Florida & the Virus

UPDATE. I'm accumulating information, and hopefully expertise, on making masks. My next blog will include links to patterns & video, and include what I've learned while making a variety of masks this week. Meanwhile, for those who are anxious, check out the YouTube video made by Jo-Ann's Fabrics and the pattern & instructions for making a Fu Mask (my preference), available on the Internet.

My son sent me a list of ten "Corona Memes." I am re-posting 3 of them to Mosaic Moments. Obviously, we need all the smiles we can get.

FLORIDA & THE VIRUS

Thursday, March 19.

Hard to believe only a week ago I was buying groceries, though the shelves were already clean of toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Why the run on toilet paper I have no idea, nor did anyone else in the store. We were all talking freely to each other, only vaguely worried about a virus that had produced but one case in our country, a man just returned from a Nile cruise in Egypt. (More important that day, my family had to be out their house before Friday's Closing.) But two days later, daughter called to postpone my visit to the new house and get a transponder for the gate of their new community. As a "most at risk," I was to stay home, she told me, go nowhere—including no church, no choir—have my groceries delivered.

My son called from Connecticut to give the same caution as my daughter. So here I am, grateful that I already have a "work at home" job, my cat to keep me company, and feeling self-righteous because I early-voted last Thursday, completed the 2020 Census online, and sent off my IRS figures to my accountant. (My one venture out to a nearly deserted post office and to pick up a prescription in the drive-thru line at Walgreen's.) 

Looking on the bright side, my next book will likely get done faster. I am getting a lot of gardening done - long neglected due to my broken foot last fall. Which means spring gardening is a real challenge, with lots more debris to clean up than usual. (I'm gradually getting back in shape, but there's a lot of huffing and puffing.) Since my reading schedule has always been heavy, few changes there. But I am enjoying having an extra project during this time of being house-bound—I am finishing up my fifth princess gown for the church's spring musical and will likely make one or two more. Of course the musical has been postponed, but I am confident it WILL happen sometime, and those gowns will be ready!

Squeak, interestingly, seems to pick up on the general tension. She cuddles more, sleeps with me each night, not at the foot of the bed as in the past but cuddled up as tight as she can get. Reminds me of my previous cat, Ghostie, who was a stray I fed while living in Venice. Knowing she would starve when we moved, my son cornered her, forced her into a carrier, and moved her to Orlando with me. The day after we arrived, she was gone for four days, coming back only after being defeated by the superhighway leading back to Venice (or so I speculated). Anyway, she stayed put, but never cuddling (as was her habit) until I came home after a week in the hospital, at which point she curled up on my bed and stayed there until I was up and around. Amazing how animals sense our feelings.

As for the rest of Florida . . .

It was truly the end of the world as we know it when Disneyworld, Universal & the other theme parks closed their doors, a number of hotels along with them. Orlando International - something like the fourth busiest airport in the U.S. - is nearly a ghost town. Bars are closed, restaurants asked to "distance" their customers. Schools are closed, many going to online classes after Spring Break (this week). My church is still functioning but the choir has been given leave. Everyone is asked to practice "social distancing." Even the anchors on my local TV station were delivering the news from separate studios. Our grocery stores are now offering "early shopping" hours for seniors,but I still intend to explore Publix Delivery, a whole new concept for me. 

Although Disney is paying its employees during the shutdown, most businesses cannot manage that; plus, all peripheral businesses are adversely affected, which is a goodly portion of Orange and Osceola counties. And every business, large and small, is affected by people staying home, making this a really tough time economically as well as medically. My county (Seminole) is now up to 8 cases, Orange County (Orlando), 15. And yet, Spring Breakers are still going to the beach—88 rip tide rescues at Daytona Beach last Sunday alone. Evidently, there are altogether too many college students who consider themselves indestructible. Sigh. 

One disturbing bit of news—this news report was from MY country:

Gun stores are selling out of guns & ammunition, the majority to first-time gun owners. Apparently, too many apocalyptic movies & TV shows out there. Sigh. Fortunately, most people are standing up to this disaster with fortitude (barring the hoarding of toilet paper, that is). We, all descendants of immigrants, are a hardy lot. We will cope. And hopefully, do it with grace and courage.

