First Impressions

Your gaze randomly wanders over the crowded room until he catches your eye.  You've never seen him before, but something about his look appeals to you.  Then he smiles---not at you, but the parting of his lips and the way his head tilts nevertheless incites a small smile of your own. You're intrigued.  Enough so that you wander closer, and soon the two of you are talking. You like him; he's interesting and he makes you laugh. So you decide to deliberately spend more time together...and if that goes well, you'll do it some more.

There you have my typical library/bookstore experience.  What?  No!  I'm not picking up guys!  Sheesh.  I'm talking about selecting a book. The cover is what "catches your eye," right?  And then you read the title---that's the smile.  And if it intrigues you, you "wander closer," pick it up, and read the back cover.  If it's "interesting," maybe "makes you laugh," then perhaps you "decide to deliberately spend more time together," i.e. read the first chapter.  "And if that goes well"...you've found your next read.
 
The purpose behind my little analogy here is that I achieved my Writing Resolution 2011, which was to complete the first draft of my untitled manuscript (yay!) and the carrot I dangled was that upon finishing draft #1, I could begin to think about the title, a/k/a the smile.  With Three Daves, the title was always just kind of there, so I never had to give it much thought, but this time...well, it's not so clear. So I'd love to get your input.

Without knowing anything else about the story, which of these three titles has the most potential to get you to "wander closer" and check out the back cover summary?

There's Something Wrong in Prairie Oaks

The Angel's Sin

Extraordinary Interventions

Any commentary you'd like to give regarding any expectations the title conjures would also be much appreciated.  Thanks!

Comments

Suze said…
Good morning, my dear Nick! I think the title has to be the right bait. And in order to have the right bait, you need to know what kinda fish you wanna hook. You wouldn't bait a girl who favors freckled and ginger with tall, dark and handsome, right? ;)
The second one - short and to the point.
F. Stone said…
Hey, Nicki. I like the second one - short and yet offers a multude of fantasies in my head. Okay, now how about sharing a bit of the story or are you keeping all of us in suspense!
Michael Di Gesu said…
It scares me every time I read Alex's comments ... he writes what I think...

Hey, Nicki,

Congrats on finishing your first draft! YOU DID IT!

I am still waiting for that email and VISIT ... lol. It looks like it's going to be for our birthdays again.....

How are you? IT's been AGES...
DL Hammons said…
Definitely the second one. Strong hook!
Susan Oloier said…
The second one for me, too. For some reason, I don't like places in titles. I know: weird.
Jennifer Lane said…
Gah, titles are so hard sometimes. I'm still waffling a bit on the title of my next novel. It's hard to give you feedback not knowing the story. Other commenters like the shortness of #2 but for me it implies paranormal romance--is it paranormal? Since that's not my favorite genre I might not gravitate toward that title. I like #1 better, I think, though Prarie Oaks makes me think of a small town western--is that an image you want to portray? Mega congrats on finishing the first draft!
Tara Tyler said…
the angel's sin sounds like a ya paranormal, if thats what you got, the rest dont flow well enough, unless you're going for comedy with the first one...

putting them all together...

The Fallen Angel of Prairie Oaks...

way to meet your goals!
Unknown said…
I like the second one too. The idea of putting them together is pretty cool too.
anthony stemke said…
Hey Nicki: I think all three are good titles.

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