The Ghost Shop Series Book 1
Here I am, over 200 pages into the second draft of this book, and I still don't have more than a working title.
This isn't the first time I have had this problem, and knowing me, probably not the last. With this book (which was started not once but twice without progressing past the middle of the book,) changing the plot, the sub-genre, the characters and the setting (twice) had its challenges. I had a title I really liked, and so did other people I told about the book. But by the time I had thrashed my way through to the middle of said book for the third time, I knew this was not now a romantic suspense, it was a paranormal mystery with its fair share of suspense. The way most of my books tend to be.
The other revelation was that this wasn't a standalone. The characters had finally started talking to me, I heard them clearly, and as soon as another, very strong and very creepy character joined them, they became a cohesive group that wanted to go further than one book.
They clearly knew they had enough conflict, paranormal experience and guts to go on to solve other cases, help other victims and family members find resolution, and figure out how to live with special gifts and the consequences of those gifts. Gifts frequently have strings attached, and those lead to some dark places in the soul.
After all those weighty revelations, you would think I could find a title for this first book. But I used it for the series. So now, I'm still waiting for an epiphany to come down from the ethers and slap me up the side of my head. Until then, it's got the working title of The House of Serenity.
There's nothing serene in that establishment, by the way, folks. Things move around, fly around, appear and disappear. Transport, teleport, and everything else. Tea swirls, ethers swirl, and spirits manifest. A very different ride now the setting, the characters and the plot have coalesced.
This book proves that there's a reason, or in this case, many reasons, why a writer can't finish a book the first time or the second time. Like fine wine, some books just won't be ready until it's their time.
Now, about that title...
This isn't the first time I have had this problem, and knowing me, probably not the last. With this book (which was started not once but twice without progressing past the middle of the book,) changing the plot, the sub-genre, the characters and the setting (twice) had its challenges. I had a title I really liked, and so did other people I told about the book. But by the time I had thrashed my way through to the middle of said book for the third time, I knew this was not now a romantic suspense, it was a paranormal mystery with its fair share of suspense. The way most of my books tend to be.
The other revelation was that this wasn't a standalone. The characters had finally started talking to me, I heard them clearly, and as soon as another, very strong and very creepy character joined them, they became a cohesive group that wanted to go further than one book.
They clearly knew they had enough conflict, paranormal experience and guts to go on to solve other cases, help other victims and family members find resolution, and figure out how to live with special gifts and the consequences of those gifts. Gifts frequently have strings attached, and those lead to some dark places in the soul.
After all those weighty revelations, you would think I could find a title for this first book. But I used it for the series. So now, I'm still waiting for an epiphany to come down from the ethers and slap me up the side of my head. Until then, it's got the working title of The House of Serenity.
There's nothing serene in that establishment, by the way, folks. Things move around, fly around, appear and disappear. Transport, teleport, and everything else. Tea swirls, ethers swirl, and spirits manifest. A very different ride now the setting, the characters and the plot have coalesced.
This book proves that there's a reason, or in this case, many reasons, why a writer can't finish a book the first time or the second time. Like fine wine, some books just won't be ready until it's their time.
Now, about that title...
No comments have been added yet.