I offer my sympathy to other affected countries, particularly those who are suffering so severely. Perhaps this is a reminder we are all one world—that we suffer together, will rise together, hopefully better able to see "we" instead of "me."

Saturday, March 21
Eight cases of Covid-19 in my county. Two neighboring counties - Orange & Osceola - have instituted an 11pm - 5am curfew. Restaurants are now Delivery or Curb-service only. Yet the beaches, crowded by spring breakers, are still open. The Florida Keys, however, are shutting down to all outsiders as of Sunday (tomorrow) night. 

Closing with a pic we all need . . .

A stream of flowers (Holland)

~ * ~

For Blair's website, click here.

 
For a link to Making Magic With Words, click here. 

For a link to Shadows Over Greystoke Grange on Amazon, click here.

For a link to Shadows Over Greystoke Grange on Smashwords (20% free read), click here.

For a link to Blair's updated Facebook Author Page, click here.

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace

 

Fantasy, SciFi, Paranormal

Late-night Friday, March 6, Space X launched the last of its first generation of space capsules, sending supplies to the space station. My daughter made an excellent video of the launch from Longwood, about 35 miles west of the Kennedy Space Center. It was the first time any of us had seen the secondary "burn" (rocket ignition), that sends the booster back to land after it detaches from the space craft. Except at the time of the video, no one recognized why a second explosion suddenly lit the sky, and since even the children know about Challenger, there were a few bad moments recorded on the video. 

(FYI, I was standing in my driveway in Venice, FL, watching the launch from 90 miles away, when I saw that sudden "V" made by the Challenger explosion and rushed back inside to hear the TV announcer intone that obviously there had been an "anomaly.")

For Susie's video of the launch, complete with a couple of scary moments, click here.

Found on Facebook

FANTASY, SCI-FI, PARANORMAL

As so often happens with this blog, a book I read this week (recommended by my son) set me to thinking . . .

Firstly, it was among the most fascinating books I've ever read, if not the most fascinating. The writing was excellent, but the imagination involved simply blew me away. Wow! It was a long read, but I finished it in record time and am already beginning Book 2 of the series. Is this a series I will want to add to my "read over & over" list? Probably not. It's too dark, too harsh, too agonizing at times for a Happily Ever After author like me. But oh my, when it comes to story-telling . . . 

Secondly, I stopped to ask myself where this book sat among the many genres of Fiction, and I realized that in bookstores it had to be shelved under Fantasy. I can hear some of you murmur, "Fantasy? Elves and fairies are dark, harsh & agonizing?" Except, that's the problem with the genre title of Fantasy. It conjures the wrong image. I had read through most of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series before I realized it was Fantasy, not Science Fiction. I mean, it was set on a planet far, far away (long before Star Wars), so it must be SciFi. There were a lot of odd creatures, but no elves, fairies, witches, wizards, etc., so how could it be Fantasy? But that was back when I was only a reader,  not a writer. 

Truth is, Fantasy covers a LOT of territory. If you're writing about dragons, for example, it's Fantasy. In Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, you could add in Alternative History, but all those dragons make Fantasy the primary genre. And the book I praised above—no matter how dark, no matter how many four-letter words, no matter if some of the good guys get killed—Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards series is Fantasy. He has built an intricate world of his own making, peopled it with hordes of incredibly well-delineated characters, all set in a time vaguely reminiscent of our own 16th or 17th centuries. There is nothing "scientific" about it, except perhaps continued references to a far more advanced culture pre-dating their own. (Somewhat reminiscent of what happened in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders series.)

Yes, Fantasy can be fairies, elves, witches, and wizards, but it includes so much more. Never be afraid to reach out and enjoy the truly thrilling sweep of some people's imaginations. It can literally put you into a whole new world.

