Epiphanies are funny. I always picture them taking place after some mad scientist sweats over his completely incomprehensible contraption for hours and hours and then suddenly – eureka, puff of smoke, light bulb and all of that other cliche imagery – abracadabra! An idea arrives. Like a super-charged Pop-Tart ricocheting from out of nowhere.
I had one last night. Or this morning actually. An epiphany, not a Pop-Tart. A decision I had been struggling with for so long with regard to my book or rather the book to follow it rattled my brain.
Titles. I’m a fairly good headline writer when I write articles, but book titles are a completely different beast.
Anyway, I knew what my book title would be for this first novel – THE MUSE UNLOCKED – but I also knew that I had way too many plot miles I wanted these characters to travel for one book. I have at least a second book if not a third tucked away in my imagination for Cate and Oliver. So I went back and forth, even had some strange dreams about the titles one day that I had worked far too much and for far too long on the book. I came up with a few titles for the second book and for a possible third installment, too. But while I’d like one of the titles, nearly every time, I hated the other.
So what I want to know is why did the clouds part and the clarity sweep over me at 5:10 a.m. this morning after my body and my mind logged not one minute of sleep? I wasn’t supposed to be able to pour a cup of coffee without spilling it let alone come up with something creative and damn perfect for what I want to convey.
That isn’t supposed to happen. Not on zero sleep. Right? That’s what I thought, too. Of course, the reason I was up all night was because I was finishing the main content of the book.
That’s right. The core content is done. I still have some smaller author-related pieces to compose and an important book two preview to feature at the end, but the story itself is just two more thorough reads away from finding its way into my book editor’s hands.
Damn.
And, of course, I’m not going to tell you what those book titles are. After all, I haven’t even released the first book yet, but let’s just say, my imagination is taking a day of rest in honor of the momentous occasion.
I’d take a monorail to cloud nine if I wasn’t so lightheaded from the all-night writing fest. For now, I will simply be thankful for the inexplicable appearance of epiphanies and their penchant to come along at the strangest, most unexpected moments. Yes, sir, may I please have another?! And I will never take them for granted and would welcome them any time they care to show up on my doorstep.
A Pop-Tart on my doorstop would sound pretty good right now, too.
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It’s been a little while since I shared a book teaser. Look for another one to come your way faster than you can say…presto!
Okay, maybe not that fast, but soon. Real soon.
Happy reading!
ck
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