Debs on the Sound of Broken Glass.

RHYS BOWEN: Today we Jungle Red Writers are dancing up and down and waving flags and tooting horns because the trade paperback of Deborah’s SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS is released to an eagerly waiting world.

I was hooked on Debs’s books long before I met her. I loved the sense of place and the real, complex characters who people her books. So I thought I’d interview her today on Jungle Red.

Okay, let’s get started—Debs, your stories all have such a strong sense of place. How do you work? Do you have a story idea and then decide where to set it, or do you discover a place and then think of a story to set there?

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Rhys, no two books have ever been the same. In some books the setting has come first and I’ve come up with a story to fit. But THE SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS was just the opposite. I had had a story in mind for a couple of books but I didn’t know where it should be set.

A friend, who was living in Crystal Palace at the time, kept telling me I should set a book there. When I went for a visit, I knew instantly that it was the perfect place for this particular story.

RHYS: Crystal Palace figured in my childhood. I used to skate at Streatham ice rink and drove past Crystal Palace on the way there. I heard my grandmother’s tales of the crystal palace that burned down and was always sorry I couldn’t see it. So what drew you to set a book here? 

DEBS: Crystal Palace is such a unique part of London. It is the highest point between London and the south coast, so the views to the north of London and the Thames are spectacular. It’s geographically unique not only because of the elevation, but because it straddles the boundaries of five London boroughs, Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. Then there is the history of the palace itself. The original Crystal Palace was built in Hyde Park in 1851 for the Great Exhibition. Afterwards, the entire structure was dismantled and rebuilt at the top of Sydenham Hill. But the new version was even bigger and more spectacular—it was one of the wonders of the Victorian world, compared to the mythical palace of Kubla Khan.

The palace was still a tourist attraction when it burned to the ground in one terrible night in 1936. The grounds then became Crystal Palace Park.

The destruction of this fabulous creation was something that resonated with me throughout the novel. But there was one more element, and that is the isolation of the Crystal Palace Triangle (the main roads form a triangle at the top of the hill.) The two railway stations are both down steep sides of the hill, and if there is snow and ice, the area can become completely cut off. I knew there was a way an ice storm would fit into the story!

RHYS: I love the way that minor characters from past books suddenly get a starring role. When you created Andy did you plan to have him feature in a story?

DEBS: Andy Monahan first appears two books previously as a minor character, a talented rock guitarist in his late twenties, disenchanted with his band and his life.  He was created as a witness who could tell Duncan and his partner Doug something about a murder victim.

But the instant he walked onto the page and I started writing from his viewpoint, I knew he had a story to tell. When I visited Crystal Palace, I knew that was where Andy had grown up, and that what had happened to him there when he was thirteen would drive the front part of the story.

RHYS: In this story Gemma is the active detective, Duncan is home baby-sitting. Tell us about this decision for a role reversal.

DEBS: In the previous book, NO MARK UPON HER, Gemma is home on family leave, caring for the couple’s foster daughter, Charlotte. I thought turn about was fair play!

Gemma has a new job in THE SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS, working on a murder team in South London (Brixton) with her colleague Melody Talbot. I wanted her investigation of the murder in Crystal Palace to have center stage, but there are things going on the background with Duncan that made his being away from work an important part of the plot. And it was an interesting way to explore his character.

RHYS: I love the title (especially as broken glass only makes a sound when you walk over it). How did you come up with it.

DEBS: There is an old rock song called I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass—a nice touch, since much of the book has to do with rock music.

But the real metaphor for me was the destruction of the Crystal Palace and how that reverberated down through the years, paralleling the destruction of Andy’s friendship with his neighbor Nadine in the book and the consequences of their shattered relationship. That’s why the glass is already broken, but you can still hear the echoes.  Made sense to me, anyway!

RHYS: And we’re all eagerly awaiting the new Duncan and Gemma book in September. Can you give us a little glimpse into what’s coming?

DEBS: It’s called TO DWELL IN DARKNESS, and we find out what happens to Duncan after the end of BROKEN GLASS. Gemma’s colleague Melody Talbot witnesses a young man burn to death in St. Pancras International Railway Station when Andy is giving a concert there. When it becomes Duncan’s investigation, Melody is a valuable witness. In Brixton, Gemma is working on a difficult case of her own.

