So I mentioned somewhere along the line that I came up with a ridiculous story title that made me laugh. If you've noticed the cover image on this post, then you know the kind of name play that makes me want to giggle. When I told Glynn the name, I thought he'd laugh, too.
He frowned. "We don't have time to write this," he said, which was true. We're past the halfway point in our follow-up to Runaway Mail Order Bride and it's going nicely; and we've FINALLY done a full outline for the sequel to One Bride for Seven Brothers -- and we'd both like The 6th Brother to appear in the next month or so. (Not the greatest title, I know. We'll think of something.)
But now that I'd thought of this really silly title, I wanted to use it. And I wanted to use it as soon as possible because...well, because. The Good Witch says "because" is all the explanation a person needs when there's no other explanation to offer. She says her kids understand this, so why shouldn't Glynn?
But I had a plan, see, to pull BB&K together rather quickly. A couple of years ago, when Glynn and I first started writing romances, we did a little novella called Carole's Christmas. Another take-off on A Christmas Carol wasn't the freshest idea, even if our tale had lots of sexiness and a surprisingly well-built Tiny Tim at the finish. Our version was probably the 400th sexy romance based on the Dickens' classic (check it out, you'll be surprised), but it sold a few copies at Christmas and, then, like the Ghost of Christmas Past, sales and reader interest vanished for the rest of the year. I thought the novella was pretty good, and a couple of reviewers agreed with me, but I was never completely happy with the piece.
Here's why: (*spoiler*) Carole ended up with the charming, sensitive guy at the end of the novella. I really wanted her to end up with Dell, the Irish bad boy who was totally wrong for her. Except when they were in bed.
With a rewrite, I could change the ending, so I rolled up my sleeves to see if I could make sense of such a thing. In a tip o' the hat to Bell, Book and Candle, I set the story in the past (BB&C took place in the late 1950s; BB&K takes place in the early 1960s), I moved the location closer to Greenwich Village, I added a publisher to the mix of boyfriends, and sprinkled the whole thing with a touch of magic as well as a couple of thousand new words.
Did I succeed in making the bad boy a good guy? If you're a member of Kindle Unlimited, you can find out for free. Belle, Book & Kendell appeared on Amazon just a couple of days ago.
Now, back to the brides I go....
He frowned. "We don't have time to write this," he said, which was true. We're past the halfway point in our follow-up to Runaway Mail Order Bride and it's going nicely; and we've FINALLY done a full outline for the sequel to One Bride for Seven Brothers -- and we'd both like The 6th Brother to appear in the next month or so. (Not the greatest title, I know. We'll think of something.)
But now that I'd thought of this really silly title, I wanted to use it. And I wanted to use it as soon as possible because...well, because. The Good Witch says "because" is all the explanation a person needs when there's no other explanation to offer. She says her kids understand this, so why shouldn't Glynn?
But I had a plan, see, to pull BB&K together rather quickly. A couple of years ago, when Glynn and I first started writing romances, we did a little novella called Carole's Christmas. Another take-off on A Christmas Carol wasn't the freshest idea, even if our tale had lots of sexiness and a surprisingly well-built Tiny Tim at the finish. Our version was probably the 400th sexy romance based on the Dickens' classic (check it out, you'll be surprised), but it sold a few copies at Christmas and, then, like the Ghost of Christmas Past, sales and reader interest vanished for the rest of the year. I thought the novella was pretty good, and a couple of reviewers agreed with me, but I was never completely happy with the piece.
Here's why: (*spoiler*) Carole ended up with the charming, sensitive guy at the end of the novella. I really wanted her to end up with Dell, the Irish bad boy who was totally wrong for her. Except when they were in bed.
With a rewrite, I could change the ending, so I rolled up my sleeves to see if I could make sense of such a thing. In a tip o' the hat to Bell, Book and Candle, I set the story in the past (BB&C took place in the late 1950s; BB&K takes place in the early 1960s), I moved the location closer to Greenwich Village, I added a publisher to the mix of boyfriends, and sprinkled the whole thing with a touch of magic as well as a couple of thousand new words.
Did I succeed in making the bad boy a good guy? If you're a member of Kindle Unlimited, you can find out for free. Belle, Book & Kendell appeared on Amazon just a couple of days ago.
Now, back to the brides I go....
RSS Feed