If you're wondering where Steampunk comes in this discussion, I'd call it a form of Fantasy. The world of Steampunk is not as as drastically different from ours, being based on late 19th c. Earth, but Steampunk "science" is based on putting recognizable devices into an era where they did not exist. Examples:  vast arrays of dirigibles, vehicles that run on steam, computer-like devices, radio-like transmissions, etc. Therefore, since we are playing Time Travel with scientific devices, Steampunk is a form of Fantasy.

So what makes Fantasy different from SciFi? 

In a strict definition, Science Fiction contains "real" science. It is not simply set in the future. The devices—whether computers, engines, space ships, fighter planes, communication machines, etc.—must be within the realm of possibility; i.e., based on proven scientific knowledge. Linnea Sinclair once told me she wrote "Futuristic" (SciFi with strong emphasis on Romance), but truth is, the scientific details in her books are so precise, a number of bookstores shelved her work under Science Fiction. She is definitely among the authors whose books I have read several times over. Somehow she gets it all in there - all those pesky technical details plus the romance. Most of us don't have the technical knowledge to do that. 

So . . . SciFi contains "Real" Science in stories set in worlds that could actually exist. If a book's "world" contains dragons who talk, for example, it's Fantasy. If it's a world, no matter how odd, that could conceivably exist—Tatooine, for example—then we're talking SciFi. Wookies are okay, as is the mystique of Obi Wan—every culture has things impossible to understand—but personally I draw the line at Ewoks. For me, that's when the series crossed into Fantasy.

Is Paranormal just ghosts, vampires, and shapeshifters?

Absolutely not. That's another common fallacy. Although Gail Carriger did the impossible— made me enjoy reading about werewolves and vampires—the Paranormal stories I love the most are those that involve amazing gifts of the mind. Which is why I'm so fond of the works of Jayne Castle. All her books have heroes and heroines with special "gifts." In fact, the variety of talents, including those of the bad guys, is absolutely amazing.

So no, when you hear "paranormal," do not dismiss it as things that go bump in the night. The variations of Paranormal are as endless as they are intriguing. And yes, there's allowance for a touch of fantasy here as well. For example, Jayne Castle's much-loved "dust bunnies," which pop up in all her "Harmony" books. And why shouldn't a planet far, far away have a dust-ball-like creature with four eyes? (I have no idea why I love dust bunnies but am totally turned off by Ewoks. Maybe because dust bunnies occur in all of Ms Castle's books, whereas Ewoks seemed a fantasy intrusion into a serious SciFi series.)

A quick note on Futuristic.

There was a time when Futuristic meant Romance set in the Future, but over the years it seems to have transformed into Hot Sex set in the Future. And I'd love to know where that leaves series like Lindsay Buroker's Emperor's Edge and Meljean Brook's The Kraken King. Steampunk/Alternative History? Flat-out Adventure in an Alternative Universe? Or just Adventure in a realm far, far away? 

In any event, there are fabulous worlds out there, just waiting to pull you in. Don't get stuck in a rut of reading just one genre; take a chance, plunge right in to the worlds of Fantasy, SciFi & Paranormal. If a charming con artist or a former assassin isn't your idea of a hero, try the works of Jayne Castle who writes the heros and heroines we'd all like to think we are. Or perhaps you'd be as enchanted to discover the Gail Carriger's special take on vampires and werewolves as I was. Or the truly tough heroines and semi-mechanical men presented by Linnea Sinclair? And if you don't mind dark & agonizing, please indulge yourselves in the works of Scott Lynch, who has more imagination than any other author I have ever encountered. Or if you prefer your ghosts gently presented, the romance mostly behind closed doors, you can take a peek my The Ghosts of Rushton Court, so far my best-selling Regency Gothic.

But please—I'm begging you—take a chance on above genres. I suspect you'll find they have a lot more to offer than you thought they did.

~ * ~

The Blue Moon Rising series

~ * ~

 
For a link to Making Magic With Words, click here. 

For a link to Shadows Over Greystoke Grange on Amazon, click here.

For a link to Shadows Over Greystoke Grange on Smashwords (20% free read), click here.

For a link to Blair's updated Facebook Author Page, click here.