I don’t think I can say more than that without getting in trouble for spoilers! 

PS: The author photo included was taken by my friend Steve Ullathorne in Antenna Studios in Crystal Palace. Antenna Studios was the model for the fictional recording studio in the book. Lots of well-know recording artists have worked there, including Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine. Great atmosphere!

RHYS: So if you missed The Sound of Broken Glass in harcover last year run, not walk, to your nearest bookstore. You are in for a treat!

Debs and the Unexpected Encounter

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I loved Rhys's post this week on flying by

the seat of her pants.  Readers-- and writers--are always fascinated by how writers manage to put books together.  Do they plot, or do they, like Rhys, fly by the seat of their pants?  (I've always referred to that as the "headlight method"--you only know as much as you can see by a car's headlights in the dark, but you keep going anyway.)

Frankly, it terrifies me.  I am a plotter. I have always been a plotter.  When I start a book, I know who the main characters are, what they did, why they did it, and pretty much what I want to happen at the end of the book.

And frankly, this is pretty terrifying, too, because you can't always figure out how to get from the beginning to what you envision as the end of the book. But one of the joys I've discovered of the plotted journey is the Unexpected Encounter.  In a crime novel, you know your detectives, either amateur or professional, have to find out things that will move the plot along.  So you invent people who will be helpful in some way--they give the detectives a snippet of something they saw or heard or knew.  And sometimes, these characters just jump off the page and insist on being something other than a convenience.

I've had two of these characters go on to feature as main characters in their own books and become incorporated into the series; Erika Rosenthal, who first appears in A Finer End to give Gemma bit of information about cults, and Andy Monahan, who was invented as a witness to a murder in Where Memories Lie, and immediately demanded his own book. He got it in The Sound of Broken Glass, and he seems determined to stick around for a while.

Here's a snippet from about midway through Kincaid/James #16, To Dwell in Darkness (I've had to try hard to find something that isn't too big a spoiler...) where Duncan simply goes to get a coffee and meets a gentleman named Medhi Atias. (And here is the real version of my fictional chicken shop.)

The building in the Caledonian Road looked even less appealing in the cold gray morning light. It had stopped sleeting, for which Kincaid was thankful, but the wind was still blowing down from the Siberian steppes as if Britain had become its designated funnel.

Nick Callery was waiting, stomping his feet and drinking coffee from a polystyrene cup. Beside him stood the uniformed PC who had been posted on the flat overnight, and a balding man wearing a heavy anorak and carrying a metal case.

“The chicken shop’s already open,” said Callery by way of greeting. He held up his cup. “The coffee won’t kill you, and at least it’s hot. This is Mel.” He nodded towards the other man.

“Locksmith,” said Mel. “Good to meet you.”

Kincaid took off his gloves to shake his hand. “Can I get you a cup? I take it we’re waiting on the SOCOs.”

“On their way, apparently,” answered Callery.

When Mel accepted the offer of coffee, Kincaid went into the chicken shop. Even this early, the odor of hot grease made his throat tighten. How did anyone eat fried chicken for breakfast?

But when he looked at the menu board, he saw that the place did bacon and egg sandwiches. With chips. The though of bacon reminded him that he had skipped breakfast. His stomach rumbled.

The man behind the counter was Middle Eastern, middle-aged, with a paunch that hinted he indulged in his own fare. But the apron over his expansive middle was clean, as was the serving counter and what Kincaid could see of the kitchen. “I’ll have the bacon and egg sandwich, no chips. And two cups of coffee.”

“I cook the bacon and egg fresh,” said the man. “Mind waiting a minute?”

Kincaid saw that there was a griddle in the back. “That’s fine.”

The man, who Kincaid guessed was the proprietor, put two slices of bacon on the griddle, cracked an egg onto the hot surface, then sliced a soft roll in half and added it. He then poured two cups of coffee into polystyrene cups and added snap-on lids. “Cream and sugar are over there.” He nodded towards a side counter as he handed Kincaid the cups.

