Friday, June 17, 2016

Friday Feature: Author Chrys Fey on Choosing a Title (and a #Giveaway!)


Today my guest is the awesome CHRYS FEY, with advice on choosing a title and her latest book SEISMIC CRIMES. This is her fifth book with The Wild Rose Press, and she also finds time to blog about writing (she gives wonderful, spot-on advice!), act as administrator to the Insecure Writers Group, as well as participate in the annual A-to-Z blogging challenge. 


When Fey was six years old, she realized she wanted to be a writer by watching her mother pursue publication. At the age of twelve, she started writing her first novel, which flourished into a series she later rewrote at seventeen.


Fey lives in Florida and is always on the lookout for hurricanes. She has four adopted cats who keep her entertained with their antics, and three nephews who keep her entertained with their antics. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and through her blog, Write with Fey. She loves to get to know her readers!

AUTHOR LINKS:
 

I'm thrilled to welcome her here with her writing advice for today's Friday Feature.

Welcome, Chrys!
Coming up with a title can be tricky. Sometimes we come up with a great title right away. Other times, we’re half-way through our first draft when a title comes, or even after we’ve edited our manuscript several times. Occasionally, our titles change during the writing process if we come up with something better.

3 Tips to Name a Book:

1. What’s the tone/mood/theme?

My published books are dark and suspenseful. Death and crimes are common. Immediately when you read Seismic Crimes you know what kind of ride you’re in for.

2. Think about the main character.

For a paranormal story, it’s clever to add the type of supernatural being that your MC is to the title. Or to at least hint at it. For example: Despite the Fangs by Dylan Newton is about a woman who is the Alpha of a werewolf pack.

3. What happens in the story? (What’s the plot/purpose?)

In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen has to fight in a deadly competition called the Hunger Games. What happens in your story? What does your character have to do? Consider your answers and see if a title pops out at you.

When I decided to write a sequel to Hurricane Crimes, I knew I wanted to link each title in the series with a disaster and the word “crimes”. With an earthquake as the disaster, I compiled a list of possible titles:

Earthquake Crimes
Quaking Crimes
Richter Crimes
Fault Line Crimes
San Andres Crimes

But one edged them out: SEISMIC CRIMES

Seismic describes earthquake activity but it also works as an adjective. When I think seismic, I envision monstrous chaos.

QUESTION: Do you think I chose the best title?


Title: Seismic Crimes
Author: Chrys Fey
Series: Disaster Crimes Series (Book Two)
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Format: Digital and Print
Page Count: 282

DIGITAL LINKS:

PRINT LINKS:
 About the Book:
An Internal Affairs Investigator was murdered and his brother, Donovan Goldwyn, was framed. Now Donovan is desperate to prove his innocence. And the one person who can do that is the woman who saved him from a deadly hurricane—Beth Kennedy. From the moment their fates intertwined, passion consumed him. He wants her in his arms. More, he wants her by his side in his darkest moments.

Beth Kennedy may not know everything about Donovan, but she can’t deny what she feels for him. It’s her love for him that pushes her to do whatever she has to do to help him get justice, including putting herself in a criminal’s crosshairs.

When a tip reveals the killer's location, they travel to California, but then an earthquake of catastrophic proportions separates them. As aftershocks roll the land, Beth and Donovan have to endure dangerous conditions while trying to find their way back to one another. Will they reunite and find the killer, or will they lose everything?

HURRICANE CRIMES 99¢ SALE!
 


DIGITAL LINKS:

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for being my guest today, Chrys - and yes, totally think you chose the best title! Also absolutely love the cover! best of luck to you with the new book!

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    1. Thank you so much for having me as a guest! I am thrilled to be here talking about my book and the title. :) Thanks!

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  2. I enjoyed your post and advice. I will add my own rookie mistake and advice here. Check to make sure your title hasn't been used before. My debut, The Marriage Ultimatum is not unique. Hoping that my writing and gorgeous cover will set it apart. I do like the title Seismic Crimes --good luck with your release!

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    1. That's great advice, Charlotte! I've Googled my title ideas, too. I think your writing and cover will set you apart. I know so many books that have the same titles and they all find a way to stand out. :)

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  3. Hi Chrys, I definitely think you chose a great title - I am interesting in reading it just based on the title.

    AND, I have to admit I really love Fault Line Crimes...that just has a ring of someone falling into a huge earth crack which I can't help but enjoy thinking about. Good luck with all.

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  4. Hi Chrys. I'm stupid late but wanted to say I love the title you chose for Seismic Crimes! For my first WRP book I titled it HOME during the writing process because I have to have a title to write. Later I attempted to come up with a more appropriate title and nothing, literally nothing, would come to mind. Nothing. That novella remained "Home" through publication.

    It's about a football hero who came home from the Vietnam War to find he didn't fit in any more because he lived when so many others had died. My heroine grew up in the same town, but was never accepted because she was a gypsy outcast. All she'd ever wanted was the hero, but he didn't know she existed, until he came home and found himself in the same position as her in their town. It's a story of where they fit, whether real or emotional. A place to belong, whether tangible or in a heart. It's a story of finding a HOME.
    Of course, that story is no longer available for purchase since the contract expired several years ago, but I'd like to re-birth Home one day.

    Congrats and best of luck!

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