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace

 

Grace's "most read" Authors

GROWING UP!

Hailey - 2003

2012 (Thing 1 with Riley & baby Cassidy)

2016

2018 (with barracuda)

Stony Creek Trail, Branford, CT - 2019

 

Genuine Florida Driver's License + Car

And now our baby can drive all by herself. Ack! Truth is, the family is moving, and though still in the same county, not in the same school district, so a car & driver were necessary for both Hailey & Riley to remain in Lake Mary High School. Therefore, used car + brand new license. I'm sending up prayers.

I wasn't going to add any more to the above, but Hailey's mother posted a pic to Facebook on Friday morning that has to be included. Susie, having spent nearly a decade adding to her income as a professional singer by doing beauty makeovers for Lancôme, is well qualified to transform Hailey for something at school called "Decades Day." (I believe that's Mom's '80s jacket she's wearing.)

~ * ~

GRACE'S "MOST READ" AUTHORS

No, I am not going to name names—I'd like to keep my friends, thank you very much! But over the past year I've become more and more aware just how far my taste has strayed from Romance even though that is considered the genre I write. Truth to tell, I never embraced the simplistic Harlequin/Silhouette view of Romance, never read any of those little books displayed on their own rack in bookstores. And I did not try to write one until I knew I had a chance to be published if I did (He Said, She Said - Kensington Precious Gems). I wanted to write Romance, yes, but with action, adventure, suspense, a murder or two, etc., etc. And that's what I ended up doing, my only other "cave" to Traditional Romance, my six Regencies for Penguin Putnam's Signet. (Fun to write, but shorter and far less adventurous than The Sometime Bride and Tarleton's Wife.)

But even when I went indie in 2011, I continued to write Historical Romance and contemporary Mystery/Suspense with a strong emphasis on Romance. So how did I stray from the fold in my reading? Truthfully, I'm not sure. But this week I took the time to make a list of books and series I keep going back to, reading over and over again, enjoying them anew each time. To my complete astonishment, only three were Regency authors. And one, I admit, was an author who wrote the Australian version of Harlequin/Silhouette novels. (Guess she just struck the right chord with me.)

Of the remainder, two write contemporary mystery series, some of them better than others. But I've read them all more than once, and buy each new book as it comes out. Yet another author favorite writes contemporary mystery with a goodly touch of the paranormal. And four write Fantasy/SciFi with more than a little paranormal, and varying degrees of Romance. One went eleven books into a series without so much as kiss; one writes books well sprinkled with hot sex. (So no surprise that I took time out from the Regency to write my Fantasy/SciFi series, Blue Moon Rising.)

At the RWA conference here in Orlando a couple of years ago, someone at a SciFi seminar made the remark that Regency and SciFi have a lot in common—most particularly, the creation of an entirely different world than the one we live in. So perhaps it's not so surprising I feel at home in both worlds. And I have discovered from my sales figures that many Regency readers must also enjoy a goodly dash of adventure and the paranormal, for my Regency Gothics outsell all my other books.

Why have I veered more and more toward Fantasy/SciFi and the paranormal? Well, in high school my extracurricular reading was almost entirely SciFi. And then I discovered Anne McCaffrey, enjoying all her series, although the Dragonrider series remains outstanding in my mind, one of the great classics of the genre. And then I discovered Georgette Heyer and became a Regency fanatic, long before I ever heard of Romance Writers of America. As I recall, my mother—the children's book author, Wilma Pitchford Hays, who put me through college writing series romance for Modern Romances—first steered me toward RWA (and later toward e-books). And after that, I was caught in the web, struggling between what I wanted to write and the kind of book that would get me published!

So, as I've said so many times over the years, it was the e-book industry that allowed me to write the stories I wanted to write. First, my thanks to early e-publishers who put my "real" work out there. And, finally, indie pub that allowed me the freedom to be the storyteller I wanted to be. But wait . . .

We all want to make money—that's a trap we can't ignore. Hence, my emphasis on my Regency Gothics. And back to the appeal of the Paranormal.

