What's in a title?

One of the most common questions I have been asked is how did I come up with the title for my book. The Viking's Apprentice began life with no title then moved on to be called Campbell's Cove. I stuck with this title right through writing the book until the final month. In June 2012 with the first draft almost complete my wife pointed out that title didn't really say anything about the book. It did not convey to the reader anything that would let them know what they were in for.

This proved quite a problem for me as I actually quite liked the name. I liked the town I had created and the name meant something to me. That was just the point though. It meant something to me because I knew all about Campbell's Cove, I had been writing about it for 18 months. Laying out the town, thinking about the people, the smells, the views everything. The reader, picking up the book for the first time would know nothing about the town and the name would tell them nothing about the book.

My solution was to read my book through from cover to cover and wait for the title to jump off the pages. When it did it made perfect sense. I knew straight away that it was the correct title and so The Viking's Apprentice was born.

Not only will this be the name for the first book it will also be the start of the name for every book in the series. Book 2 is under way and I will be writing about that in the near future.

Tomorrow's post will have an ariel shot of Campbell's Cove...

visit the website www.kevinmcleodauthor.com email me at kevinmcleodauthor@gmail.com
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