HONOR AT STAKE GETS A NEW TITLE
Can You Guess the Name I Chose?
I’ve been using the working title Honor at Stake for book two of my trilogy for a long time. I started writing it during a period of renewed hope that Time and Again would get a publisher but put it away in defeat about five years ago. But when I did get the book contract in January of 2011, my hope soared again, and so I dusted off the manuscript and have been steadily but surely working on it ever since. It has been through the critique process with my fellow writers at Scribophile and other feedback buddies. I’ll soon be finished with revision and ready to do the final proofreading.
Happily, people seem to like the book. But not the title. One reader said Honor at Stake sounded like a 
story about a military hero. Another told me it sounded like a bodice-ripping romance. A part of me didn’t want to change the title, because that’s how I’ve thought of it for so long. But after considering the advice of my helpful “editors,” I decided they were right. Although the meaning was good, the connotations were off. And so I went back to the drawing board. It wasn’t easy. The title needed to
1. be similar in length to the first title Time and Again.
2. have the same mysterious tone (without being cheesy). And most importantly,
3. hint at the plot.
4. not already be in use (My Time and Again is one of many on Amazon.com.)
It took me days and days of brainstorming on my yellow legal pad and then scratching out most of the ridiculous ideas I came up with. Here are some of the least crazy (believe it or not) of them. In the comment box below, write the title you think I chose. I’ll announce the actual new title later this week.
Their Family Tree
Family Tree Project
The Legacy of Shake Rag Corner
Recovering the Pieces
The Name in the Book
The Name not in the Book
Not in the Book
No Name Given
A Family Regained
A Family connection
An Honor Restored
An Honor Regained
A Name Restored
Unclaimed Legacy
A Name Reclaimed
On All Charges
Time and Again: Unclaimed Legacy
A Skeleton in the Closet
Family Secrets
Slandered
An Honorable Name
Line of Descent
Ancestral Tree
Shake Rag Corner
Reuben and Franny
Tarnished Legacy
Reclaimed Legacy
Time and Again: Reuben and Franny
