cooking a book :: the name and the glossy picture

This monthy sees the release of my latest Harlequin Romance, FALLING FOR THE REBEL HEIR in the UK and North America which is so exciting as I loooove that book. It's my fairy dust book. And at the same time I am about to set forth and write my next Harlequin Romance. So - big deep breath - here goes!

Before I could even start to cook my book I needed a working title. To me this comes part and parcel with the creation of a collage. As both things are all about creating the mood of the book.

My last Harlequin Romance working title was "Ring a Ding Ding". It's a fun book, with a hero who looked in my mind like a 1950s dreamboat. The Modern Heat I sold next had a working title of "Hanky Panky". Sexy, flirty, a more than a little bit naughty. The working title gave me that feeling every time I saw it which helped keep that feeling through the writing of the book.

The book I am about to begin is a Harlequin Romance, a story with depth and heart and hope and sweetness and softness. There is a kind of "pretty" feeling I get in the back of my head when I think of it.

As I sat down to work on my collage, I found a picture of a couple kissing in the sunshine. It seemed to have all the warm feelings I was having about the story. The name of the article attached to the piccie? TREATS, TREASURES AND SIMPLE PLEASURES. (Or a version thereof.) Done!


Do you think the working title suits the collage? I really do. The whole thing gives me a warm fuzzy feeling which is what the aim of a working title is all about!

Ooh, and that reminds me, for members of Romance Writers of Australia, I have an article coming out in the April Hearts Talk called, "A Working Title by Any Other Name" in which I discuss how important, or not, a working title can be. So look out for it!

Now don't forget to head on over to Liz Fielding's blog this weekend because whoever gives me the winning name for the gorgeous daughter of this next hero will win a signed copy of this month's Harlequin Romance release FALLING FOR THE REBEL HEIR!