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titles
Pam wrote:
I must admit though, on the title, I keep getting flashes of the TV series "Queen of Swords" - it leads to a very different impression than tarot cards, although the occult is present I guess, in the gypsy fortune teller/palm reader assistant to "the Queen." If I was a publisher, I might be concerned that there might be confusion between the TV series and the Wilderness series of books. But I wonder if cross-pollenation of imagery and ideas are really a concern to such people anyway.
There was a TV series? I never heard of it... has anyone else?
I'm sure you've thought of at least one other title that would be suitable? Is a title the first or the last thing you tend to think of? Aren't you supposed to leave title-development to the last in case the tone or plot changes dramatically, or in case the title influences the writing, you know, boxes you in, in some way? That sounds rude. I meant to say...Queen of Swords is a fine title, but have you planned for eventualities?
It's not a rude question, not at all, but the answer is simple: Nope. No other title in mind, and I won't even contemplate such a thing until I'm forced to. Titles present themselves quite early in the gestation of a novel, and I'm a little superstitious about them. I've never felt boxed in by a title, because usually they are broad enough to encompass a lot of development and change.
March 23, 2005 03:10 PM
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If you seek it on www.tvtome.com, you will find descriptions and some pictures. The tag line is "What if zorro was a woman." Had great romantic tension. Good news! It apparently only ran for one season and it's Canadian, so I can understand the lack of exposure. It's one of those shows up here that run forever in re-runs and you catch bits of it at odd hours.
Posted by: Pam at March 23, 2005 04:18 PM
There was a TV series? I never heard of it... has anyone else?
Oh, was it bad. Stilted, cliche dialogue, along the lines of, "I'll have you yet, my proud beauty."
My circle of cyber-friends mocks it, so it'll be a while before I associate the title with another story. I, er, thought you might be writing a novelization as a work-for-hire project.
I just skimmed my way through an ARC of Isabelle Allende's Zorro. Mmmm, no, an unreliable narrator is not the way to a revisionist swashbuckler that I can enjoy.
Posted by: Ter Matthies at April 5, 2005 02:04 PM
No I have never heard of the tv series Queen of Swords... I think it's a great title for your book and I love the cover you picked out too, it's too bad they won't let you keep it the way you want it!
I'm looking forward to reading Queen of Swords because I know I'll enjoy it just as much as the other books in the series. I read them over and over!
Posted by: Tiffany at May 9, 2005 09:34 PM