Kincaid took his at it was. He hadn’t asked Mel, but the locksmith could come in and make his to his liking. “Cheers,” he said, accepting the cups. “Back in a tic.”

He walked outside and handed Mel his coffee. The locksmith took a cautious sip, then raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Not bad stuff.”

“There’s cream and sugar inside.”

Mel shook his head. “I like mine black as black.”

“Anyone else for a bacon and egg sandwich?”

When Mel and Callery both refused, Kincaid went back inside. There was no sign yet of the SOCOs, and he was glad of the respite from the cold.

“Good coffee,” he told the proprietor.

“We know coffee where I come from,” the man said as he deftly turned the eggs and bacon.

“Where’s that?”

“Morocco. But I’ve been in London for thirty years, and in this place for a decade.”

“Know anything about the group that lives upstairs?” Kincaid asked.

The man gave him a sharp look. “Cop?”

Kincaid nodded. “Detective.”

“I wondered what all the commotion was about last night, and the copper on the outer door all night. I gave him a cup of coffee on the sly when I opened up,” he added with a wink, then said, “They’re a quiet enough bunch. What have they been up to?”

“We’re not sure yet. Do you own this building?” Kincaid added as he took the wrapped sandwich.

“Me? No. Corporate landlord. KCD, Inc. Stands for King’s Cross Development, which means that when this building goes under the wrecking ball, I’ll have to find a new place. Or maybe retire.”

A corporate owner? Interesting. Kincaid typed a note into his phone before he opened his sandwich. Then, taking a bite, he said, “Um, delicious,” through a mouthful of perfectly cooked egg and bacon.

“Ta.” The proprietor wiped his hands on his apron and held one out over the counter to Kincaid. “I’m Medhi. Medhi Atias.”

Kincaid set down his coffee and shook Atias’s hand. “Duncan Kincaid. So, is this place slated for redevelopment?”

“Has been for years. But things haven’t progressed in King’s Cross as fast as the planners thought they would. Good for me, as I get business from the corporate offices that have gone into the area. There’s The Driver for upmarket meals, but not many places that serve decent ordinary fare.”

“I’d say it’s more than decent.” Kincaid popped the last bite of sandwich into his mouth and fished a card from his wallet. “I expect we’ll be coming and going from the upstairs flat for a bit.” Through the window, he saw the SOCO van pull up. “Hopefully we won’t disturb your business. If you do think of anything unusual going on upstairs, you can always give me ring.”

Atias took the card, his eyes widening as he read it. “You didn’t say you were a detective superintendent.” His tone was suddenly wary. “I hope something terrible hasn’t happened upstairs.”

“Not upstairs,” Kincaid said noncommittally. “At least as far as we know.”

 There is such fun in this--having a character come to life under your fingers as you type. I don't know that Medhi Atias will get his own book, but I realized as I wrote this that he will have a bigger part to play, and that he solved a plot problem I'd been wrestling with.

REDS, does the unexpected encounter happen to you, whether you are a plotter or a "headlighter?"

What I'm Writing--Deborah Crombie

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I'm so glad I didn't have to go first this week!  But now that Hallie, Hank, Rhys, and Lucy have given us such stellar examples of their works-in-progress, I'm not quite as nervous. Quite...

Here is a snippet from Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James #16. It's called To Dwell in Darkness, and will be out in late March. This is the last scene in Chapter 1.

(The photos are all of St. Pancras International Railway Station in London, where this scene takes place.)

Melody took the Victoria Line straight from Brixton Tube Station to King’s Cross/St. Pancras. There

was no way she could have crossed London at rush hour in her car and got to the station in time for Andy and Poppy’s concert. Even so, when “Person under a train,” came over the tannoy as the train pulled into Oxford Circus, she felt a moment of panic. When a second announcement advised all passengers on the Central Line to reroute, she breathed a sigh of relief, then felt a bit disgusted with herself.

Someone had fallen—or had jumped—under a train, and she was more concerned with her own inconvenience than the tragedy. Still, there was nothing she could do, and she couldn’t help feeling relieved as well that the mess wasn’t on her watch. She’d dealt with a jumper once, when she was still in uniform, and there weren’t many things worse.

