The Title Game

       I was recently interviewed by our regional newspaper in preparation for a library event that was featuring 3 romance authors talking about our books, writing and all things romance and publishing. The journalist, who also covers very hard-hitting stories like political corruption, seemed to be having a fun time during the interview which made me very nervous about the outcome. He did have a great sense of humor as the article showed, but he was very surprised about one thing in romance novel publishing -- that authors have little or no control over coverart and TITLES. 

      And I know that readers are sometimes surprised by that, too. Most long-time readers are aware of that, but it's hard for most people to imagine that the person who creates the work has little or nothing to do with what it's called or how it's presented to the public. 

     It was a hard fact of writing-and-publishing life that I had to learn. . . and learn quickly! 
 
     I started out keeping my first title - A Love Through Time - but not my second one. Kept the third and fourth and then it went downhill from there! My 50% keeper rate continues to drop steadily.... DISHONORED-FORBIDDEN - BETRAYED became The Dumont Bride, The Norman's Bride and The Countess Bride. (Bride titled books sell really really well among Harlequins - LOL!)  Taming The Beast became Taming The Highlander, Tempting the Viking became Surrender to the Highlander and The Peacemaker's Bride (LOL) became Possessed by the Highlander. (Highlanders sell really, really, really well everywhere!) 

  So now, I simply call my books by a working title -- like MacLeries - Book 3 or Warriors of Destiny - book 1. And yes, it did backfire on me once -- I was calling my work-in-progress by the honorary title of the heroine who was the eldest daughter of the MacDougal clan -- she was and is referred to as 'The Maid of Lorne'. My editors liked that one and it stuck when I was expecting to have to change it...actually planning to! 

  And it hasn't only been with my Harlequin titles -- my Kensington STORM series all were changed...and the last one changed several times...ending with Mistress of the Storm...and then they had to change to cover to match the title...! LOL! 

   Really, the bottomline about titles (and covers) is that their purpose is to attract a potential reader's attention and drag them over to browse the book - whether in a store or online. Sometimes, they match the story perfectly and other times, well, not so much. So the next time you think a title or cover doesn't match or doesn't work, remember, the author may have been the only one not involved in it! 

    BTW - There is an exception -- now that many authors are self-publishing, they ARE in charge -- for good or bad! Everything is under their control...including titles and covers. I recently republished my first time travel romances with new covers -- so the first book went from this:                                                      

 To this:

  What do you think? 










   Did you know that authors don't always choose their titles or covers? Do you like the newer, longer titles that seem to be out there now, or do you prefer shorter ones? Any titles that are your favorites? 

Terri is now working on the first book in her WARRIORS OF DESTINY series for NAL and is thrilled that her May book (print release April 17th) YIELD TO THE HIGHLANDER will be a FEATURED AUTHOR edition at many retailers!  Stop by her website or watch her FB profile or page for lots more info! 
  

Soup For All Seasons by Fiona Lowe

Down here in southern Australia, we've just had record breaking rain and flooding, and the weather has been cold and dismal. It's soup weather!  


Now I realise many of you who are reading this blog are heading into summer and the thought of hot soup is more than you can bear, so to cover all bases, I'm sharing two of my favourite recipes, one for each hemisphere!  But before I do that I want to let you into my secret of great soup when you don't have time to cook.

You take either a can of pumpkin soup or tomato soup, add a can of milk, fresh black pepper and a teaspoon of curry powder. Mix together, microwave, throw some freshly chopped herbs on top and Voila! You have soup that tastes home-made. I have had people ask me for the recipe!

Talking recipes, I'll kick off with A Summer soup.  Cold Plum Soup! This is sensational to have as an appetizer for a summer lunch. Down here, I often serve it as party of Christmas lunch...the color is perfect!  I always use fresh plums but I believe my NA friends can buy plums in a can so you're all set if you or your neighbours don't have fruit trees.

1      can    purple plums -- 1-lb. 13-oz.

1     cup        water

 2/3  cup           sugar

1                    cinnamon stick

 1/4  teaspoon      white pepper

1      pinch         salt

1      cup           sour cream

 1/2  cup           heavy cream

1/2  cup           dry red wine

1      tablespoon    cornstarch

 2      tablespoons   lemon juice

1      teaspoon      grated lemon rind

3      tablespoons   brandy

 Pit and chop plums, combine with syrup in a saucepan.  Add water, sugar,

 cinnamon, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer 5 minutes

 stirring occasionally.  Mix wine and heavy cream with cornstarch, add to

 mixture and cook until thickened.  Stir in lemon juice, rind and wine, remove

 from heat.  Place 1/2 cup soup in small bowl, whisk in sour cream.  Add

 brandy and stir mix back into the soup pan until smooth.  Chill at least 4

 hours.  Serve in cups, garnish with dollops of sour cream and sprinkle with

 cinnamon. 

All I can say is YUMMO!

Now for a Winter soup, Pea & Ham soup  which I have cooking in my slow cooker as I type!

A 500gm or 1lb bag of yellow split peas soaked over night or boiled for 40 minutes.

Rinse and dump into the crock pot. Throw in an onion, carrot, 2 bay leaves,  peppercorns, potato, and the Christmas Ham bone or ham hocks from the market. Cover in water. Put on low for 12-24 hours. Remove the bones which are now clean of meat and the bay leaves. Whiz until smooth.

Serve with crusty bread. It is the complete food for lunch after Saturday sport when everyone is cold and hungry!

I hope you enjoy these recipes!




Fiona Lowe is an award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. 


A current RITA & RuBY nominee, you can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Boomerang Bride is available now from Carina Press, Amazon Kindle, Nook and all other online book stores. It will be on shelf in Australia on July 1^st 2012

Letting Go With Dr Rodriguez is available now from Mills and Boon UK and will be out at Harlequin.com on July 1^st. Tom’s Redemption is out in Australia. All her books can be purchased from  The Book Depository and iBooks,