I’ve always thought of LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE more as a Regency historical than a traditional Regency, both because of its length (90,000 words versus the 75,000 my traditional Regencies usually ran) and because it takes the heat up a notch from my earlier books.
So I’m brainstorming ideas for a new title that sounds a bit less like a traditional Regency. I’d love to hear your suggestions. I can’t guarantee that I’ll use any of them, but I will send a copy of the paperback version of this book to a commenter chosen at random.
Comment all week long, and I’ll pick a winner next Saturday.
To stimulate your creativity, here’s the back cover blurb:
Hearts in Hiding
She became the ton’s most notorious widow after kissing a costumed stranger at a masquerade. Her reputation was destroyed overnight in a swirl of spiteful rumor. Shunned by polite society and unable to forget years of a desperately unhappy marriage, Olivia, Lady Dearing now hides her heart where no man will ever find it. Though she fills her life with children she has taken in from London’s Foundling Hospital, a stranger’s seductive voice haunts her dreams.
He has given up hope of ever finding her, but two years later, the empty place in his heart still aches for the beauty he kissed at the masquerade. Sir Jeremy Fairhill, a widower with painful secrets of his own, devotes himself to the cause of the Foundling Hospital. When he learns that an infamous widow has taken some of the children into her own home, duty alone compels him to investigate. But passion will soon engulf them both, leading to a disastrous scandal—or love.
Comment away! Funny as well as serious ideas welcome.
Elena
As a reader and buyer of books, could I ask you to reconsider changing the name of your book? I find it infuriating when authors do that, either because I think that it’s a new book and am disappointed when I find it isn’t, or because I may be looking for the book under its original title and don’t realise I’ve found it! Both these points apply especially when a book is re-released as an ebook, particularly when out-of-print titles are difficult or expensive to find secondhand. Thanks! HJ
“A MOMENT OF INDISCRETION”
It’s not the days in a life that matter…it’s the moments in the days that make all the difference!
“Lady Dearing’s Daring?
Hearts in Hiding seems like an excellent title. And could it not be mentioned on the front cover that it was originally printed as Lady Dearing’s Masquerade?
Anonymous, I understand your point. The last thing I want to do is annoy readers.
I feel torn because the book won a Romantic Times Award with this title. However, it was one of the last Signet Regencies and had a small print run. So it seems wise to think about repackaging, to get to a broader audience.
My choices seem to be: keep the title and hope the new cover helps, or change both title and cover and try to make it clear in all the blurbs, promo data, that this is a reissue. That would help readers find it even if they are searching with the original title.
Virginia C, good thought on “moments”.
oneredboot, maybe keeping “Lady Dearing” in the title would help link it to the original?
Judy, if I change the name I would certainly put it somewhere. I may investigate as to how this is handled in other reissues. I checked my copy of Mary Jo Putney’s THE RAKE and the title page indicates the story originally came out as THE RAKE AND THE REFORMER.
Since they have both been married before…
Second Chances, but that may sound to modern. Taking a twist on a previous commenter, A Lady Dares.
Interesting dilemma, Elena. I can see your reasons for wanting to change it and I can see the reasons you might want to keep the original title. Which means I am uncommonly UNhelpful!
Possible titles :
A Daring Masquerade
Lady Dearing’s Desire
I’ll give it some more thought.
The Dangerous Widow? Lost: a heart?
In the UK I find a lot of titles changed from the American one, so I know to check inside – but I agree I find it a pain!
pageturner345@gmail.com
Love THE RAKE!!
Lady Dearing’s Secret, a slight variation like Mary Jo Putney’s. I understand HJ’s concern. One of my favorite writers has re-released several books with new covers. I know some people wanted the old and the new covers. Not me. I did find it disappointing at first to see a release coming up (yippee a new book!) and find out it was simply a new cover. I didn’t mind if it was announced as a RE-release. Best wishes!
And I loved The Rake and the Reformer, which was just a little bit different different from The Rake.
Elena, I’m with Anonymous. I don’t think you should change the title, but if you do, keep it as close as possible, like The Rake vs The Rake and the Reformer.
So I suggest: The Lady’s Masquerade
The Down Fall of Lady Dearing!
Thanks for all your inputs! FYI since I amn republishing my backlist myself (as opposed to a publisher reissuing it) I couldn’t use the same cover even if I wanted to. In this case, I didn’t care for how the hero was portrayed. Up close, not at all what I imagined. At least the image was small…
How about FROM SCANDAL TO LOVE. Of course, this could be the title of many historical romances. Or you could try THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL TO THE RESCUE. It is the reason they got back together. Whatever the title, it sounds like you have written it to incorporate all those elements we love in Regency Romance.
This sounds like a great book! I enjoy ones about second chances and Lady Dearing and Sir Jeremy Fairhill sound like they deserve one. Some ideas…
AN UNFORGETTABLE KISS
A KISS FOR TOMORROW
ONE SCANDALOUS NIGHT
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
A PRELUDE FOR LOVE
It seems that one night, and one kiss is all it took for the hero and heroine to connect. It was an event they have carried in their hearts since and I came up with titles reflecting this theme. Best of luck with your decisions. I’m all for name changes (or name keepers) so long as a great story stays that way. If it means attracting more readers to your work than all the better. Or if the former name is a proper representation that is fine as well. I don’t think name changes should be a apply-to-all/apply-to-none rule as all situations differ.
Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com
A Scandalous Kiss?
The Notorious Widow?