The Earl's .....

Okay, so I've published the "Collection" and everything in my little writing world is hunky dory. I can breathe again, for at least a couple of weeks.

However, as every writer knows, you're only as good as your next book. So it's time to start writing my next book. Which I have. It's about the Earl of Bailey, whom we met in THE LADY'S FATE. He was the guy who played fake fiance to Violet to help her win the Marquess of Haverlane. More or less.

I wrote an outline (something I confess I almost NEVER do). I wrote an important scene (because it came to me while I was painting the ceiling and had to get it on paper -- yes paper -- before I forgot it.) I have the opening line

Gregory Francis Scott, 6th Earl of Bailey, snapped the book closed he had been reading and dropped it on the table with a small thump.

I know, it certainly doesn't sound like much of a beginning, but I promise it does get better.

All that being said, now I need a title. And I mention this only because I don't like the one I've been calling it.

THE EARL'S ENQUIRY.

This used to be called THE EARL'S ENIGMA because if you must know, the heroine, Rosamund, truly does get under Bailey's skin. But someone pointed out to me that if you look at it fast (and sometimes I do) it reads as THE EARL'S ENEMA. So I've decided to nix that title.

Then came THE EARL'S ENQUIRY, which was good when I was writing this book with a different plot line. Bailey was asking tough questions about life, love and the pursuit of happiness. But that was when I didn't have Rosamund. Now that I have her, I also have a different plot.

Hence, I need a different title. So I was thinking about THE EARL'S ENGAGEMENT. Which I kind of like because there are several engagements in this book that Bailey must attend to. However, I'm just not sure it truly fits.

As you can tell from my previous novels (not short stories) I'm not really good at titles -- THE DUKE'S DIVORCE, THE LADY'S FATE, THE LADY'S MASQUERADE, THE CAPTAIN'S LADY. Kind of blah, boring, but they do take in the summation of the plot. You know EXACTLY what the book will be about with the title.

(As an aside, for my short stories --novellas if you will -- I like to use the name of the main character in the title. I don't know why, I just do.)

Anyway, for those of you who follow here regularly, if you see THE EARL'S ENGAGEMENT and wonder what happened to ENQUIRY or ENIGMA, they went into the recycle bin.

And if any of you have an idea for an "E" word that fits with THE EARL'S .... please share. I'm not good with titles.

Now I'm off to study the dictionary.