I suspect the harsh reality of our world—not just the present but back into the mists of time—accounts for our desire to believe in something more. This "more" most certainly includes our many religious beliefs, but there is always the temptation to go beyond, to tell tales of things that go bump in the night. I, who inevitably stick to Happily Ever After endings, prefer my paranormal creatures to be benign, but that's just me. If your taste runs toward Stephen King, fine. Yes, it's escapism. But we all need it, never more so than right now when our politics has turned almost as scary as the coronavirus.

Therefore—to name another name, even though I said I wouldn't—perhaps that is why I prefer the works of Jayne Castle to the works of Jayne Ann Krentz or Amanda Quick. (All three the same author.) I read all her books, but it's the Jayne Castle books I read over and over again. JC writes stories set in a fantasy world far, far away, with the Paranormal exploding all over the place in every book. I don't know how many times when I was "down," I've lost myself in the Fantasy world of the planet Harmony, and immediately felt better.

As for Mystery, I enjoy the intellectual challenge of "whodunit"; most particularly, I enjoy the expert writing often found in the Mystery genre. And if there's a goodly dash of the paranormal, all the better. 

Moral of the story:  Do not turn your back on Escapism. It's fun and it's good for morale. If Romance does it for you, great. For me, I prefer Action and Intellectual Challenge, though my favorites also have a goodly dash of Romance. So never fear stretching your reading—or writing—beyond the confines simple Romance. Who knows? If you like the Regency World, you just might find Fantasy or SciFi series you like as well. Or vice versa. Be flexible. Give other people's worlds a try.

~ * ~

 
For a link to Making Magic With Words, click here. 

For a link to Shadows Over Greystoke Grange on Amazon, click here.

For a link to Shadows Over Greystoke Grange on Smashwords (20% free read), click here.

For a link to Blair's updated Facebook Author Page, click here.

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace

Old-time Recipes

When I see photos like this (found on Facebook) I really miss New England. (Note to my foreign readers: tulips & daffodils do not grow in Florida.)


Below, a more thought-provoking (& wee bit funny) pic from Facebook:

OLD-TIME RECIPES

In the course of checking the Cassoulet recipe, posted to Mosaic Moments in December 2019, I dug into the cookbook marked "Old Cookbook." This is the one I accumulated during my early years of marriage and while cooking for a family of five. It contains recipes my mother gave me, as well as recipes I carefully cut from magazines over the course of twenty-plus years before I put the best of them into a new cookbook - called THE Cookbook - which I gave to my daughter, daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law's sister, and prospective daughter-in-law. (The last one didn't work out—I hope, however, that she enjoyed the recipes!)

After the appearance of THE Cookbook, and as I accumulated an astonishing collection of printed cookbooks, augmented by folders full of clipped recipes, the Old Cookbook was neglected. It should not have been. There are some true treasures in there. Today I'm going to share two that are even older than those my mother gave me, as they were given to her by her best friend, whom I was allowed to call "Aunt Gertie." And since Aunt Gertie was somewhat older than my mother, she must have been born around the turn of the 20th century. At a guess, I would say my mother acquired these recipes in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Both have stood the test of time. 

For historical purposes, here is the original recipe for Aunt Gertie's Oven Beef Stew (as typed up by my mother). Below it, you will find the slightly different version I used when I made the stew in January 2020. Although this recipe predates the Crock Pot, I imagine it is easily adaptable - with the possible exception of allowing the peas to partially unfreeze before adding them to a Crock Pot.

AUNT GERTIE'S S OVEN BEEF STEW
(as given to me by my mother, author, Wilma Pitchford Hays)

2 lb. beef stew meat
3 tbsp. minute tapioca
½ c. fresh or frozen peas
1½-2 c. canned tomatoes
1 tspn. sugar
5 onions, sliced
6 carrots, diced
½ c. fresh bread crumbs
1 c. celery
1 tbsp. salt

Stir altogether in big bowl and put in iron kettle to cook. Bake 5 hrs. at 250, tightly covered.

