Today, please welcome guest author Amy Anguish to the blog! Amy’s here to talk about the, ahem, joy of renaming her novel, published by Tulpen Publishing. I had the pleasure of designing the cover for this book, which you’ll see below. But for now, heeeeeeeeere’s Amy!
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Didn’t
Shakespeare make it sound so nice? The thing is, once an author has given a
name to her work, it’s hard to consider changing it. Even if it makes sense.
Shakespeare make it sound so nice? The thing is, once an author has given a
name to her work, it’s hard to consider changing it. Even if it makes sense.
When I started writing An
Unexpected Legacy in 2011, I titled it For
the Love of Smoothies. All I knew was that the boy and girl would meet at a
smoothie shop and that would be the mutual love that would keep them coming
back together through any or all trials. The more I thought about it, the more
I knew they were going to have some mutual history in their family that would
need to be worked through before their own relationship could work. Other than
that, I really didn’t know where all the story would take me. I set out to
write a romance, period.
Unexpected Legacy in 2011, I titled it For
the Love of Smoothies. All I knew was that the boy and girl would meet at a
smoothie shop and that would be the mutual love that would keep them coming
back together through any or all trials. The more I thought about it, the more
I knew they were going to have some mutual history in their family that would
need to be worked through before their own relationship could work. Other than
that, I really didn’t know where all the story would take me. I set out to
write a romance, period.
By the end of the process, I had a rough draft that includedtwo intertwined stories, one the main story of my original boy and girl, and
one from the past. I won’t tell much more now because I don’t want to give any
spoilers away. But let’s suffice it to say that I was a little surprised when,
toward the end of the editing process this spring, my editor suggested that my
story was more than a simple romance. It’s a Romantic Suspense or Cozy Mystery.
A mystery!? I don’t even read mysteries most of the time! How on earth did I
pull that off? That’s what ran through my head.
Then, she recommended that I change the title. My working
title sounded too fun and flirty and silly, almost, for a book that had as much
depth and intrigue as mine evidently did. Don’t get me wrong. I was flattered
that she thought those things about my story. I was blown away by the thought
of changing something that had been my story’s name for almost six years. And I
was more than a bit bumfuzzled as to what to change the title to.
title sounded too fun and flirty and silly, almost, for a book that had as much
depth and intrigue as mine evidently did. Don’t get me wrong. I was flattered
that she thought those things about my story. I was blown away by the thought
of changing something that had been my story’s name for almost six years. And I
was more than a bit bumfuzzled as to what to change the title to.
We threw names back and forth, playing with various words
that included “Legacy,” “History,” “Surprise,” “Family,” and “Trouble.” I
didn’t want it to sound like just any other book that people would pick up. And
I hated the thought of giving up the fun title I had originally come up with.
But the more we talked (and polled her Facebook friends), the more it was
evident that it really did need to change. Finally, late one night, after being
up in the wee hours with my almost-one-year-old, I came up with “An Unexpected
History.” I’m married to a history teacher, so it sounded okay to me. My editor
changed it to “Legacy” because evidently some people think history is boring.
Who knew? Even though I still hated the thought of giving up my original title,
this was the first one we had come up with that I was comfortable with.
that included “Legacy,” “History,” “Surprise,” “Family,” and “Trouble.” I
didn’t want it to sound like just any other book that people would pick up. And
I hated the thought of giving up the fun title I had originally come up with.
But the more we talked (and polled her Facebook friends), the more it was
evident that it really did need to change. Finally, late one night, after being
up in the wee hours with my almost-one-year-old, I came up with “An Unexpected
History.” I’m married to a history teacher, so it sounded okay to me. My editor
changed it to “Legacy” because evidently some people think history is boring.
Who knew? Even though I still hated the thought of giving up my original title,
this was the first one we had come up with that I was comfortable with.
We sent the new title to the amazingly talented Roseanna who
had already been working with about three or four different ideas we had sent
her way for possible cover art. Once she had this title and the last idea, she
hammered out the beautiful cover that graces my book today. When I saw it all
together, I’m pretty sure my heart skipped a beat. After all, this is my first
published book, the work of six years of writing and thinking about, editing
and praying and talking over. And there was this perfect cover that you could
see on any great book at a store. But this one had MY NAME on it. And really,
isn’t that the most important name anyway?
had already been working with about three or four different ideas we had sent
her way for possible cover art. Once she had this title and the last idea, she
hammered out the beautiful cover that graces my book today. When I saw it all
together, I’m pretty sure my heart skipped a beat. After all, this is my first
published book, the work of six years of writing and thinking about, editing
and praying and talking over. And there was this perfect cover that you could
see on any great book at a store. But this one had MY NAME on it. And really,
isn’t that the most important name anyway?
Roseanna here, jumping in to say that we did work the smoothie theme in…on the back.😉
An Unexpected Legacy
Smoothies brought them together, but will the past tear them apart?
When Chad Manning introduces himself to Jessica Garcia at her favorite smoothie shop, it’s like he stepped out of one of her romance novels. But as she tentatively walks into a relationship with this man of her dreams, secrets from their past threaten to shatter their already fragile bond. Chad and Jessica must struggle to figure out if their relationship has a chance or if there is nothing between them but a love of smoothies.
Amy Anguish grew up a preacher’s kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a cat or two. Amy graduated with a degree in English from Freed-Hardeman University and hopes in all her creative endeavors to glorify God, but especially in her writing. She wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
Totally awesome cover! 🙂 And I love the title! BTW, isn't it Tulpen Publishing that published the book? Not Tulpen Press? Loved the post. Enjoyed reading! 🙂