Someone once asked me what it was about a book that made me pick it up and consider buying it. The color? The title? The graphics?
While I have to admit that the visuals, splashes of bright color and clever graphics, can draw my eye to a particular cover as opposed to the one beside it, once I’ve picked it up the title is all-important. The author has a handful of words to pique my interest and get me to turn the book over to read the back blurb.
Now an author is a master at using words to tempt and tease. It’s his or her forte, and most authors excel at it or they wouldn’t be published. But to be able to take an entire storyline and sum it up in less than one sentence – now that’s craftsmanship. Sometimes I could write entire chapters in the time it takes me to come up with a title. Often, I’ll take the dog for a walk, and just let my thoughts wander while I follow her across a field or down the path by the river. Prospective titles dance through my head and usually by the time the dog is ready to go home, I have some ideas that just might work for that particular story.
My first published works was a sci-fi novella about librarian who went to Earth on vacation. She missed her flight home, and was stranded on the post-apocalyptic planet with a hunky sergeant until the next tourist season. As you can see, I managed to sum up the plot in two sentences. Much too long for a title, so off I went with the dog. I considered using Stranded as the title, but that didn’t convey the sci-fi aspect of the story and I didn’t feel it did anything to make the prospective reader want to know more. So, I called it “Stranded on Earth.” Now the title hooks the reader by creating questions. How can a person be stranded on Earth? Where did they come from? Why?
Next, I wrote a series of Novellas about a race of shifters that I created known at the Imperial Were-Panthers. I called the series Shifting Priorities – a play on the fact that they are shifters, and when they meet the heroine, their priorities change. The Imperial Were-Panthers have one true mate somewhere in the galaxy, and when they find her, their entire focus narrows. They have to convince her to accept them as mate, so all of the titles reflect that. To date, Mating Ritual, Mating Dance and Mating Call are published and I’m planning a few more in the next year or so, I just need to come up with appropriate titles for them. I’m considering Mating Frenzy. What do you think? Does it catch your interest?
Stargazers was the obvious choice for the next series. It’s catchy, it describes exactly what the talented heroines do when they are harnessing the lines of energy, and it raises questions in the potential reader’s mind. The individual titles were harder to come up with, and the poor dog walked miles in search of them. I opted to go with one-word titles, and I have no idea why I went with words starting with a “W.” I wanted the titles to convey the feisty attitudes of the women who harnessed the energies of the stars for their own use. Wanton, Willful, Wild are now available at Changeling Press, and Wayward will be released in November. I’d like to add more titles to the series, just as soon as I come up with come other “W” titles. Wicked, anyone?
I also wrote my first were-wolf story this summer, as part of a multi-author series at Changeling Press called Sex and Chocolate. The heroine’s name is Destiny, so I’ve called my story- Seducing Destiny. I’m rather proud of that title as it really does sum up the major plot of the story. Jack is the Alpha of the North Rockies pack, and he’s known for some time that Destiny is his one true love. He’s given her time to come to terms with her inner wolf, but he feels he’s waited long enough. Of course, there are the bad guys, and her boyfriend and other miscellaneous things to get in his way, but he’s his focus is on Seducing Destiny! What do you think? Does the title tempt you to add the book to your TBR pile?
Anne Kane
http://www.annekane.com/
http://www.annekane.wordpress.com/
www.twitter.com/annekane
www.facebook.com/anne.kane.author
While I have to admit that the visuals, splashes of bright color and clever graphics, can draw my eye to a particular cover as opposed to the one beside it, once I’ve picked it up the title is all-important. The author has a handful of words to pique my interest and get me to turn the book over to read the back blurb.
Now an author is a master at using words to tempt and tease. It’s his or her forte, and most authors excel at it or they wouldn’t be published. But to be able to take an entire storyline and sum it up in less than one sentence – now that’s craftsmanship. Sometimes I could write entire chapters in the time it takes me to come up with a title. Often, I’ll take the dog for a walk, and just let my thoughts wander while I follow her across a field or down the path by the river. Prospective titles dance through my head and usually by the time the dog is ready to go home, I have some ideas that just might work for that particular story.
My first published works was a sci-fi novella about librarian who went to Earth on vacation. She missed her flight home, and was stranded on the post-apocalyptic planet with a hunky sergeant until the next tourist season. As you can see, I managed to sum up the plot in two sentences. Much too long for a title, so off I went with the dog. I considered using Stranded as the title, but that didn’t convey the sci-fi aspect of the story and I didn’t feel it did anything to make the prospective reader want to know more. So, I called it “Stranded on Earth.” Now the title hooks the reader by creating questions. How can a person be stranded on Earth? Where did they come from? Why?
Next, I wrote a series of Novellas about a race of shifters that I created known at the Imperial Were-Panthers. I called the series Shifting Priorities – a play on the fact that they are shifters, and when they meet the heroine, their priorities change. The Imperial Were-Panthers have one true mate somewhere in the galaxy, and when they find her, their entire focus narrows. They have to convince her to accept them as mate, so all of the titles reflect that. To date, Mating Ritual, Mating Dance and Mating Call are published and I’m planning a few more in the next year or so, I just need to come up with appropriate titles for them. I’m considering Mating Frenzy. What do you think? Does it catch your interest?
Stargazers was the obvious choice for the next series. It’s catchy, it describes exactly what the talented heroines do when they are harnessing the lines of energy, and it raises questions in the potential reader’s mind. The individual titles were harder to come up with, and the poor dog walked miles in search of them. I opted to go with one-word titles, and I have no idea why I went with words starting with a “W.” I wanted the titles to convey the feisty attitudes of the women who harnessed the energies of the stars for their own use. Wanton, Willful, Wild are now available at Changeling Press, and Wayward will be released in November. I’d like to add more titles to the series, just as soon as I come up with come other “W” titles. Wicked, anyone?
I also wrote my first were-wolf story this summer, as part of a multi-author series at Changeling Press called Sex and Chocolate. The heroine’s name is Destiny, so I’ve called my story- Seducing Destiny. I’m rather proud of that title as it really does sum up the major plot of the story. Jack is the Alpha of the North Rockies pack, and he’s known for some time that Destiny is his one true love. He’s given her time to come to terms with her inner wolf, but he feels he’s waited long enough. Of course, there are the bad guys, and her boyfriend and other miscellaneous things to get in his way, but he’s his focus is on Seducing Destiny! What do you think? Does the title tempt you to add the book to your TBR pile?
Anne Kane
http://www.annekane.com/
http://www.annekane.wordpress.com/
www.twitter.com/annekane
www.facebook.com/anne.kane.author
See all of Anne's available books: Click here
Sci –Fi and Fantasy with a sensual twist!
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