Why is it so hard to come up with a title this time, y’all?? So, listen, I had an exciting moment last week where I realized it was time for me to schedule my next cover design—always an exciting step! So I reached out to my cover designer, I got an appointment for late February, and then I started thinking through logistics.
There’s certain info that the cover designer needs to have upfront, and other things that can wait until later. The back cover blurb, for example, can be added later, closer to publication since you only need the front cover to put the ebook up for preorder. However, the title needs to be known upfront. And if you have specific ideas for images you want to include, you gotta do your stock photo research (that’s a rant for a different day).
So I started brainstorming title ideas. And UGH.
It’s never been this hard for me to land on a decent title, my friends. I don’t know what it is about this book, but nothing seems good enough. I’m not even aiming for a title I LOVE anymore. I just want something that works well!
So what are the hinderances?
Well, I want the title to indicate two things to potential readers. I want it to hint at the fairytale, and I want it to hint at romance. But…
- I write non-magic fairytale retellings, so words like witch, enchanted, etc… won’t work.
- I write CLEAN romance, which means that any food-related words (Hunger, Taste, Delicious, Craving) come off sounding rather steamy, and thus are off limits.
So then, where does that leave me? Well, it leaves me chatting up ChatGPT, asking for lists of words that are related to Hansel and Gretel. It also leads to me whining to my sisters, telling them my bad title ideas, and getting their feedback. And THAT conversation leads to brilliant suggests such as these:
A Wood of Candy and Witches
A Cottage of Fire and Kisses
A Wood of Love and Witches
Betrayal in the Woods
A Path of Gingerbread and Sparring
A Path of Crumbs and Perfidy
White Way of Delight
Ansel and Gretchen in Love
Entwined in the Woods
Sweet Hunger
Through the Candy Forest
Don’t Die in the Woods
Through the Hungry Woods
A Path of Snuggles and Intense Eye Contact
A Trail of Strongly Worded Gazes
Candy Crush Path
A Path of Sweets and Longing
Friends to Sweethearts in the Woods
Pathways of Longing
Savage Love
The Trail to You
A Path of Ansel and Gretchen
The Adventures of Ansel and Gretchen
Crumbs of Longing
Crumbs of Love
Twisting Pathways
Tasty Pathways
Scrumptious Love
Truly Scrumptious
So, as you can see, I have some real winners in there. 😊 Actually, SOME of those titles would be perfectly fine titles, just not for THIS book.
On a happy note, here is a little taste of Ansel and Gretchen’s Story:
In-person Event Reminder
I will be selling and signing books at STORYCON on February 21-22 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, UT. The Exhibit hall where my booth will be located is FREE to the public, so if you want to pop in and say hi, you do not need to pay admission to the conference. There will be about 30 authors, as well as artists, educators, and other vendors.
Clean Romance Highlights
Crown and Serpent by Heather Frost is a recent release.
Every young woman in Lenzen wants Henri–except for Iris.
Unfortunately, the prince only has eyes for her.
Poisoned at Dawn by Leialoha Humpherys is up for preorder and releases February 14th
She’s fighting for her kingdom. He’s protecting her heart. With danger closing in, will they have the strength to save each other?
Be First to Comment