So enjoy the history of her book Lovers Entwined-- I love that she sent a YouTube clip and had stories to tell! Authors, don't forget your stories and inspiration, if you'd like to be part of this feature!
And as for me? Well, back to catching up. I have a lot of writing to do before the next edit comes down the pike!
Amy
About Lovers Entwined
About Lovers Entwined
by Lillian Francis
A darkened cinema. On screen a computer generated fight between pirate captain and his modern day counterpart. A spark of an idea, but the movie is fun and engaging and I think no more about it. Until I sleep on it. Bam! Plotbunny.
And Lovers Entwined, my second novel was born.
Okay, there was more to it than that. The story concept drifted and changed form but that idea that sparked it all stayed more or less a constant during the writing process. What didn’t remain constant was the title.
My working title for Lovers Entwined was ‘Echoes of the Past’. As a title it fit the subject matter perfectly and, combined with the blurb, gave readers an idea of exactly what they were getting.Unfortunately, it didn’t meet the publisher’s ideal for their mainly romantic readership. A new title was required.
Fine! I mean, how important is the title anyway. As a reader I would suggest the title is quite some way down my list, certainly behind author, blurb, and friend’s recommendations. Possibly on a par with cover art.
However, when you stop to think about it, what are the first two things you see as you are streaming through the huge number of new releases every week?
Title and cover art.
While neither of these aspects might make you buy the book, either could be the reason why you stop to look in the first place.
So, I came up with what felt like a million titles, carried out a survey on my blog to see what titles my readers thought would make them stop and glance at the blurb.
Sixteen titles, including my favourite of the bunch, ‘Historical Precedent (for Love)’—not very catchy but different enough to stand out—and not one acceptable despite loads of them mentioning love, hearts, desire.
‘Through Dreams we Collide’, the one that appealed to my readers. Rejected.
Finally I asked a few author friends and at the end of my tether I submitted this final list in order of preference:
Echoes of the Heart
Timeless Hearts
Lovers Entwined
You don’t need to guess which one they chose.
When I got my rights back to this book I considered changing the title, but hey, I’d been over my pique at being railroaded on the title a long time ago and I had no desire to confuse my readers with a new title to an old book, so Lovers Entwined it remained. Anyway, the title’s kind of grown on me over the years.
And the film that started it all? Yeah, I’ve watched it several times since. It’s funny and mixes the excitement of a new medium with memories of my childhood. I’m still waiting (im)patiently for the sequel. And you are probably waiting impatiently for me to tell you what it is. If you’ve made it this far you deserve to know the film in question.
The Adventures of Tintin.
Blurb
Ewan Matthews is one of Boston’s leading genealogy experts. When a would-be bridegroom comes looking for confirmation that there are no skeletons in his ancestral closet, Ewan considers turning the job down. Trey Capell is a jerk of the highest order and yet Ewan experiences an infuriating attraction that’s easy to justify. Trey’s exactly his type—a carbon copy of the man Ewan’s been looking for his entire life.
Harder to explain is the sense of recognition that leaves Ewan speechless the moment Trey steps into his office. Or the stomach-churning sensation at the thought of casting the job aside.
Trey gets more appealing by the day, leaving Ewan struggling with forbidden desire for his client. Desire not helped by strange voyeuristic dreams that have started to haunt his sleep. Dreams that appear to be an echo of the past.
Buy links
Amazon US
Amazon UK
ARe
A darkened cinema. On screen a computer generated fight between pirate captain and his modern day counterpart. A spark of an idea, but the movie is fun and engaging and I think no more about it. Until I sleep on it. Bam! Plotbunny.
And Lovers Entwined, my second novel was born.
Okay, there was more to it than that. The story concept drifted and changed form but that idea that sparked it all stayed more or less a constant during the writing process. What didn’t remain constant was the title.
My working title for Lovers Entwined was ‘Echoes of the Past’. As a title it fit the subject matter perfectly and, combined with the blurb, gave readers an idea of exactly what they were getting.Unfortunately, it didn’t meet the publisher’s ideal for their mainly romantic readership. A new title was required.
Fine! I mean, how important is the title anyway. As a reader I would suggest the title is quite some way down my list, certainly behind author, blurb, and friend’s recommendations. Possibly on a par with cover art.
However, when you stop to think about it, what are the first two things you see as you are streaming through the huge number of new releases every week?
Title and cover art.
While neither of these aspects might make you buy the book, either could be the reason why you stop to look in the first place.
So, I came up with what felt like a million titles, carried out a survey on my blog to see what titles my readers thought would make them stop and glance at the blurb.
Sixteen titles, including my favourite of the bunch, ‘Historical Precedent (for Love)’—not very catchy but different enough to stand out—and not one acceptable despite loads of them mentioning love, hearts, desire.
‘Through Dreams we Collide’, the one that appealed to my readers. Rejected.
Finally I asked a few author friends and at the end of my tether I submitted this final list in order of preference:
Echoes of the Heart
Timeless Hearts
Lovers Entwined
You don’t need to guess which one they chose.
When I got my rights back to this book I considered changing the title, but hey, I’d been over my pique at being railroaded on the title a long time ago and I had no desire to confuse my readers with a new title to an old book, so Lovers Entwined it remained. Anyway, the title’s kind of grown on me over the years.
And the film that started it all? Yeah, I’ve watched it several times since. It’s funny and mixes the excitement of a new medium with memories of my childhood. I’m still waiting (im)patiently for the sequel. And you are probably waiting impatiently for me to tell you what it is. If you’ve made it this far you deserve to know the film in question.
The Adventures of Tintin.
Blurb
Ewan Matthews is one of Boston’s leading genealogy experts. When a would-be bridegroom comes looking for confirmation that there are no skeletons in his ancestral closet, Ewan considers turning the job down. Trey Capell is a jerk of the highest order and yet Ewan experiences an infuriating attraction that’s easy to justify. Trey’s exactly his type—a carbon copy of the man Ewan’s been looking for his entire life.
Harder to explain is the sense of recognition that leaves Ewan speechless the moment Trey steps into his office. Or the stomach-churning sensation at the thought of casting the job aside.
Trey gets more appealing by the day, leaving Ewan struggling with forbidden desire for his client. Desire not helped by strange voyeuristic dreams that have started to haunt his sleep. Dreams that appear to be an echo of the past.
Buy links
Amazon US
Amazon UK
ARe
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