Fire Star Press: book title

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

What's in a Name?

Oddly enough, in this post about titles, I'm only slightly modifying the name of a title from a few months ago, What's in a (Pen) Name? Why? I couldn't come up with anything better. Oh, the irony.

I seem to be a rarity among authors - I love coming up with titles for my stories. I like titles that are descriptive, have a sense of humor, and maybe even a play on words or a double meaning.


An author attempting to select the name for her next book baby. (Image courtesy of depositphoto.com)

The short stories in my Paws and Effect contemporary romance series all have animal-related titles; to date The Purrfect Partner, and It's Meow or Never, with Something Whiskered This Way Comes, and Purranormal Activity in the works.

My Kudzu Korners sweet paranormal romances have titles based old movies/tv shows:

Dial V for Vampire (published by Fire Star Press in August 2016)

Saved by the Belle (published by Fire Star Press in August 2017)

Dances with Werewolves (in progress)

Still to come in the series:

Gone with the Grin

Beauty and the Zombie

Accounting and Old Lace

All Dogs go to Haven

So what's the problem? I've decided I don't like the planned title for the 4th book, Gone with the Grin. It's supposed to be a play on the classic book/movie Gone with the Wind but somehow it just isn't working for me as well as all of the others. I'm still a few months away from beginning the book but I'm already in a bit of a panic. As strange as it may sound, I like to have the title in place before I begin work on the story. The harder I try to come up with a new and improved title, the more it seems to elude me. I know my brain is working on this problem all the time so hopefully one day soon it will surprise me with the perfect alternative.

Naming my children was much harder than titling books. But, when my youngest son's arrival was imminent, I decided I didn't like the name we had picked out for him. He was "considerate" enough to be two weeks late which gave us time to come up with a better name. If I (we) pulled that out in the clinch surely I can do it again with a book title. Right? Wish me luck!

Oh, and Happy Fall y'all!

Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/isabellanorse

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Wednesday, August 3, 2016

The Art of the Blurb

Some would say that the first thing that attracts a reader to a book is the cover. Personally, I think it’s the title. The book’s title is the first thing that entices me to go further. From the title, I’m drawn to the cover. Is it colorful? Does it tell me something about the genre? If the title and cover have piqued my interest, I go to the blurb. The blurb, for a book, is the description you find on the back of a paperback book or online at your favorite ebook retailer.

I seem to be a bit of an anomaly among writers. Most authors seems to look forward to writing a blurb for their book with all of the enthusiasm usually reserved for a root canal or colonoscopy. Not me—I enjoy writing blurbs! *ducks to avoid thrown objects*

The purpose of the dreaded blurb is to give enough information about your characters and your story to entice a reader into purchasing your book. Therefore, the blurb must reference the genre and introduce the main character. Or, in the case of a romance (my chosen genre), both the hero and heroine should be introduced. The conflict between the characters must be hinted at but a good blurb, never ever contains spoilers. I mean, if you give everything away in the blurb, there is no reason for anyone to read further!

So, why am I talking about blurbs this month? Well…. Drumroll, please! I am excited and pleased and thrilled—and did I say excited?—to announce that if all goes well, Dial V for Vampire, the first book in my sweet, humorous, paranormal romance series will be released by Fire Star Press by the end of the month! I’m so excited I can hardly stand it so please forgive my overuse of exclamation points in this post. In honor of the pending release I present the unofficial blurb for Dial V:

Maggie Robinson is a full-time server, part-time blogger, and 24/7 skeptic. Her love life? Non-existent. Why bother? Her parents' divorce is proof that "happily ever after" is a fairy tale. To make matters worse, she has no idea that her tongue-in-cheek blog, Life with Zombie, has placed her at the top of the werewolves' Most Wanted list.

Noah Townsend is a vampire with a broken heart. It has been two years since his wife's death and he is still recovering. Instead of dealing with his grief, he has thrown himself into his duties as the head of a security firm that specializes in protecting paranormal beings and hiding their existence from humans.

Worlds collide when Noah saves Maggie from a werewolf attack. Can Maggie overcome her skepticism and Noah his grief in time to realize that they were made for each other? Or will the ripples started by Maggie's blog grow into a tsunami that will tear them – and Kudzu Korners - apart?

And, just in case you are wondering what makes a blurb unofficial, this is the blurb as submitted to Fire Star Press, it may undergo some changes before publication.

If you need me, I’ll be over here squealing and happy dancing until release day, then I’ll hyperventilate!