Lipstick, Powder, and Paint by Victoria Chatham

 AVAILABLE HERE

Jesse Stone wrote and released this song title back in 1956, but the lipstick, powder, and paint used by our historical heroines were often injurious to their health, if not downright deadly. Far from being a modern invention, cosmetics have been around for centuries. So just what did our heroines of yesteryear put on their faces?

To ancient Egyptians, circa 4,000 BC, cosmetics was big business for men and women. The green eye

makeup depicted on many a tomb wall was produced from the copper ore, malachite, and was applied over the eyelid up to the brows. It not only made the eyes look bigger but also was considered to protect those who wore it. Even today malachite is reputed to protect the wearer.

The eyes were then outlined with kohl, a thick black paint produced from galena, the natural mineral form of lead sulphide. Kohl shielded the eyes from the sun, helped keep away flies and with chlorine added to the lead sulphide, may have acted as a disinfectant. Both the powder and paint were applied with sticks made from wood, metal or ivory, depending on where you were on the social ladder. Cheeks and lips were stained with red ochre and henna were used to stain and colour the fingertips and toes.

To protect their skins from the climate, our savvy Egyptians made moisturizing creams so, to your bullock bile, add whipped ostrich eggs, olive oil, plant resins, fresh milk, and a dash of sea salt. To make it smell nice, add a few drops of scented oil like frankincense, myrrh, thyme, or marjoram. Fruit essences added a sweeter aroma, especially that from almonds. Anti-wrinkle cream? No problem. To a measure of wax add olive oil, incense, milk, juniper leaves and the secret ingredient – crocodile dung which, when dried, did double duty as a contraceptive but that’s another story.

In addition to malachite ancient Roman women also used azurite for blue eye powder. Their kohl came from soot, ashes, or antimony. Pink cheeks were considered a sign of good health and to enhance the skin colour a variety of flower petals, mulberry juice and red wine dregs, cinnabar and red lead were also used. Unfortunately for our Roman gals, the latter was highly toxic with red lead compounds probably causing abdominal pains, constipation, and memory loss. 

Chinese ladies used face powder made from rice flour, Japanese ladies embraced red lip colour, white faces and black brows with teeth blackening or ohaguro being considered especially beautifying. Queen Elizabeth I suffered from smallpox and to cover her scarred face resorted to using a paste called Venetian Ceruse made from vinegar and lead. White skin was especially favoured as this indicated youthfulness and was a clear sign the woman had no need to work out of doors.

White also indicated pureness and anyone who has ever read a Regency romance will undoubtedly know that our heroines should have soft, white skin and present a ‘fine complexion.’ Applications of Pimpernel Water, Eau de Veau (first boil a calf’s foot in four quarts of river water), or Virgin Milk which will ‘call the purple stream of the blood to the external fibres of the epidermis’ and, if left on the face to dry, ‘will render it clear and brilliant.’ Over this perfect complexion a young lady might be permitted to use a light dusting of pearl powder, a tinge of carmine powder on the cheeks and touch of rouge, lead-free of course, on the lips should  ‘only be resorted to in cases of absolute necessity.’

In late Victorian times, Bloom of Youth’s lead content could induce radial nerve palsy, or wrist drop, while Swan Down powder, supposedly safe, was found to contain not only zinc but a large quotient of lead. While the use of cosmetics was mostly the prerogative of the upper classes through history, Queen Victoria’s opinion was that the use of makeup was vulgar and impolite. Even today we are not entirely safe from the cosmetics we use. Lead, surprisingly, can still be found in some lipsticks while Botox is derived from one of the most lethal known toxins.  

Today more and more women of note are choosing to appear 'bare-faced', think Demi Lovato, Drew Barrymore, Cara Delavingne, and Cameron Diaz. However, if we can't all be that gorgeous sans makeup, we can always explore the safer option of mineral-based makeup. Whatever, beauty is still in the eye of the beholder, with or without that layer of lippy or slick of mascara.