She shivered at the memory, in spite of the bodies packed against her in the back of the train car. But she was determined not to let work interfere with her enjoyment of Andy’s moment in the limelight—the first of many, she felt sure. And she couldn’t wait to see if he had actually worn the blue cardigan.

Seeing her smile, the middle-aged woman squashed beside her smiled back. Nodding, Melody took the small contact as a good omen. Most Londoners weren’t too bad, given half a chance. And bless London Transport—they did their best to keep things running.

But when the train idled far longer than normal at Warren Street, then again at Euston, Melody’s anxiety rose. Andy would be crushed if she didn’t make it. She’d almost decided to get out at Euston and walk the rest of the way when the train doors closed and the train moved out of the station.

When the train pulled into King’s Cross Tube Station, Melody was first out the doors. She sprinted for the ticket barrier, then started for the St. Pancras concourse at a jog. Good thing she’d worn boots that day because of the cold, she thought, rather than her work heels and one of the suits Andy loved to tease her about. Warm and red-cheeked by the time she entered the south end of the station, she stopped a moment to catch her breath.

The music came to her faintly, in intermittent bursts, but she recognized it instantly. Before she met Andy, she’d have been hard pressed to tell a guitar from a banjo, but now she would know the distinctive sound of Andy’s guitar anywhere. And there, on another wave of sound, was Poppy’s unique vocal, with Andy singing back-up.

Melody hurried on. At least she hadn’t missed the whole concert, and if she stood at the back, perhaps Andy wouldn’t notice how late she’d been.

As she came into the concourse proper, she glimpsed, beyond the glass elevator, the crowd gathered round the small temporary stage. Moving closer, she saw the duo clearly—Poppy, in a floaty white top over a short flowered skirt and her usual tights and boots; Andy, resplendent in the sky blue cardigan, the light glinting from his fair hair and his brilliant red guitar. Much to their relief, they had been able to salvage Andy’s treasured Fiesta Red Stratocaster from the fire in Crystal Palace. After a little attention from a luthier friend of Andy’s in Denmark Street, the guitar looked—and sounded—good as new.

Andy hadn’t seen her. He and Poppy were into the new song now, both of them playing and singing, their focus intense. Melody felt the same thrill of excitement she’d had the very first time she’d heard them perform together, in the studio in Crystal Palace, before she knew Andy as more than the name of a witness in a case. They had something electric together, Andy and Poppy, the whole bigger than the parts, and Melody could feel the energy move through the gathered crowd.

Under the edge of the cafe arcade to her left, she saw Tam and Caleb, Andy and Poppy’s respective managers. They were watching the stage intently, grinning from ear to ear.

Then something else caught her eye. On her right, near the Mark’s and Spencer’s food shop, a half dozen protesters raised placards in unison. As they were facing away from her, she couldn’t read the signs, but the group looked harmless enough. Still, she didn’t want anything spoiling Andy and Poppy’s moment. Looking round, she saw a female uniformed British Transport Police officer walking towards them, radio in hand.

Good. The last thing she wanted was to have to act in an official capacity here. She turned back to the stage as Andy and Poppy’s voices rose to a crescendo in the last verse of the new song.

She’d raised her hands, ready to applaud, when she heard a whoosh, then a high, keening wail. Voices rose in frantic screams as Melody whirled round.

She jerked back instinctively, gasping. There, in the open space where the arcade led out to the western taxi rank, burned a ball of fire as bright as a flaring match. And in its center was a human form.

Don't worry, Duncan and Gemma fans, they will be on the case. But to say more would be a bit of a spoiler, which brings me to my question for you Reds and readers.

One of the things about writing a long-running series is dealing with story-line continuity.  In most of the previous books, it's been a matter of presenting just the right amount of the story arc of the series characters.  You don't want to bore readers who are familiar with the series, but you need to give enough information about the characters' history so that the story--and the relationships--will make sense to new readers.  And the story itself will inevitably be a spoiler to some extent for those who have NOT read the previous books.  (Just the jacket copy gives away the fact that Duncan and Gemma are now married, for instance...)