(cut each beef cube in quarters and remove as much fat as possible)

* * *

AUNT GERTIE'S OVEN BEEF STEW
(adapted by Grace)

1¼ - 2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut in bite-size pieces*
3 TBspn Minute Tapioca
1 can diced or crushed tomatoes (1½-2 cups)
1 small pkg frozen peas
3-5 onions, halved and sliced
Small pkg. of baby carrots, cut in half 
1 cup celery, sliced (c. 3 stalks)
Celery leaves, sliced (optional)
½ cup fresh bread crumbs (1 slice)
1 tspn. sugar
1-1½ tspn. salt **
Fresh ground black or mixed pepper

Stir together all ingredients in a large oven-resistant stock pot. Bake 5 hours, tightly covered, at 250°.

*In the old days the beef hunks were bigger and more fatty, requiring quite a bit of preparation (& inevitable poundage loss). The stew meat I get from Publix, however, is so well trimmed I need only cut the pieces in half. 

**I used far less salt than the original recipe and still wished I had used less. So take care - our taste for salt has changed dramatically in the last few decades.

Grace note:  Although I added black pepper to this recipe, it requires no seasonings beyond the basic, each ingredient adding its own flavor to combine in a scrumptious taste all its own.

AUNT GERTIE'S CHERRY CHEESE CAKE

20-22 Lorna Doone cookies*
4 TBspn butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 lb. cream cheese, softened
1 tspn. vanilla
1 can cherry pie filling

Break (or roll) cookies into fine pieces. Melt butter & pour into crumbs. Spread mix on large pie plate or square glass baking dish.
Mix eggs, sugar, cream cheese & vanilla. Beat about 10 minutes. (Less with an electric beater.) Pour on top of cookie mix. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack; top with cherry filling. 

Will keep for several days in the refrigerator.

*Amazingly, Lorna Doone cookies are still with us after lo, these many years.

~ * ~

Below, companion mysteries - both set in "Golden Beach," Florida,
the fictional name I chose for the Gulf Coast town where I lived for 25 years.
 

~ * ~

 
For a link to Making Magic With Words, click here. 

For a link to Shadows Over Greystoke Grange on Amazon, click here.

For a link to Shadows Over Greystoke Grange on Smashwords (20% free read), click here.

For a link to Blair's updated Facebook Author Page, click here.

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace

Choosing a Title - 2

A friend I've known since age 16 when her mother became my grandgirls' nanny, now has two children of her own and has recently gone into the party-planning business. Here are two of the 32 pics she recently posted to Facebook. What an incredible job she and her business partner have done. If you live in the Orlando area, here is Maria's information:

Email : Encantosorlando@gmail.com
Facebook and Instagram @EncantosOrlando

A 3+ foot mandala by one of our Crochet Club members

CHOOSING A TITLE - 2

I frequently look at other people's books and think, "Oh, wow, what a great title!" Frankly, I struggle with mine, and there's no doubt some are better than others. But since, for me, it's necessary to have a title at the top of the page when I type "Chapter 1," creating a title is part of the initial process of writing a book. I would love to be able to sit down and write at least several chapters, get to know my characters, get the feel of the plot before finding a title, but nope, my mind doesn't seem to work that way. 

Have I changed a title in the course of writing a book? Oddly enough, only two come to mind. Hidden Danger, Hidden Heart went through several titles from the time I wrote "Chapter 1" to the time it went online. (I would list them here, but frankly I can't remember what they were.) And Rebel Princess started out as Blue Moon Rising for the simple reason I expected it to be a one-off, a fun digression into SciFi. Instead, the story insisted on taking four books, and Blue Moon Rising became the name of the series, necessitating a new title for Book 1.

Other than that, I've followed pretty much the same process each time:

1. I ask myself what my book is about. How can I cram the essence of my tale into a few words? Who or what is the most important character? What is it I want to emphasize?

