What's in A Name? Titles for Books

I’ve been asked a few times over the years about how to title a book or what I should name a book. Here are some things that work for me.

Know How It Works - If you are traditionally published, the publisher has the final say on the title. I have always had to provide the working titles of the books in the initial proposal, and I’ve been fortunate that they have agreed with my choices.

Books can have the same title. You may want to Google your title ideas to see what other books have the same name. If they are in different genres, you may not want folks to confuse them.

Themes - I primarily write cozy mysteries. We like puns and things that are related.

The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries all have rhyming titles with a hint about the crime. Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers, Film Crews and Rendezvous, Christmas Lights and Cat Fights, Deadlines and Valentines, Teddy Bears and Ghostly Lairs, Hazardous Links and Hijinks

The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries are have nursery rhymes that have gone bad in some way. Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones, Twinkle Twinkle Au Revoir, A Tisket A Tasket Not Another Casket, Life is But a Scream, Down Came the Rain and Washed the Body Out, One Two Buckle My Blue Suede Shoes

The Pearly Girls Mysteries all have a musical theme that ties into the history of the property in the series. Murder Strikes a Chord, Murder Plays Second Fiddle, Murder Whets Its Whistle

Double (or Triple Meanings) - The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, The Pearly Girls Mysteries, and all of my short stories hold a hint about the story and the crime. Here are some examples from my short stories.

• “Washed up”

• “Spring Cleaning”

• “Par for the Course”

• “Art Attack”

• “Derailed”

• “Out of Commission”

• “Dead over Heels”

• “Game Over”

What Have You Been Reading This Summer?

What have you been reading this summer? My reads have been a mix of cozy mystery and suspense.

I really love Kim Davis’s Cupcake Catering Mysteries. What a fun series!

Marcia Talley’s Disco Dead is a great read that focuses on forensic genealogy to solve a gruesome murder from the 1970s.

I’m going back and reading the Jack Reacher novels that I missed for some reason. Nothing to Lose is an early one. And Lee Goldberg’s Hidden in Smoke is a chock full of action and suspense.

I had the pleasure of reading two, fun ARCs (Advanced Review Copies) for Michelle Bennington’s Killer Cache and J. Kent Holloway. Both mysteries that will be out soon. Michelle’s is about an amateur sleuth who is a hoarder, and J. Kent’s is about a magical holiday place.

Reading - Why It's Important for Writers

I was always that kid who got excited when the teacher gave us free reading time. Reading has always been a way for me to relax and to escape into other worlds and a chance to solve a mystery.

Reading, especially your genre, is also important to writers. And here’s why:

• If you want to go the traditional publishing route, you need to know what is out there. It’s always good to have an idea where your book fits.

• If you are querying publishers, look at the publishers/imprints and see what genres and subgenres they are publishing.

• If you are querying agents, check out the author’s notes or the acknowledgments to see who represents them. If it matches your genre, add them to your list to research.

• Reading builds vocabulary and exposes you to literary techniques and styles.

• When I decided to write a cozy mystery, I spent almost a year reading every cozy I could get my hands on. I took note of themes, types of sleuths, locations, the voice (first or third person), the tense the story is written in, and the major/minor characters.

• Follow authors and publishers that catch your eye. Sign up for newsletters to see what’s new and releasing next.

• Follow book bloggers, podcasters, and book reviewers on social media and see what they are reviewing.

• Reading is research.

What would you add to my list?

What Are You Reading This Summer?

What have you added to your summer reading list? I’m always looking for recommendations, especially new to me mystery series. Here’s what I’ve been reading lately.

I recently discovered Laura Bradford’s series. She has sleuths with unusual jobs and lives. These are fun reads to add to your beach bag. Also check out Lisa Q. Matthews and Darci Hannah. They have a bunch of quirky characters who get themselves into all kinds of tricky situations.

Diane Kelly’s series are always a must read, and her latest, Dead Post Society, will not disappoint.

And you need to check out Michael Rigg’s debut mystery, Voices of the Elysian Fields. It’s a medical thriller set in New Orleans.

Who are your favorite new reads?

20 Things about My Sleuth Jade Hicks

I’m currently working on book 5 of the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries, and I’ve been thinking a lot about my amateur sleuth, Jade Hicks, lately. Here are 20 things you may not know about her and her stories.

1. She’s a redhead.

2. She drives a lime-green Jeep Wrangler.

3. Her personalized license plates are “NO GRNCH.” Perfect for the owner of a Christmas store.

4. Mermaid Bay isn’t a real place. I created my cozy little beach town near the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown.

