Thanks to all who entered, and to all those who helped me in my search for the perfect title. I know you've probably been losing as much sleep over this as I have, so I'll let you know right now you can stop worrying. The title search is officially over. The book shall henceforth be known as "Bound by Steel".
Due to my much lauded largesse, I and my panel of self-appointed experts have chosen three--count 'em, three--winners of my Name This Baby contest.
First up, Nonny, with her paean to brevity: "The Lying Cheating Double-Dealing Swordsman's Wife's Not-So-Secret Not-Quite-Bride"
Second, Sylvia's very succinct and practical: "A Bigger Bed"
And finally, Laughingwolf's completely adorable, cheese-free: "Lianon's Heart"
All y'all, email (kirstensaell AT yahoo DOT com) me with your details and let me know which title you would like in which format (keeping in mind Crossing Swords is available now, Healer's Touch will be out in August, and Bound by Steel won't be available til October). Make sure to put "Name this Baby" in the subject of your email so I don't condemn your missive to spam purgatory. I shall have the copies sent as quickly as is humanly possible. Perhaps even quicker than that.
:)
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Name This Baby - Contest!!
I need help, people, and in more ways than one. Given my growing urge to punish my latest, stubbornly unnamable novel, and in honor of the Smart Bitches' recent shenanigans, I hereby announce my first ever Purple Title Contest!
Read yon blurb. Post appropriately over-the-top, lilac-tinted title in the comments. Next week, a panel of three self-appointed experts will determine the most godawful, painfully purple example, and level a suitable punishme--*ahem* award the winner a free copy of the ebook in question (when it releases)--or Crossing Swords (out now) or Healer's Touch (August) if you prefer your gratification closer to instant.
Blurbage:
“I’ve been thinking about Kaela…”
There they are – the words that lead Gil to suspect Lianon his wife is falling in love with someone else. Not with another man – with Kaela, the traumatized girl they rescued from certain death six months before, the sweet, beautiful young woman who’s been living with them since that terrible night at Flaxton’s Inn. Gil has no idea how to compete with a woman for his wife’s affections, and part of him isn’t interested in trying. Because Lianon has plans for the three of them, plans that worry Gil less and less as he begins to fall under the spell of Kaela’s tarnished innocence.
But even as Gil, Lianon and Kaela succumb to the growing desire between them, the two Emissaries are drawn against their will into the intrigues and vendettas of Belthalas’ elite. When Lianon is kidnapped, Gil finds himself caught between one of the city’s most powerful politicians and those who seek to destroy him. Gil must weave a dangerous path between one adversary’s ambition and another’s lust for vengeance, even as Kaela works her way further under his skin. By the time Kaela is finally reunited with her disapproving family, Lianon’s heart isn’t the only one that stands to be broken.
One way or the other, it could be a very unhappy ending for everyone…
~
There you have it. Despite my editor's flagrant taunting and my own growing annoyance with the entire ordeal, I am reluctant to name this book One Sword, Two Scabbards. So have at it, one and all. Do your downright, despicably flowery worst!
And if any of you can think up a suitable title in a more utilitarian shade of say, brown or ecru or Navaho white, feel free to email me. At this point, I need all the help I can get!
Edited to add: The deadline for entries is Thursday, May 29. The winner (or winners, depending on how tough the decision is!) will be chosen Saturday and announced immediately thereafter.
Read yon blurb. Post appropriately over-the-top, lilac-tinted title in the comments. Next week, a panel of three self-appointed experts will determine the most godawful, painfully purple example, and level a suitable punishme--*ahem* award the winner a free copy of the ebook in question (when it releases)--or Crossing Swords (out now) or Healer's Touch (August) if you prefer your gratification closer to instant.
Blurbage:
“I’ve been thinking about Kaela…”
There they are – the words that lead Gil to suspect Lianon his wife is falling in love with someone else. Not with another man – with Kaela, the traumatized girl they rescued from certain death six months before, the sweet, beautiful young woman who’s been living with them since that terrible night at Flaxton’s Inn. Gil has no idea how to compete with a woman for his wife’s affections, and part of him isn’t interested in trying. Because Lianon has plans for the three of them, plans that worry Gil less and less as he begins to fall under the spell of Kaela’s tarnished innocence.
