassing for titles for the fifth Gardella Vampire Chronicles book (And if you haven’t been reading these, why the hell not? Go forth now and devour!

These books have always had the most amazing titles. Check it out:

The Rest Falls Away
Rises the Night
The Bleeding Dusk
When Twilight Burns (out August ’08!)

So far, my favorite of the suggestions has been The Ardent Dawn, though that may be because it reminds me of the “Argent Dawn” which is a Crusade against the Undead in World of Warcraft, and thus very funny in context. I also like “Where Light in Darkness Lies” because it reminds me of the poem that inspired the first title.

Actually, the suggestions have been pretty good all around. The first (and last) time I ever canvassed for suggestions in a public forum about a title, I got stuff like Destiny Intertwined, which, um, no. It turned me off the practice.

I am, however, currently casting about for a title for my fourth secret society girl book. I’ve got a running list, but so far, everything I’ve come up with sounds more like chapter titles than a title for the whole book. Which is problematic. Titles are tough. And very subjective. People get very angry about them, too. I know I’ve seen people rave about titles I thought were awful, and I’ve come up with titles that were roundly rejected by anyone that heard them as well. (I remember telling a friend about the unicorn book, and then telling him the (old) title, and he said, “Yeah, I wouldn’t read a book called that.” We came up with a new title before shopping it and I love that one.)

I also love my newest title, Rites of Spring (Break), for which the credit goes to Bantam Dell senior editor Tracy Devine. It sets the bar very high for book four, however. I’m looking for something that adequately conveys the storyline of the book (not a spoiler to say it’s all about the tapping of the new class and graduation) as well as hints at the overarching theme of the story, as the previous ones did, and conveys the right tone. I know the perfect title is out there. It may just take another few brainstorming sessions.

In the meantime, it remains SSG4. I take comfort in the fact that Pride & Prejudice was once “First Impressions” and War & Peace was once “All’s Well that Ends Well.” Perhaps I should also go with an ampersand title. Ampersands have done me well for four books of Rose & Grave now.