But in To Dwell in Darkness, I'm dealing with a larger crime story arc that goes back to the book before last and will likely NOT be resolved in this one. There is always a mystery specific to each novel that IS solved--I think it's very unfair to take a reader all the way through a novel and not resolve the "front" story.

But I'm worried that the eventual resolution of this longer-running story arc will lessen the enjoyment of the previous books for new readers.

So, how do you feel about this, fellow REDS?  All of us except Hallie write series novels.  (And right now I'm envying Hallie!) Do you struggle with this?

And readers? Does it bother you when everything is not wrapped up neatly in one book?  Or if you plunge into an unfamiliar series, will you go back to the previous books to unravel the story thread?

PS I can't offer a galley of To Dwell in Darkness yet, but I'll send a hardcover copy of The Sound of Broken Glass to a lucky commenter!

 

BOOK CLUB DAY!

BREAKING NEWS: If you are in a position to review or spread the word about an Audible copy of HEIRS AND GRACES, please contact Rhys for more information. She has a few copies....RhysBowen at comcast dot net 

AND Rosemary Harris's THE BITCHES OF BROOKLYN is free to download today and tomorrow only! Click here.

 


LUCY BURDETTE: It seems odd to me that mysteries and crime fiction can be lumped into a category of non-book club books--in other words, escapist reading, nothing worth discussing. We couldn't disagree more! With September around the corner and book clubs resuming meeting or planning their reads for the year, we thought we'd make a few suggestions. From each red, a book, a couple of discussion questions, and something memorable to eat along with it.

I'll start:)

TOPPED CHEF, the third book in the Key West food critic mystery series by Lucy Burdette

Things to discuss:

1.  TOPPED CHEF opens with Hayley worrying about her first negative review. How do you feel about restaurant reviews, either online or in newspapers? Do you trust them? Do you write them? Do you feel critics should write about their negative experiences as well as their positive?

2. One of the most challenging parts of writing a mystery with an amateur sleuth has to do with her stake in solving the mystery. Were you convinced by Hayley's insistence on getting involved in this story? How does this fit with her character?Find the whole list of discussion questions for TOPPED CHEF here:

What to eat: Lime cupcakes with lime cream cheese frosting


Recipe here.

  
HALLIE EPHRON: THERE WAS AN OLD WOMANThings to discuss:

1. The theme of remembering and honoring the past is prominent in There Was an Old Woman. Evie has dedicated her life to the preservation of memories, and Finn keeps all of the artifacts from the old Snakapins Park in his basement. Do you think it is important to preserve the past, and why? Are some things better left forgotten?

2. Evie and her sister Ginger are polar opposites. Evie played soccer; Ginger was a girl scout. Evie sees Ginger as the dutiful daughter and herself as the one who runs away. How might these two different personality types both have been shaped by the experience of growing up with an alcoholic mother?What to eat: Discuss it over Chinese Dim Sum.

 

ROSEMARY HARRIS: Now this is fun. I'm not in a book club these days. I went to a fabulous book club meeting in San Francisco last year. The members had agreed to read THE BITCHES OF BROOKLYN and act as my focus group. It was a blast.

Possible discussions -
1. Friendships - old and new - are at the heart of Bitches. Each of the women in the book, Jane, Tina, Rachel, Clare and Abby, questions the meaning of friendship, particularly childhood friendships. Are they better left in the past? What are the risks in trying to rekindle (no pun intended) old relationships?

2. Every decade of life brings its own set of issues. What are the insecurities each of the women faces?

3. All five of the women have called each other Bitch since high school when it was an epithet thrown by a jealous classmate. Now it's a term of endearment for them. What do you think about the word?

My gals are good eaters. Hallie's already claimed Chinese takeout and more's the pity readers can't camp out in Jane's Brooklyn bakery so I'd have to say a medium-priced Italian restaurant. Red-checkered tablecloth. With a bottle or two of good wine.RHYS BOWEN: This is most timely for me as I have an author buzz going out to zillions of bookclubs next week with questions about my new book, Heirs and Graces. So here are some questions I gave to them.

1.    Lady Georgiana seems to have a privileged life. What are some ways in which her life is not so rosy?
2.    This story centers around the heir to a great estate. Discuss that whole concept, plus other instances of property entailment disrupting lives in literature

3.    These Royal Spyness books are funny�gentle satire of English aristocracy. But there are always serious undertones. What are some in this book?