For example, I was searching for various adjectives to go with Countess to describe the heroine of my last Regency Warrior book when I realized that the most important character this time around was the hero, and the book became The Abominable Major.  In my Regency Gothics the emphasis more often goes to "things" instead of people. Examples:  Shadows Over Greystoke Grange, The Ghosts of Rushton Court, The Blackthorne Curse, Tangled Destinies, The Demons of Fenley Marsh, The Mists of Moorhead Manor.

Why? Because in Gothics developing a sense of menace is all-important. In 3-5 words I've indicated that these stories are more eerie/suspense than tales of romance.


2.  Trial & Error.  I then sit down with a legal pad & pen and scribble down all the titles I can think of, no matter how awful or absurd. I may do this just once; I may do it several times over a period of days. Sometimes the right title leaps out at me; sometimes I continue to suffer, forcing myself to approach the problem from a different angle (as I did when I changed the title from feminine to masculine in The Abominable Major). When I have pinned my choices down to one or two . . .

3.  I go to Amazon and check the titles. And frequently find myself groaning as there are already two or three books by the titles I spent so much time choosing. Well, @#$%!  It's not that you can't have the same title, but really, who wants to be one of a crowd?

Example:  This is how my Lady Knight (a title I loved) became Florida Knight. Too many others had the same bright idea. Sigh. The same for The Art of Murder. After checking Amazon, my mystery set at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota became The Art of Evil.

4.  So . . . back to the drawing board. More scribbles. Maybe if I reverse those two words . . . Maybe I should just start from scratch. Out comes the legal pad and pen again. And yes, it's tough. Most authors complain about writing a synopsis. Which then gets boiled down to a blurb. Which, in turn, gets scrunched down to a Log Line for instant promo purposes. But getting your book down to Title size? That really is tough.

Below, I'm going to list a few more of my books and see if I can remember how they got their titles:

The Sometime Bride.  My very first. (It came out after Tarleton's Wife but was written first.) No, I don't recall the process - way back in the mid 90s - but the title was extremely apt as over seven years of the war against Napoleon, the heroine sees her husband only on rare occasions, although it is years before she realizes just how rare! So somehow I managed to say the most important point of the book in just three words.

The books that are easiest to name are the ones that emphasize a specific person:  Lady of the Lock, Lady Silence, Rebel Princess, Sorcerer's Bride, The Bastard Prince; the ladies of the Aphrodite Academy - Belle, Cecilia, Holly & Juliana. The Lady of the Lock was a girl who had been raised "lockside" by a father who engineered locks for canals. Lady Silence was a girl who did not talk.

Books like Tarleton's Wife and O'Rourke's Heiress are almost self-explanatory. Few agonies there. Steeplechase and Orange Blossoms & Mayhem were more of a challenge. In Steeplechase a young bride leads her thoughtless husband on a bumpy ride that almost ends in tragedy. My mystery (OB&M) was anchored in a wedding planning business run by a family with a history of far more daring adventures. Shadowed Paradise is a serial-killer tale, set in Florida. Its sequel, Paradise Burning, features a massive forest fire. Limbo Man, an international thriller, features a hero who has amnesia.

And as for Making Magic With Words - Advice on Writing & Editing . . .
I ran through countless possible titles with that one. I really wanted to call it Slay the Dragon, as my cover artist had found a great dragon pic, but in the end I bid fond farewell to the dragon and settled for a title that told the clear facts:  this is a "how to" book on Writing & Editing.

SUMMARY.  How do you reduce your book to 3-5 words? How do you capture a reader's attention? How do you create a title that calls out, "Read me!"?  I repeat:  titles are not my area of expertise, but I hope I've given you some helpful ideas. And the wonderful thing about the Computer Age is that you can change that title in two seconds flat. For indie authors, that means right up to the time you send it to your cover artist. Or perhaps I should say right up to the time he/she sends you the final cover copy. 

Titles are important. Take your time and do it right.

~ * ~

 
For a link to Making Magic With Words, click here. 

For a link to Shadows Over Greystoke Grange on Amazon, click here.

For a link to Shadows Over Greystoke Grange on Smashwords (20% free read), click here.

For a link to Blair's updated Facebook Author Page, click here.

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace