When I began to think about the title for the third book of my medieval serial
novel, Time Enough to Love, I had a rather difficult time coming up with
one that continued in line with the first two novellas, BETROTHAL and BETRAYAL. Those titles
came immediately to mind because the words exactly explained the plots of the
books. The final installment, however, was more complex, with more
complications. So trying to find a word that began with “Be” became rather daunting.
I grabbed a dictionary and went down the columns of “be” words. It wasn’t a
pleasant experience, because the longer I looked, the more I believed I would
never come up with a title that would continue the alliteration of the first two
and reflect the meaning of the book itself. When I arrived at “beleaguered” it
took me a second to think about it. It was longer than the other two, it didn’t
roll off the tongue as easily as they did, and it didn’t really scream romance
novel. But it did begin with “be” and the definition fit the book perfectly.
Beleaguered, according to the Oxford Dictionaries, means “besieged, lay siege
to, under attack,” and “hard pressed, beset with difficulties, in a tight spot.”
It is the perfect way to describe Geoffrey, Thomas, and Alyse throughout the
book. During this final part of the story, the three must combat not only the
deadly Bubonic Plague that threatens to wipe out the entire entourage, including
the princess, but they must deal with the love triangle that emerges when Alyse
discovers that even though she is married to Thomas, she is still in love with
Geoffrey. “Hard pressed, beset with difficulties, in a tight spot.” Exactly.
The problem that beleaguered me now was the title didn’t sound like a romance
novel. And it was hard to spell as well. I asked some of my author friends and
they came up with several excellent suggestions: Belonging, Beseiged,
Befallen, Beloved. Belonging didn’t really have anything to
do with the book’s plot. Beseiged was comparable to Beleaguered, but
it didn’t sound like a romance any more than Beleaguered did.
I was very enamored of Befallen; it had a desperate feel to it that fit the
book. However, a friend pointed out that “befallen” seemed to refer to things
rather than people. And you can envision people being beleaguered but not befallen.
The #1 choice among my friends was Beloved, which did fit the book
excellently. However, when Googled, the first thing to pop up is Beloved
by Toni Morrison. A wonderful novel, but hardly a romance. And that wasn’t the
only one. Beloved is apparently a very popular title for all types of
books. So, reluctantly, I put that one in the rejection pile also and in the
end, went with my gut and kept BELEAGUERED.
So BELEAGUERED describes
both my characters and its author, although I think I had an easier time than my
main characters. I am overall very pleased with my title choice. Nothing in the
writing profession is ever easy and my title just makes that self-evident.
5 comments posted.
Thank you, Peggy. And this, in the end, what I did--go with my gut. And I'm glad I did. It works for me and I think those who don't know my work will maybe take a chance on the "long word that begins with a B" either because of being intrigued by it or by the gorgeous cover art. :) Thanks so much for stopping in!
(Jenna Jaxon 10:25am July 16, 2014)
Love your titles! I always struggle with mine, lol. Congrats on the new release, Jenna!
(Jennifer Lowery Kamptner 3:37pm July 16, 2014)