Thursday, May 12, 2016

Chrys Fey on Titles

Hey everyone! Today, Chrys is visiting to share tips on creating titles for stories. Take it away, Chrys!


Alternative Titles for Seismic Crimes


Coming up with a title can be tricky. Sometimes we come up with a great title right away. Other times, we’re half-way through our first draft when a title comes, or even after we’ve edited our manuscript several times. Occasionally, our titles change during the writing process if we come up with something better.

3 Tips to Name a Book:

1. What’s the tone/mood/theme?

My published books are dark and suspenseful. Death and crimes are common. Immediately when you read Seismic Crimes you know what kind of ride you’re in for.

2. Think about the main character.

For a paranormal story, it’s clever to add the type of supernatural being that your MC is to the title. Or to at least hint at it. For example: Despite the Fangs by Dylan Newton is about a woman who is the Alpha of a werewolf pack.

3. What happens in the story? (What’s the plot/purpose?)

In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen has to fight in a deadly competition called the Hunger Games. What happens in your story? What does your character have to do? Consider your answers and see if a title pops out at you.

When I decided to write a sequel to Hurricane Crimes, I knew I wanted to link each title in the series with a disaster and the word “crimes”. With an earthquake as the disaster, I compiled a list of possible titles:

Earthquake Crimes
Quaking Crimes
Richter Crimes
Fault Line Crimes
San Andres Crimes

But one edged them out: SEISMIC CRIMES

Seismic describes earthquake activity but it also works as an adjective. When I think seismic, I envision monstrous chaos.



QUESTION: Do you think I chose the best title?


Title: Seismic Crimes
Author: Chrys Fey
Series: Disaster Crimes Series (Book Two)
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Format: Digital and Print
Page Count: 282


DIGITAL LINKS:

PRINT LINKS:

BLURB:

An Internal Affairs Investigator was murdered and his brother, Donovan Goldwyn, was framed. Now Donovan is desperate to prove his innocence. And the one person who can do that is the woman who saved him from a deadly hurricane—Beth Kennedy. From the moment their fates intertwined, passion consumed him. He wants her in his arms. More, he wants her by his side in his darkest moments.

Beth Kennedy may not know everything about Donovan, but she can’t deny what she feels for him. It’s her love for him that pushes her to do whatever she has to do to help him get justice, including putting herself in a criminal’s crosshairs.

When a tip reveals the killer's location, they travel to California, but then an earthquake of catastrophic proportions separates them. As aftershocks roll the land, Beth and Donovan have to endure dangerous conditions while trying to find their way back to one another. Will they reunite and find the killer, or will they lose everything?


HURRICANE CRIMES 99¢ SALE!


DIGITAL LINKS:
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BIO:
Chrys Fey is the author of Hurricane Crimes, Book One in the Disaster Crimes series, as well as these releases from The Wild Rose Press: 30 Seconds, Ghost of Death, and Witch of Death. She is an administrator for the Insecure Writer's Support Group and has participated in the Blogging from April A to Z Challenge.
When Fey was six years old, she realized she wanted to be a writer by watching her mother pursue publication. At the age of twelve, she started writing her first novel, which flourished into a series she later rewrote at seventeen.
Fey lives in Florida and is always on the lookout for hurricanes. She has four adopted cats who keep her entertained with their antics, and three nephews who keep her entertained with their antics. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and through her blog, Write with Fey. She loves to get to know her readers!

AUTHOR LINKS:

9 comments:

  1. Yes, you did!
    I had no idea what to name my second book. My publisher brainstormed a list, sticking with the theme of Cassa in the title, and we selected one. The name of the third book came from that same list.

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  2. You totally picked the right one! A lot of the time, I have trouble coming up with titles. It's tough, but thankfully I have great CPs to bounce ideas off. :)

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  3. Great title!! Well chosen. I'm having difficulty with my title. It's changed no end of times and I'm still not happy. I'm awaiting the ultimate epiphany :)

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  4. My bad. On my phone is shows I can comment individually. I deleted the separate comments. If you can help take care of that, Misha, I'd appreciate it.

    @Alex, I love that Cassa is in the title of all of your books for that series. :)

    @Christine, Titles are usually easy for me to come up with. CPs are such a great help for things like that.

    Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Misha!

    @Nicola, Patience. It'll come to you. Or maybe you need someone to bounce ideas off of.

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  5. I think that's a great title! I like how it's linked to your previous book with "crimes" in the title.

    Cheers - Ellen

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  6. Hmm, they all sounds good, but I hesitate to suggest titles to authors...it's kind of like picking the name for their kid:)

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  7. I have such a hard time figuring out titles. Well, serious titles. I can come up with silly, hilarious titles like "I'm not saying it was aliens" for a story with aliens. But it took a while to figure out the real title.

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  8. You picked the right title Chrys. I usually come up with titles quite easily.

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  9. @Ellen, always crimes. ;)

    @Mark, you're right. It is kind of like picking a name for some else's kid.

    @Patricia, I love that title! Silly titles are great.

    @Sheena, glad you think so.

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Thanks for commenting! I love to read what you think.

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