And food to serve? Well, it has to be a classic English tea party with thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches, warm scones topped with strawberry jam and cream. Mmmm. Now I'm feeling hungry (or peckish as my characters would say)

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: OH, fabulous. I'm  tempted to discuss THE OTHER WOMAN, with all its juicy discussion possibilities about infidelity, and sex as power, and the conflict in failing marriages. But let's go with THE WRONG GIRL, coming Sept 10!

1. The book opens with Jane's friend Tuck suspecting the adoption agency that's  reunited her with her birth mother has made a mistake---and, as she says, "sent that poor woman the wrong girl." As a reporter, I know that's happened in real life. What if that had happened to you..do you think--just based on instinct--you would know it? (Do you know anyone searching for their birth parents? Did they find them?)

2.  The Wrong Girl also takes an inside look at the state's foster care system--where children need homes--and there aren't always enough of them. HAve you been in foster care, or known someone who was? Have you ever taken in a foster child? Or wanted to? Why or why not? How well did that system work?

Food? Well,  Jane is always rushing, and I'm tempted to say fast food! But it's in Boston, so let's say luscious creamy clam chowder from Legal Seafoods with those little round crackers and a twist of pepper,, accompanied by a crisp white sauvignon blanc.DEBORAH CROMBIE: Oh, fun! (And I want everybody's food!) Here are a couple of questions for readers of The Sound of Broken Glass:

1) We see in the back story that young Andy Monahan is the caretaker of his alcoholic mother. How does this affect his ability to form relationships when we meet him again, fifteen years later? Do you believe it's possible for children of alcoholic parents to form happy and stable relationships as adults?

2) The seed of much that happens in this novel is bullying. How might Andy's life have been different if he'd had adult support in dealing with the boys who bullied him? Do you believe that Nadine was bullied as well? Were there characters who could have stood up for her and made a difference in the course of her life?

Now, food! I think my book group should have delicious, hearty sandwiches from The Jolly Gardener pub in Putney--roast beef with horseradish; thick, sharp English cheddar slathered with Branston pickle; roast turkey with cranberries--accompanied by a big platter of fresh fruit, good beer, and crisp Sauvignon Blanc. (My characters have theirs with tea, but they're working!)JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: This is a perfectly timed subject, because I need to supply my editor with questions for THROUGH THE EVIL DAYS, my November release. Like Rhys, I'll be having an author buzz going out to book groups (though not for another couple of months) and St. Martin's library division posts discussion questions online. Pro tip for book club organizers: lots of publishers do this! If your group is reading something that doesn't come with discussion suggestions in the back of the book, check the publisher's website.

1. At one point, Russ tells Clare, "I won't say a word against [having a baby]. But don't expect me to pretend to be happy about it." Is his attitude reasonable, given that they agreed, as a couple, not to have children, or is he being stubborn about not getting his way?

2. Officers Hadley Knox and Kevin Flynn are assigned to work together to try to find Mikayla Johnson, the missing girl. At the same time, they're becoming closer personally. Should they put the brakes on their relationship? Is it unprofessional for them to get involved again, especially during a high-stakes investigation?

3.  There are many types of families in THROUGH THE EVIL DAYS: Clare and Russ and their impending baby, Mikayla and her dysfunctional, criminal parents,  Hadley and her ex fighting over custody. What do these relationships say about the effect of parenthood on couples and on individuals? What is the author saying about the responsibilities of parenting versus the pleasures of having a child?

For an accompanying meal: Russ and Clare have a hearty, delicious stew in their remote lakeside cabin, perfect for a book group discussion on a cold November night. Of course, they don't have any alcohol, but I would recommend a nice Cotes-du-Rhone and some crusty bread to sop up the broth.

Don't forget to leave a comment--best book club discussion ever? best meal eaten with a book group? And you'll be entered in a drawing for an advanced copy of THROUGH THE EVIL DAYS.

Gone with the What?

