Remember, I'm looking for something evocative, modern but fanciful/whimsical. The book is very humorous in a snarky way (the narrator is a 17-year-old boy) but with a lot of heartbreak and grief, especially in the story of the parents. It's got graphic novel elements, plus screenplay. Love, sexual awakening, loss, fantastical happenings, most of it set in Las Vegas. A lotta book, I know.
Okay, you're at Borders/Barnes & Nobles, browsing. What might catch your eye, title-wise? Ready? Peruse!
Kinda like this one, cause the main character's a budding artist,
plus there's this motif of movement & stillness...
The archeology is a metaphoric one, looking through the ruins of your past for answers...
You know, he did fly in a Vegas show...
There are lots of people flying to and away from others in this book.
One of my witty friends came up with this one:
it's funny because it's true
This is the simplest, and evokes the heart of the book. Too much like that Ben Affleck movie?
All right, that's all I got for now. This would be a lot of fun, if it weren't my book...
Comment away!
Update: Sigh... Agent J was not in love with any of them. I have the feeling he's "Liberace-averse," meaning he thinks having Liberace in the title is a turn-off. Poor Mr. Showman. Thanks for all the comments, though, maybe I'll use them as evidence if one title gets a lot of love!
I like "and then she was gone". Second choice: Still Life, with Liberace.
ReplyDeleteThe two I like are:
ReplyDelete"And Then She Was Gone" (didn't remind me of the great Ben Affleck film "Gone, Baby Gone" so I wouldn't worry about it).
What I like about it is its sense of mystery. Who was gone? What happened? Did she die? Disappear? That would make me pick it up and look at it. By planting a question in the browser's mind they feel the need to pick it up and at least read the dust jacket.
The other one I like is "Liberace Under Venetian Skies," because it seems like it would be off-kilter with a comedic bent and I'm attracted to that kind of stuff.
I like Still Life with Liberace and Liberace Underneath Venetian Skies. I really did like the joke title your friend suggested, but the other two muscle tested best. Why didn't your agent like the original title?
ReplyDeleteLove ya,
Deb
Megan, Lindsay and I like your original title ( although the girls didn't know who Liberace was)as well as your last (sounds mysterious) Congrats on your new agent ooxx Sandy
ReplyDeleteand then she was gone
ReplyDeletebut all in lower case (seriously)- more poignant that way...
congrats on the new agent- you deserve it all~
and then she was gone
ReplyDeleteI like that one a lot. And it's the only one that seems related to the content, not just literally but even the feel of it. All of the other titles, whilst compelling, make me feel like I'm about to read an entirely different event.
so proud of you
I like the last one. The rest sound like archeological theses. This is Gregg Mierow.
ReplyDeleteI like the first and the last. The others sound like non-fiction, (agree with Greg) especially if I were browsing in Barnes and Noble. xo Kathee
ReplyDeleteI like "Still Life..." and "and then she was gone". although i have to admit, Liberace in the title WOULD catch my attention! xo H
ReplyDeleteI don't think Liberace would attract the readers you would most want. Most of the women who thought he was so glorious are now dead and I'm not certain males ever were crazy about him. Archeology, artifact, excavation are such scholarly words.....you don't want to give that impression, do you? "Flight" congers up thoughts of terrorists, in my mind. :) "Still Life of L...." would not attract me since I would think., "Oh, my, I know enough about him already." All of the preceding by way of saying I like "And Then She Was Gone"
ReplyDeleteMary
I still like the original title but the graphic needs a candelabra falling out of the Venetian sky."and then she was gone" is evocative of a mystery and I like it but there is still wonderment for me in "Liberace Under Venetian Skies".
ReplyDelete