Victoria Chatham

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Images: courtesy of various internet sources

Quotes: The Mirror of the Graces by A Lady of Distinction

  

A Little of This and A Little of That

Ah Spring. My favorite time of year. New buds blossom, Trees begin to get their leaves and everything comes alive. The air smells fresher, little plants peek through the ground.
Crocuses often bloom through the snow and Snow Drops soon follow and of

course the lovely Daffodils appear as soon as the ground has thawed.
The crocus is a symbol of youthfulness and cheerfulness. The snowdrop symbolizes hope - hope that winter will soon end and new warmth will enter our lives.  Daffodils symbolize rebirth and new beginnings.
Something about seeing the new spring flowers creates a happiness. The long winter is finally passing and warmer weather is on the way.
Of course, we can't forget St. Patrick's Day - a day celebrated by many with corned beef and cabbage. parades and of course drinking - sometimes green beer.
St. Patrick's Day first started to honor St. Patrick on the anniversary of his death. Christian people had a great feast for which Lenten food and alcohol restrictions were temporarily removed, which is why drinking became synonymous with the holiday. As year passed, St Patrick's Day became less about the man and more about general Irish traditions, culture, and history. *

Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus, this year's celebrations/parades were canceled.
When will things return to normal. Every day it seems like something else is closed down. Will everything shut down eventually?
If that's what's going to happen, I wish they'd do it sooner, rather than later. How many more have to get sick or die before that happens? I say get it over with, but who am I? Already restaurants, sports, schools, and churches are closed. Even some department stores. We're told to stay in. Not an easy thing for me. Not that I went too many places anyway, church, bible study, and of course, the store. Even that's been taken away. I'm blessed to have children willing to shop for me. But I do miss it. I enjoyed shopping. Got me out of the house for a while.  Enough about that. More about spring.

Easter is celebrated in the Spring. Sometimes in March, but often in April. A special Holiday (Holy Day) for Christians around the world. The day

 we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. I look forward to spending the day with family, making our Traditional Easter Food. I pray things will be back to normal by then.

May brings Mother's Day, celebrated the second Sunday in May and founded by Anna Jarvis, it's  a celebration honoring the mother of the family, as well as

motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society.  Designated as the second Sunday in May by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914. **

And finally, Memorial Day, observed the last Monday in May finishes off our Spring Holidays and kicks off the Summer Season. I remember when it was called Decoration Day. It's a  day to remember  and honor the men and women
who died while serving the U.S. military. This year it falls on May 25th, which just happens to be my birthday.  ***

* St. Patrick's Day
** Mother's Day
*** Memorial Day

Review of Trouble Comes in Twos
5 stars - Whodunit and Another Twin
Roseanne Dowell does it again, this time adding mystery to the romance--from the kidnapping of a bride on the eve of her wedding to stumbling across a body under a bush in the local cemetery, Kate Wesley has more than just two love interests distracting her. Not to mention, the victim's identical twin. Ms. Dowell kept me guessing throughout the book both whodunit and who was gonna "do it" with Kate.
5 stars - Romantic Suspense At It's FINEST!

You can find Trouble Comes in Twos as well as my other books at BWL Publishing

Women's Rights before Suffragettes by Diane Scott Lewis

Celebrate Women's History Month

I once had a critique group where the only male member protested my female character's feminist-like qualities. She was eighteenth-century and women didn't demand their rights until the twentieth-century, so he insisted.

Suffragettes 1914

I had to explain how wrong he was.

Most people don't realize that women have been asking for rights for centuries.
I see it in book reviews all the time: the spunky heroine behaves in too modern a manner.

However, history if full of such women, if you look for them.

Aphra Behn was a writer, playwright and translator who lived in England in the 1600s. She championed the rights for women to speak their minds. She was also one of the first Englishwomen to earn a living by her own writing. She became the inspiration for future female authors. Charles II appreciated her intelligence and used her as a spy in Antwerp.
Her first play, The Forc'd Marriage, in 1670, criticized women being forced into often unhappy or cruel arranged marriages.


Behn

Mary Astell, another Englishwoman, advocated equal education for women. She's been called the first English feminist and insisted that women were just as rational as men. And deserving of a similar education. In 1694, her book Serious Proposal to the Ladies for the Advancement of their True and Greatest Interest put forth plans for an all female college where women could expand their minds. This at a time when most women weren't allowed to attend any college. She also wrote about the dangers of women being pushed into bad marriage choices.