RHYS BOWEN:
Would you expect a book called All's Well That Ends Well to be a light drawing room comedy or a sweeping international saga? Answer: the latter, if rumor is correct. That was the first title that Tolstoy chose for what became War and Peace.

Would The Strike have been as striking as Atlas Shrugged for Ayn Rand? Or Fiesta instead of The Sun Also Rises for Hemingway? How about First Impressions instead of Pride and Prejudice or Tomorrow is Another Day instead of Gone with the Wind?

These were all original titles for great works and it's reassuring to note that even the great ones had troubles with their titles. I can appreciate that now as I'm in mid title debate for the Molly Murphy book I am currently writing. It takes place in Paris and has to do with the end of Impressionism and the birth of modern art. So my working title had been Lasting Impressions. My editor felt this didn't have the edge necessary for a mystery novel. My agent desperately wanted the word Paris to feature in the title.

So I put it to my Facebook friends, and they went to town with it. There were some serious suggestions but they became more and more hilarious. My favorites were "Plastered in Paris", Monet isn't Everything" (but it's sad Toulouse) "An eye-full in Paris" or "Louvre and Let Die", "Bone jour" I could go on.

You'll be pleased to know we settled on none of the above. We've moer or less chosen City of Darkness and Light. What do you think?

Titles are so important, aren't they? How many times have you picked up a book because the title intrigued you? In this world of super-stores, airports and Amazons sometimes the title and front cover are all we have to sell the book. I love Red Deb's titles, especially the latest THE SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS.  It's intriguing because it isn't the sound of breaking glass. It's already broken. So can it make a sound?RHYS BOWEN:
Would you expect a book called All's Well That Ends Well to be a light drawing room comedy or a sweeping international saga? Answer: the latter, if rumor is correct. That was the first title that Tolstoy chose for what became War and Peace.

Would The Strike have been as striking as Atlas Shrugged for Ayn Rand? Or Fiesta instead of The Sun Also Rises for Hemingway? How about First Impressions instead of Pride and Prejudice or Tomorrow is Another Day instead of Gone with the Wind?

These were all original titles for great works and it's reassuring to note that even the great ones had troubles with their titles. I can appreciate that now as I'm in mid title debate for the Molly Murphy book I am currently writing. It takes place in Paris and has to do with the end of Impressionism and the birth of modern art. So my working title had been Lasting Impressions. My editor felt this didn't have the edge necessary for a mystery novel. My agent desperately wanted the word Paris to feature in the title.

So I put it to my Facebook friends, and they went to town with it. There were some serious suggestions but they became more and more hilarious. My favorites were "Plastered in Paris", Monet isn't Everything" (but it's sad Toulouse) "An eye-full in Paris" or "Louvre and Let Die", "Bone jour" I could go on.

You'll be pleased to know we settled on none of the above. We've moer or less chosen City of Darkness and Light. What do you think?

Titles are so important, aren't they? How many times have you picked up a book because the title intrigued you? In this world of super-stores, airports and Amazons sometimes the title and front cover are all we have to sell the book. I love Red Deb's titles, especially the latest THE SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS.  It's intriguing because it isn't the sound of breaking glass. It's already broken. So can it make a sound?

I think there are certain buzzwords that attract us to mystery novels. Bone/bones, blood, chill, cold are some of them and I think that Darkness or Dark is another. So Reds and writers: do you agonize over titles? Have you ever wished you�d called a book something else? Confession, I really wish I had not given the Evan books clever puns as titles. It made them sound cozier than they were are probably turned off some serious readers.

 What do you think is your most successful title to date? In the Bleak Midwinter was perfect, Julia. Hallie's are so atmospheric, Lucy's and Rosemary's clever, The Other Woman is spot on, as we say in UK and Dreaming of the Bones one of my favorite titles ever (and favorite books too, Debs.}

So readers and writers out there: what kind of title would make you pick up a book? (surely not Plastered in Paris?)

ROSEMARY HARRIS: I'm in title hell right now! I delivered my manuscript to my agent and she loves the title, but I am having second (and third) thoughts. It's the story of five friends, one of whom may have run off with another one's man. It's currently called The Bitches of Brooklyn but I'm starting to think that misrepresents the book - and may sound angrier or more Real Houewives than it is.  I too polled some friends and readers - the funniest one I got was from Rhonda Dossett, the southern half of the writing duo Evelyn David. (Marian Borden Edelman is the northern half.) She proposed this title And Just So We're Clear - Her Prom Dress Was Ugly, Too.
I'm considering it.

