Why Have Clash of the Titles? See Here Immediately.

Why have a Clash of the Titles?

Lots of reasons. But before we get to why, let’s talk about what a Clash of the Titles actually is.

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Clash of the Titles – What It Is

A clash of the titles is pretty self-explanatory. It’s where two titles square off against each other, much like a couple of boxers. (Hence the boxing gloves in the image above…)

One will get knocked out, while the other goes on to “win” that particular round.

So how does this apply to me and us? Good question. Read on…

Clash of the Titles – How It Applies To Us

Simply put, I need your help in creating the perfect title for the seventh Miller’s Creek book. At first I had a title in mind, but as work on the story has progressed, I’ve had at least another twenty run through my head, leaving me absolutely confused!

So…I thought it would be fun to enlist the help of my reader friends–blog, newsletter, Facebook, other social media, etc.–to name the seventh novel in the series.

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Clash of the Titles – Other Reasons Why

Other reasons for the Clash of the Titles? First of all, January and February tend to be two of the most down months of the year due to the winter weather. Those winter blahs make NOW the perfect time for a Clash of the Titles!

Secondly, my motivation levels tend to decrease significantly as I near the end of writing a rough first draft and jump into the seemingly endless rounds of edits.

So let’s kill all these birds with one stone. I get help with naming the new novel, it helps pass the winter doldrums, and gives me added motivation to finish the book.

And hopefully it will spell F-U-N for all of us!

Clash of the Titles – About the Story Line

Here’s a little background to help you understand the story better:

A transformed wild-child returns to Miller’s Creek to care for her ailing father and face the judgmental ranch manager she’s always loved. When a flood threatens Miller’s Creek and their respective properties, Bella joins forces with Clay to protect what they both hold dear. Though Bella attempts to persuade Clay and others that she’s not the same person they remember, all her efforts come to naught when nasty rumors jeopardize her teaching career. Now on shaky ground, Bella is forced to depend solely on God to plow through the false accusations of a student who has shredded what was left of her reputation. But is it too little too late?

The word “freedom” has been zinging through my brain as I write this story. While I know that our freedom in Christ is ultimately about being freed from sin and death, I think in Bella’s case, it’s also about being freed from the chains of other people’s opinions and their false accusations.

During the pre-writing and writing of this book, the thought that humans are easily enslaved to so many things (which become little-g gods in our lives)–pride, greed, the opinions of others, etc. Sadly, those things also have the tendency to weigh us down and keep us from running the race as well as we would without them holding us back.

So in that respect, freedom also means being set free from those things that enslave us.

(Hope all this is helping you think of possible book titles…)

One more thing that bears mentioning: So far all the book titles have included a word to loosely indicate a journey. TEXAS ROADS, A PATH LESS TRAVELED, THE WAY OF GRACE, PILGRIMAGE OF PROMISE, A BRIDGE UNBROKEN, and CROSSROADS.

While part of me would like to keep that journey theme intact in this title as well, if a title without it catches my fancy, I’ll definitely include it!

Clash of the Title – The Particulars

Okay, here’s how this fun little winter diversion tactic will work:

Title Submission (January 21-28, 2016) – Submit your title ideas (as many as you’d like) either in a comment here on this blog post OR at this post on my Facebook author page.
January 29-30 – My virtual assistant (more on this in the next blog post!) and I will sort through all the submissions (including our own) and choose our top 16.
February 1-6 is round 1, with eight brackets of two titles each. We’ll have polls up here on my blog for you to vote for your favorites.
February 8-13 is round 2, with four brackets of two titles each. Again we’ll vote for our favorites using polls in a blog post.
February 15-20 is round 3–the Semi-Finals!–with two brackets of two titles each, and we’ll vote using polls in a blog post.
February 22-27 is round 4–THE FINALS!–with one bracket of two titles. We’ll vote for our favorite using a poll widget in a blog post.
February 29 – I’ll announce our winning title! (And we’ll get past February AND find the perfect title for Miller’s Creek novel #7! WIN-WIN!)

Click here to download your printable bracket (Word .doc)

Click here to download your printable bracket (PDF)

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Time to Brainstorm for Clash of the Titles! Submit your ideas below or on my Facebook author page…
LLLet’s get ready to rrrumble!

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