Astell

Mary Wollstonecroft lived in the later eighteenth century, and was the mother of Mary Shelly (who wrote "Frankenstein").
Wollstonecroft advocated for equal education for women, writing two books on the subject. Her 1792 "Vindication of the Rights of Woman" put forth that women weren't naturally inferior to men, they just suffered from inadequate education. Today she's revered as a founding feminist philosopher.

Wollstonecroft

Women could also be as brave as men. Many participated in the American Revolution dressed as males. Deborah Sampson Gannet fought with Washington’s army dressed as a soldier. Sampson enlisted in 1782 with the 4th Massachusetts, as Robert Shurtleff. She achieved the rank of corporal in the battle of White Plains, and sustained injuries twice. Upon discovery of her sex, she was honorably discharged. And received a pension!

My heroine, Rowena, in "Her Vanquished Land" fights as a man during the American Revolution--but on the British side. She decodes messages for a mysterious Welshman. Soon, their relationship evolves even as the war might destroy them.

So my strong women are not anachronistic. History has kept most of them out of the history books.

Purchase Her Vanquished Land and my other novels at BWL
For more info on me and my books, check out my website: Dianescottlewis

Diane Scott Lewis lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty puppy.

Women's History Month: Thank You to the WWII Women's Air Force Service Pilots

Terror on Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q. Rose

Rescuing a naked woman lying in a geranium bed? Investigating mysterious murders? These are not the usual calls in a Florida retirement community for volunteer first responder Jim Hart.Mystery, paranormal

Click here to find mysteries by J.Q. Rose at BWL Publishing

Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month: Thank You to the WWII Women's Air Force Service Pilots by J.Q. Rose

March is Women's History Month and the perfect time to share some photos I took when in California for the Rose parade in 2014. One of the floats honored World War II USA Women Air Force Service Pilots. (WASP)These women were unsung heroes during WW II. I am proud to share their history and inspiring story with you today.

"Our Eyes are on the Stars", the title of the float celebrates the courage of the Women Air Force Service Pilots.

The Wingtip to Wingtip Association float in the 2014 Rose Parade, featured the 1102 women who served their country as Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and honored their contribution to the war in 1942-1944. 

These brave trailblazers dreamed of flying for their nation. Because there was a shortage of male pilots for combat duty, the women pushed to become pilots to free up the men for fighting the war. 

The WASP group members were assigned to ferry military planes between military bases in the USA and flights from aircraft factories to ports of embarkation. 

They also towed targets for live anti-aircraft artillery practice, simulated strafing missions, and transported cargo. A few exceptionally qualified women were allowed to test rocket-propelled planes, to pilot jet-propelled planes, and to work with radar-controlled targets.

The reproduction of the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the WASP decorates the side of the float. The 38 stars around the medal salute the 38 WASP members who lost their lives in service to their country.

The courageous women were not considered members of the military and received no recognition as veterans until 1977 when the WASP records were unsealed. When they returned to civilian life, even with their flying experience, they could not get jobs as pilots.

According to Wikipedia, on July 1, 2009, President Barack Obama and the United States Congress awarded the WASP the Congressional Gold Medal. During the ceremony, President Obama said, "The Women Airforce Service Pilots courageously answered their country's call in a time of need while blazing a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to this nation since. Every American should be grateful for their service, and I am honored to sign this bill to finally give them some of the hard-earned recognition they deserve." 

More than 15000 red Freedom roses decorate the length of the float.

The first issue of the Fifinella Gazette was published on February 10, 1943. The female gremlin Fifinella was conceived by Roald Dahl and drawn by Walt Disney and used as the official WASP mascot that appeared on their shoulder patches.

We salute the WASP members who opened the skies to later generations of female pilots in the military. Thank you to all those who serve in the USA military service both past and present.

★★★★★

Connect with J.Q. Rose online at

J.Q. Rose blog 

Author Facebook Page

Something to take your mind off our crazy world by Nancy M Bell

TO learn more about Nancy's work please click on the cover.

