1920s, Books, critiquing, fantasy, publishing, writing

Title Reveal!

I teased on my FB page last week that I had finally settled on a title for my novel … and then said you would all have to wait until Monday, on the blog, to find out what it is. Wonder no more!

I’ve been calling this book Magic & Mayhem almost since the conception, but I never intended for it to be the official title – it was just holding it together in my mind, better than just calling it “Maia’s story” or “The Book.” When the time came to settle on a real title, though, I had the worst time. Nothing I thought of seemed quite right. I would bounce ideas off my husband with even more intensity than we used to discuss baby names (seriously, those were easy compared to this), and then email a list to my critique partner to get her opinion. I scoured the manuscript itself for clues, hunted through my Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, searched poems and verses and the Bible, stared at my row of Agatha Christie’s in vain hope of inspiration, and racked my own brain for ideas.

Finally, finally I found one that not only I liked, my two long-suffering partners in crime agreed sounded good, as well. Success at last!

(Seriously, who would have thought picking a title would be almost harder than writing the book itself?)

So, without further ado, I introduce …

Magic Most Deadly 

Ever since the War, Maia Whitney’s life has been one long straight path of drudgery and boredom, with no room for the adventures she secretly craves. If only there was a chance to do some work that really mattered, but what would that be?

Lennox Davies, minor magician and master Intelligence agent, has no time for independent and opinionated women. Lives depend on his ability to remain undistracted and keep his own counsel.

But when the two of them witness a murder, and Maia discovers her own blossoming magical talent, they must put aside their differences in order to work together. If they don’t, England itself could fall.

And even if they do, it still might not be enough.

0 thoughts on “Title Reveal!”

    1. Thanks! It’s nice to hear that I’m not the only one who struggles. I remember reading somewhere that even Madeleine L’Engle had a terrible time coming up with the title for A Wrinkle in Time, and it was one of her first readers who actually suggested it. Which made me feel so much better about my troubles with titles!

    1. Thanks! I’m still fond of the M&M title, but it ended up just not fitting with the story. As one of my CPs said, the story had magic, but not so much mayhem.

      Both of your titles sound great! Without knowing anything more about the story, I’d say the first one sound more fitting for a MG story, and the second for a bit older audience. But again, both are good.

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