But even as Gil, Lianon and Kaela succumb to the growing desire between them, the two Emissaries are drawn against their will into the intrigues and vendettas of Belthalas’ elite. When Lianon is kidnapped, Gil finds himself caught between one of the city’s most powerful politicians and those who seek to destroy him. Gil must weave a dangerous path between one adversary’s ambition and another’s lust for vengeance, even as Kaela works her way further under his skin. By the time Kaela is finally reunited with her disapproving family, Lianon’s heart isn’t the only one that stands to be broken.
One way or the other, it could be a very unhappy ending for everyone…
~
There you have it. Despite my editor's flagrant taunting and my own growing annoyance with the entire ordeal, I am reluctant to name this book One Sword, Two Scabbards. So have at it, one and all. Do your downright, despicably flowery worst!
And if any of you can think up a suitable title in a more utilitarian shade of say, brown or ecru or Navaho white, feel free to email me. At this point, I need all the help I can get!
Edited to add: The deadline for entries is Thursday, May 29. The winner (or winners, depending on how tough the decision is!) will be chosen Saturday and announced immediately thereafter.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Name This Baby
When I had my boys, I knew right away--before I was pregnant, even--what their names would be. Strong, traditional, simple, masculine names. Names that have stood the test of time. Names any boy or man would wear with pride, ones that suited my husband's taste and my own.
With my daughter, not so much. She was, in fact, nameless for the first twenty-eight days of her life, at which point, the government forced my husband and me to come to a compromise and slap a sticker on the poor girl. We were neither of us overjoyed with the name we ended up picking, but we met each other halfway and our daughter is now thankfully in possession of a moniker other than "Baby Girl S.".
As authors we are often told, "your book is not your baby", a sentiment I wholeheartedly second. But right now, the book in my editor's hot little hand is behaving exactly like my daughter. My first two books, Crossing Swords and Healer's Touch, pretty much named themselves, the words appearing in my head in a burst of creative clarity. But this book, the sequel to Crossing Swords, is stubbornly resisting any semblance of labelling.
Add to this irritation the fact that my editor, the incomparable Bethany Morgan, is holding my contract in reserve, awaiting only the christening of this recalcitrant manuscript. In her words: "If someone were to name her book, she might receive an email..."
Yet we remain at an impasse, my book and me. The 80 000 words of this story poured from my fingertips and onto my hard drive with an effortless certainty. But the two to five words that will encapsulate the tale for the benefit of readers continue to elude me. To be honest, I'm not sure these words even exist. Perhaps in Esperanto?
This book being an erotic romance/fantasy featuring a sword-wielding hero and two--count 'em, two--heroines, the possibilities for title cheese are as endless and seductive as the oh-so-subtle symbolism of swords and *ahem* sheaths.
So that's it. I'm putting my foot down. If this thing doesn't tell me it's freaking name by tomorrow night, it will be contracted under the dignified moniker of One Sword, Two Scabbards.
Take that.
With my daughter, not so much. She was, in fact, nameless for the first twenty-eight days of her life, at which point, the government forced my husband and me to come to a compromise and slap a sticker on the poor girl. We were neither of us overjoyed with the name we ended up picking, but we met each other halfway and our daughter is now thankfully in possession of a moniker other than "Baby Girl S.".
As authors we are often told, "your book is not your baby", a sentiment I wholeheartedly second. But right now, the book in my editor's hot little hand is behaving exactly like my daughter. My first two books, Crossing Swords and Healer's Touch, pretty much named themselves, the words appearing in my head in a burst of creative clarity. But this book, the sequel to Crossing Swords, is stubbornly resisting any semblance of labelling.
Add to this irritation the fact that my editor, the incomparable Bethany Morgan, is holding my contract in reserve, awaiting only the christening of this recalcitrant manuscript. In her words: "If someone were to name her book, she might receive an email..."
Yet we remain at an impasse, my book and me. The 80 000 words of this story poured from my fingertips and onto my hard drive with an effortless certainty. But the two to five words that will encapsulate the tale for the benefit of readers continue to elude me. To be honest, I'm not sure these words even exist. Perhaps in Esperanto?
This book being an erotic romance/fantasy featuring a sword-wielding hero and two--count 'em, two--heroines, the possibilities for title cheese are as endless and seductive as the oh-so-subtle symbolism of swords and *ahem* sheaths.
So that's it. I'm putting my foot down. If this thing doesn't tell me it's freaking name by tomorrow night, it will be contracted under the dignified moniker of One Sword, Two Scabbards.
Take that.
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