It seems the world has gone a bit crazy. So I thought I would take your mind off it for a bit by sharing some writing advice. I hope it works. I also everyone stays safe and healthy.

Building the backdrop of your story is a little different that wholesale world building. I liken world building to crating something piece by piece like Lego, where as I view building the backdrop as a less intense (but not less important)endeavour, more like creating a water colour with wide bold sweeps of creativity.



Building the Backdrop
Nancy M Bell

Where do our stories take place, can our characters exist in a vacuum? Of course not. Our stories need to play out against a rich and engaging background. The environment our stories take place in can become as important as the actual characters and an integral part of the reader’s experience. Examples of this are Tolkien’s Middle Earth, McCaffrey’s Pern, Graham’s portrayal of Cornwall in his Poldark books, Rowling’s Hogwarts and alternate London to name just a very few.
Whether we are creating a whole new world complete with maps and exotic flora and fauna or are just setting our tale against something that exists in reality (or close to it), the behind the scenes part of our creation needs to be the layered, deep and rich foundation upon which we tell our story.
As the creator/author you need a strong concept and vision of what your world consists of. Where is it located, what types of characters live in the background to give flavour to our main characters. Consider the weather; are there seasons, is it always hot or cold, is the environment harsh or lush, are you building a backdrop in a city or a town or a more rural area. Take the time to think about these things before you begin. Draw maps if you need to in order to give you a sense of scope and ground yourself in the environment. Those maps may never get into the actual book, but it will help the author navigate through the fabric of his story and weave his characters into that fabric in bright colours.
You need to develop a 360-degree view of your characters. What dialogue will they speak? Is it cultured? Rough? Upper, middle or lower class? Consider how and what they say and what they don’t say but can be implied by their actions/reactions or movements which may be enhanced or initiated by elements of your backdrop. Sometimes what isn’t said comes across more powerfully than what is said.
Mine the stories behind the main story without distracting or overpowering your main characters. This helps create a vibrant and rich tapestry for your story. An interesting experiment is to write the same scene from different character’s point of view. This often gives a deeper view into the circumstances surrounding your main story thread and enrich your world.
Another important thing to consider is how your characters react to these four things:
Money, sex, food and sleep. This is a good way to get into your characters’ heads and will aid in your development of the characters and the backdrop against which they play their parts.
You want to evoke in your readers a strong emotional connection to your characters and to the world through which they move.
The backdrop is important to your character as it will dictate how they behave; their personal motivation should be reflected in the world you create for them.
What is the economy of your world? Supply and demand is a concept that knows no barriers as to genre or length of story. Consider how the economy you create shape and affect your characters both primary and secondary and the world dynamics. An example of this would be the Avengers and the Blue Cube (Tesseract) all you need to know to grasp the essential concept is that people want the Blue Cube and that dictates the rules of the world. The basis of this world is the Tesseract is the containment Bessel for the Space Stone, one of the 6 Infinity Stones that predate the Universe they’ve created and possesses unlimited energy. This one concept is the basis for the foundation of the that world and the fabric of the backdrop for their adventure.

Be careful not to over explain things, show don’t tell is still a rule to live by.
Consider what the character wants- this algorithm will drive your story forward.
You can draw from history for the foundation of your religious and political systems, given you’re not writing non-fiction you can mix and match from different sources, taking what works best for your story.
Your economy isn’t just based on wealth or class- supernatural powers or lack thereof can enter into it, as well as exchange of power or energy.
Don’t forget the sensory issues when creating your backdrop, what are the sounds, smells, what kind of food, what tastes do your characters enjoy, how tactile is your backdrop, can your reader appreciate the feel of your world, smooth concrete, rough cobbles, deep sand, rolling surf etc. You reader need to feel “immediate” in your world. That is to say engaged in the whole experience of your story. Give your readers physical sensations they know intimately- we all know what a paper cut feels like, or burning your hand on a hot pot etc.
Be sure your created fabric isn’t too perfect or sterile- there must be costs attached to actions, consequences for things that do or don’t happen. The reader needs to feel and enter into the tension and care about the stakes.
There are three hills to die on. Three points of high conflict which helps define your world. Know what they are before you start and work from there.
Alternatively, there is Dan Harmon’s Story Circle consisting of 8 major points to hit. Not unlike the various versions of the Hero Cycle.
Remember to write the book. Don’t get stopped or hung up by the little things. Write the climax first if that is what comes to you.
Write with a ragged edge, release control and allow yourself to be nimble.
Don’t be afraid to kill or rehome your darlings.
Always think “what is the point of this scene.”
Does it serve to drive the plot forward
Be sure your backdrop doesn’t over power your characters or story line- they need to mesh and be compatible.

