Dear Readers:

Two of my beta readers commented that my book needs a better title. A third said she thought my Virgie character was a male. Not so.  I have called my first novel Patsy and Virgie since day one because those were the names of my heroines, my dynamic duo, the two who, the fearless travellers, the rebels who sought a better world. But my readers didn’t know Patsy like I did so how can I expect them to recognize what my story is about from that title? My recent research about choosing the best title indicates those few words stitched together across the top of the cover can make it or break it in the success business. It needs to compete with the headlines you read in the daily paper. It needs to stand alone catching attention without any further explanation. A tall order indeed. So how do I create a title that catches the book browers’ eye, leaks what the story is about without spilling the beans, and perks up my reader’s interest? It needs to be descriptive, contain benefits, and not mislead – all in the space of three to five words. It needs to project a positive image even in the face of devastation, dire consequences, and world disasters. And it needs to be unique – which can be difficult considering all the good words have already been taken – some multiple times by famous authors. Once you come up with a brilliant, totally unusual, attention-grabbing set of words, you need to do a through computer search through Books in Print, Forthcoming Books in Print and Amazon.com to be certain you’ve avoided competing titles. So where does that leave us? Well, one of my readers noted the repeated reference to the moon: rising, setting, waxing, waning, Indian Moons,etc. and suggested I fashion my new title along those lines. After several hours of tossing ideas around the household, the winner is……Chasing the Strawberry Moon. Now to move on to the cover. The plot thickens.