LUCY BURDETTE: Rhys, those are hysterical and utterly silly:). Sheila Connolly mentioned on one of my loops recently that her publisher was lobbying for CORNED BEEF AND CARNAGE for her new Irish mystery. Luckily, that one was nixed and replaced with TOP OF THE MOURNING, which I think works so much better.

Ro, I love that new title and subtitle! I have to agree, BITCHES OF BROOKLYN sounds a little like a downer to me.

I know the publishers spend lots of time trying to get this right, because I've gone round and round for almost all of my books. For the last two (#3 and #4) in the Key West series, I lobbied for FATAL RESERVATIONS. Food critic? yes! Murder mystery? yes! The only thing missing was Key West, which is well represented in the cover art. Instead, I've ended up with TOPPED CHEF and coming next year, MURDER WITH GANACHE. I like both of them just fine. I think the key is to have lots of options and sooner or later, the right one rises to the top.

HALLIE EPHRON: I like titles that sound a little bit nursery rhyme, a little bit creepy (THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN, NEVER TELL A LIE) - because I'm writing domestic suspense. I do remember one of my earliest mystery novels was entitled ADDICTION an sure enough I had people coming to talks thinking they were going to hear about 12 steps.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: PRIME TIME was almost "TIME CODE" because that's the term for the numbers that are burned it to videotape to let you keep track of time. Which I initially loved, than decided it sounded too science fiction. The it was "Story of my Life" because the main character was after the news story that wold save her career. But then--that sounded too--autobiographical. Then one day someone said (about a new reporter)--oh, she's not ready for prime time. And I knew it had been settled.

I'm now working on the title of my (crossing fingers) next book...and I'm wondering whether it should be The (some word that means "wrong or bad") (gender or relationship.)  THE OTHER WOMAN THE WRONG GIRL< and now...any ideas?  Or maybe just go another way altogether.

Rhys, I think your title is wonderful. And the right decision!  (Although I did laugh at Louvre and Let
Die.)

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Hank, I'm glad you went with PRIME TIME. I would have thought TIME CODE was about a group of spies trying to stop a bomb countdown.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Rhys, I LOVE The City of Darkness and Light!!! So perfect for the book! But the other suggestions are hysterical, and I must confess to a fondness for Louvre and Let Die.

I've only had to change one title. Mourn Not Your Dead was originally One Blood Will Tell, but the sales team at my then publisher didn't like it. My agent and my editor came up with Mourn Not Your Dead, and I still like the working title better.

And you are so right about the buzz words. The title for the book in progress is To Dwell in Darkness, and I hope I get to keep it. I love title with metaphorical layers (at least they are metaphorical to me!) The Sound of Broken Glass refers not only to the ruin of the Crystal Palace, which provides a sort of atmospheric background to the book, but to the shattered relationship that forms the core of the story. And then, since the book revolves around English rock music, there's the the Nick Lowe song, "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass."

Favorite titles? Hmmm. Maybe The Sound of Broken Glass. Second favorite might be a tie between Dreaming of the Bones and In a Dark House.

JULIA: I can't help but think that cozy titles are the most difficult to get right. There's a convention that there's a pun, and it has to be related to the topic, like Lucy's with Key West and food critic, and it has to reference murder or mayhem, and it can't sound like every other title out there. That's a lot to juggle!

I've had to change a few of my titles. My second book was  JUST AS I AM before it was A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD (I confess it's my least favorite title.) ALL MORTAL FLESH was shortened from LET ALL MORTAL FLESH KEEP SILENCE. And the book that will be coming out this November had the working title of SEVEN WHOLE DAYS, which was greeted by a rousing, "Enh" from every bookseller I tried it out on. They and my publisher liked  THROUGH THE EVIL DAYS much better.

The best part of having hymns as your titles? Free advertising in hundreds of churches every year as they cycle through the hymnal.