Until next month, stay well, stay healthy. Please don't hoard food or paper products. Reach out to those vulnerable members of our communities. You can drop groceries or other needed items at their door without any contact if that is what is needed. Seniors are in the high risk group - as well as other vulnerable demographics. Let's all do our part to be sure everyone is safe and taken care of.

March Is For Murder

March Is For Mysteries

 

Though today is St. Patrick’s Day and I have a smidgeon of Irish in my blood, I would rather talk about writing mysteries and suspense. Murder and Mint Tea was my first ebook and still remains one purchased. 1998 is a long life for a book. I did have to do some updating when I reissued the book. House phones and station wagons area thing of the past. So I had to give my heroine a cell phone, something she reluctantly uses and give her friends new rides. I’ve lost track of how many copies of the book were sold over the years but the number is many.

I’ve written only one romantic suspense. Code Blue began as Code Blue but the first publisher changed the name to Obsessions. When Book We Love took over the story we went back to the original title. That pleased me. This is another book that has been around for a long time and has also had some updating. Not enough according to one reader but that’s all right. The interesting thing I discovered is the rough draft of another medical suspense put away after my long ago critique group and some doctor friends were upset with the subject. I’m going to rework this story because I really enjoyed reading what I wrote and so some day you can read Committee of Angels.”

Leprechauns in Leinster, by J.C. Kavanagh

The Twisted Climb - DarknessDescends 

Short-listed for Best Young Adult Book 2018,

The Word Guild

Book 2 of the award-winning Twisted Climb series

The rolling hills and mountains around County Leinster are home to Ireland's famous attraction: the leprechaun. The wee fellows, and there are only fellows, stand about two feet tall and are known for their mischievous shenanigans. According to folklore, the leprechauns live in 'faery mounds' found under solitary trees. 

They are talented shoe-makers (only the Irish would conjure up a tradesman fairy) and love to dance so much that they wear out the soles of their shoes. True! If you are able to outsmart a leprechaun and catch him, you may be able to find his pot of gold. He will grant you three wishes in order to be released but since he has magical powers and can disappear in an instant, the chances of having your wishes granted are slim.

If you scoff at the idea of actual leprechauns dancing around the Irish countryside, scoff no more. Under European Law, leprechauns are an endangered species. Don't laugh, it's true, I'm not uttering a single dollop of Blarney. In 1992, the European Commission declared that a forested area in County Carlingford be officially protected land for the estimated 200+ leprechauns that live there. This land is under the European Habitats Directive.

Oh, those Irish! My own Kavanagh clan hail back to the Kings and Queens of County Leinster in the 11th century, well before England invaded the Emerald Isle. Hmmm, I think there may be an historical story brewing...

If you love a good tale, then you'll love my books, The Twisted Climb and the sequel, The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends. Find out for yourself why both books were voted Best Young Adult Book in 2016 and 2018. Enjoy!

J.C. Kavanagh, author of

The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2)

voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada

AND

The Twisted Climb,

voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll

Novels for teens, young adults and adults young at heart

Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh

www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh

Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh)

Remebering Einstein

On March 14, 1879, a hundred-and-forty-one years ago, a son was born to Hermann Einstein, an engineer and salesman, and Pauline Koch, in the kingdom of Wurttemberg, in present-day Germany. Pauline was well-educated and showed a passion for music. It was on her insistence that Albert Einstein took up violin lessons at the age of five, which developed into a life-long passion.