5. She was born in 1985 and graduated high school in 2003.

6. She graduated from James Madison University in 2007.

7. Before returning to Mermaid Bay, she worked in Richmond, VA at a marketing firm.

8. She moved back to the beach when her grandmother passed to take over the store.

9. Jade originally moved in with her grandparents when her parents were killed in a tragic car accident.

10. Jade has known Nick Driscoll since middle school.

11. Right before the pandemic, Jade made a huge investment in the store’s online store, and it paid off when the world went on lockdown.

12. Jade owns the vacant lot next to her store. She hasn’t decided quite what to do with the property.

13. There is a lovely hedge of oleanders along the back of her store and the vacant lot, and it plays a key role in Twinkle Twinkle Au Revoir.

14. Jade attends her first ComicCon with her bestie Amy Pemberton in Life is But a Scream (January 2026).

15. The beach is Jade’s happy place.

16. Chloe, the Frenchie, and Neville the Devil Cat pretend to be enemies, but they really are pals and playmates.

17. Jade loves visiting Amy’s bookstore where Darcy Cat watches over the stacks. The Persian is named for Mr. Darcy.

18. Jade’s aunt, the free-spirited Lorelei Tucker, keeps a protective eye on her niece and helps her out whenever she can.

19. In A Tisket A Tasket Not Another Casket, (January 2025) Jade’s a little surprised to learn a secret about Amy’s love life. No spoilers here.

20. The titles of the books in Jade’s series are named for nursery rhymes gone bad.

What Are You Reading This Summer?

What are you reading this summer? Here are some of the books I’ve read recently.

You can’t go wrong with anything by Diane Kelly, Maria DiRico (Ellen Byron), and Tara Lush. Read all their series. They are fabulous, and I always read their latest.

Korina Moss and Linda Reilly are my favorite cheese-themed cozy writers. What is not to love? You can never have enough cheese, and when it’s mixed with a mystery, it’s perfect. You need to check out all the books in both of their series.

Daphne Silver, Annie McEwen, T.C. Herren, and Jennie Marts were all new-to-me cozy authors. Their books are terrific, and you need to check them out.

Paula Charles’s Hammers and Homicide is a fun cozy and a great start to a new series. I also had the pleasure of reading an early version of her second in her goat yoga series as Janna Rollins. It’s a hoot.

I had the pleasure of reading an ARC for Janna Rollins for the second in her Zen Goat Mysteries. It’s a hoot. This is a must-read series.

Annie McEwen’s Resort to Murder is another great start to a new series. What a sweet, fun mystery. She has a new one out in this series, too.

I read the first two of The Turner and Mosely Files by LynDee Walker and Bruce Robert Coffin. What a fun series of mysteries full of adventure, missing treasures, and all kinds of cool technology. Escape on a book vacation with this series!

What books or authors should I add to my summer reading list?

Happy National Smile Day (And Ways to Make an Author Grin)

Happy National Smile Day. Here are some quick, free things you can do to help authors and make them smile.

• If you like a book, leave a review on one of the many sites (e.g. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BookBub, Goodreads, Audible…). It doesn’t have to be a book report. A couple of sentences will do.

• Tell your book club about the book and add it to the group’s reading list.

• Request that your library add the book to their collection.

• Post on social media that you like the book and tag the author.

Reviews and reader comments do make a difference.

Happy reading, y’all!

Meet the Fuzzy Sidekicks...

Our two crazy Jack Russell terriers (Disney and Riley) are part of our family, so it’s natural that my characters would share their stories with their fuzzy friends. Here are the furry and fluffy sidekicks in my series.

Margaret Thatcher Reynolds is Delanie Fitzgerald’s partner’s English bulldog. She has two speeds, slow/steady and napping. She’s a log with legs, but she’s a great companion. She loves treats, snacks, and rides in Duncan’s yellow Camaro. She’s also helped save the day in several of the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries.

Bijou is a feisty Jack Russell Terrier who lives and works at the Fern Valley Camping Resort in the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries. She’s the official greeter, and she loves long walks, treats, and riding in Jules’s Jeep Wrangler. Bijou is modeled on my JRT Disney.

Chloe is the white French bulldog in the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries. The butterball of a dog works at the shop and loves hanging out at the beach in her free time. Her arch-frenemy is Neville the Devil Cat.

Neville the Devil Cat was a Mermaid Bay stray who made himself at home at the Christmas Shoppe. He spends his time napping, checking out the new Christmas ornaments, and annoying Chloe. He’s a tuxedo cat who takes his job as the store’s mouser seriously.

Elvis is a Chihuahua mix in my new Pearly Girls series (March 2025). He is a fixture in the office, and he takes his jobs as ambassador and official greeter seriously. He loves long walks in the mountains and car rides. He may be tiny, but he has all the charisma of his namesake.