Saturday, July 14, 2007

A title?

I just had the very first viable option for a title for this book. I think. In a thread on titles on Compuserve, Claire said:
IMO the central plot should be at least a little reflected in the title, if not entirely.
And I agreed. I thought about the central plot - the "core idea" if you will - of the book. To me, that means Scene Zero, where I started writing, and that was the handfasting. All I began with was the idea that my modern MC would have no social standing in seventeenth-century Scotland and therefore wouldn't be eligible to marry the son of the chief. So something like him being condemned to death would have to happen, and then she would sneak into his cell and they would handfast and then then she'd go sacrifice herself to save him, etc.

For those of you who missed it, here's my working plot summary for a query:
Physicist Elizabeth Clarke finds herself trapped over 300 years in the past, pursued by a politically avaricious Earl who wants to use her “Sight” to further his consolidation of power. Her only choice is to take refuge with an outlaw clan. Despite her intention to find a way home, she falls in love with Alec, the handsome son of the chief. Together they try to prevent the treacherous massacre at Glencoe - the Earl's doing - but Alec is captured and sentenced to death. She spends one night in his arms on the eve of his execution, then secretly surrenders herself to the Earl in exchange for Alec's release. When he learns of her sacrifice and subsequent death at the Earl’s hands, Alec’s only choice is to attempt time-travel himself to be reunited with the woman he loves.
I kinda figured the publisher will want either "Highland/Highlander" or "kilt" in the title, to instantly identify it as Scottish historical for the (I hope) legions of readers out there. I didn't want to end up with something cheesy/tacky like Highland Fling (thankfully, that one's taken) or Highland Passions or the like.

But Claire's comment got me thinking. How do you guys feel about this:

One Highland Night

Or the variant: One Night with a Highlander

Does it work for the book as you guys know it? If you saw a book with that title in the bookstore *crosses fingers* what would you think it was about? Would you be interested? Which do you prefer?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Jenny,
Right off the bat I'm afraid I don't like One Night With A Highlander, only because it makes it sound like a one-night stand! I do like One Highland Night, though, because it sounds more romantic and magical - that's the one I would very likely pick up in a bookstore - it would instantly imply Scotland in my mind!

Carol Spradling said...

Hi Jenny,
Of the two I like, One Highland Night. I agree, seeing the word Highland makes me realize it is based in Scotland. And yes, I would definitely pick it up off the shelf and read the back cover.

One thing, is this an historical fiction or historical romance. The reason I ask is the name leans a little toward romance and I didn't know if that was a concern of yours.

Jenny said...

Thanks, Deniz!

Carol - Oh, it's definitely a romance. A meticulously-researched romance that I like to call "romantic historical fiction" but it follows the romance pattern and that's where it will be shelved. So the romantic-leaning title is okay. *g*

Beth said...

One Highland Night is good. The second one, well--it has a very different tone and message. [g]