Title Trouble

Another month gone by, so I guess it's time for another post. I wasn't sure what I wanted to talk about – there's a lot going on, as usual. But then it hit me. One of the most important aspects of a book is the title. It's what the reader sees first. It should be intriguing, and make the reader want to look closer at the book, and it should also hint at what the book is about. At the very least, I think it should give a clue to the general theme or setting of the story.

And I am in a big title dilemma right now, which ironically enough, helped me with this post.

I am about 2/3 of the way through the next book in the Marchand series and I still have not been able to come up with a title for this one. I've set it in the equestrian field, and of course, like the other books in the series, the sexual relationship between the characters involves lots of BDSM fun.  I want something that gets at both of those factors, but many of the ideas that sprung up were just too… weird, icky, or plain old silly. Seriously, anything with the word "Riding" just came out so wrong! So I'm putting the task aside again until I have no choice to deal with it. I know, I'm a chicken, right? I should face this bump in the road head on and tackle it into submission. But I'd rather write the book at this point, and I'm hoping something will pop into my head before I get to end.

My sci-fi erotic romance, Prince of the Universe, will be out in a few weeks. That was a title I had no trouble coming up with. The theme song from the Highlander movies and TV show, as performed by Queen, always seemed to pop into my head from the moment I first started writing the book. After all, Vega is a prince, and he has traveled across the universe. It fit, perfectly, in my opinion. And as a nod to my love of all things Highlander, I couldn't resist.

Warrior's Vengeance was another title that came to me fairly easily. The funny thing is, when I first created these characters, way back in the late 90's, I wasn't writing anything remotely erotic. Sensual and hot, but without the intense, sexually charged (and kinky) love scenes. There were love scenes, and they were hot, but I don't think anyone would consider them erotic by today's standards. The book was originally called Passion's Vengeance, which kind of sucked, but I was way worse with titles back then. I've learned a bit since. Worst of all, hero and heroine didn't even come face to face until somewhere around chapter five! When I decided to dip my toe back into the medieval pool, I tossed everything I'd ever written about Marissa and Ian and started from scratch. The original title was always in the back of my mind, but once the story changed – drastically – the title just reworked itself. And I liked it.

The Taste of Magic was thought up by the book's original publisher. I won't even share the working title, it really, really sucked. (Not sure if I meant that pun or not! lol). But it does what it should do - tells you a little of what the book is about. It is one of my personal faves - maybe because someone else came up with it! :D

The vampire book I'm revising, The Night Club, was a fairly easy title to come up with. A large part of the book is set in a nightclub, and of course, even though my vamps can function in daylight, nighttime is the real playground for the bloodsuckers. I'm also really excited about this book, another one I started way back when. I've made drastic changes to it, and hope to be getting that one on the submission rounds. The characters, while they have a sensual and steamy relationship, are pretty much vanilla, so this book is authored by my other alter-ego, Gina Rosavin.

How does everyone else come up with their titles? Is it easy, hard, somewhere in between? What titles have you found interesting – the ones that stick in your head, even if it's been years since you read the book. What books have you read, simply because of the title? I'm curious. And open to any suggestions :)

* Yes, I changed the post title. Guess the issue isn't just limited to book titles!