The young Einstein was slow in learning to speak. In fact, his condition prompted his parents to seek medical help. But this disorder affected his learning in positive ways. His imagination was astounding: he tended to think in terms of images rather than words. When his father gifted him a compass at age five, he puzzled constantly over the nature of magnetism.

He tended to be rebellious, questioning conventional wisdom, which resulted in his being expelled from one school and for another headmaster to famously declare that the child would never amount to much.

Despite his struggles in speech, Einstein showed his genius quite early, especially in mathematics. In primary school, his gift for this subject became apparent and he obtained the highest marks in his class, performing far above the school requirements. By age twelve, he had mastered applied arithmetic and decided to learn algebra and geometry on his own, which he did over a summer vacation.

His great breakthroughs in physics came directly from his thinking in images. He conducted a series of mental experiments, which he named Gedankenexperiment, or thought experiments. At age sixteen, he imagined what it would be like to ride alongside a beam of light. But the dictates of the physics of the day didn’t correspond to his imagination. He wrestled with that mind experiment until, ten years later, he arrived at his Special Theory of Relativity, a ground breaking theory that shattered the conclusions of Newtonian physics.

In 1905, at the age of twenty-six, Einstein worked at a patent office in Switzerland, as he was neither able to get a doctoral dissertation accepted nor obtain an academic job. Despite working six days a week, he produced four papers in his spare time that changed the course of history. The first showed that light could be described as waves as well as particles, leading to the field of quantum physics. The second proved the existence of atoms and molecules. The third, the Special Theory of Relativity, said that there was no absolute time or space. And finally the fourth propounded and equivalence between light and mass, represented by the famous equation E=mc2.

Much of what we take for granted today comes from the work of this great physicist. Among these are cell-phones, satellite communications, lasers, semiconductors and atomic power. And many future discoveries still await unfolding, such as space travel and quantum computing. Rarely has one man’s work entirely changed the course of history. Einstein is one such man.

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy and "Karma Nation," a literary romance. www.mohanashtakala.com, www.bookswelove.net.

Keep safe...by Sheila Claydon

Click this link for my books and author page

COVID 19, or Coronavirus as it is more commonly known, is taking over the world. Countries are putting the most drastic measures in place to contain it and, in the process, damaging the global economy, causing what may be fatal disruptions to some small businesses, and upsetting the normal routines of their citizens. Despite what is still a relatively small number of people affected when measured against the world population, it has everyone running scared.  Especially those who have compromised immune systems because of other underlying illnesses, and the elderly.

Although I have visited many other countries around the world and know some of them well, in this instance I can only speak for the attitudes of the people in the UK, where measures different from those of the rest of Europe and beyond are beginning to unfold.  The decisions are based on the developing science of Coronavirus as well as from discussions with experts across the world. Only time will tell if they are the right decisions. In the meantime there is a new problem. The influence of social media. Despite clear and repeated guidance from medical experts, and despite there being 24 hour advice and access to free medical care, many people and organisations are beginning to panic and, instead, to copy the restrictions that are happening elsewhere. Again only time will tell if these personal decisions will interfere with the science the government is trying to follow. In the meantime most of us are doing the best to get on with our lives, especially the older members of the population even though they are in the high risk category.

Where I am life is continuing more or less as normal. The only difference is that everyone is making sure their larders and refrigerators are well stocked just in case they have to self-isolate, and this is a community top heavy with older people. Jokes about the situation circulate daily, neighbours wave cheerily and there is not a mask to be seen. Attitudes have been likened to the blitz spirit of 'we are all in this together' in WW2. Of course it will only take a couple of local cases for this to change but in the meantime the writer in me is fascinated by the phlegmatic attitude of so many people. Maybe growing up immediately after the war when food was rationed and choice was limited has had a long term effect, or maybe it's because older people have so much life experience that they are less easily frightened. Or maybe it's just that because so many of them don't follow social media that they remain exempt from the fears percolating the rest of the world.

Whatever it is, it is to be admired, and it is that spirit that is imbued in the very elderly grandmother as well as in some of the other older characters in my book Remembering Rose. Whatever happens in the world, writers can't help storing up the experience for future use. In the meantime, my cupboards are full, my family is safe, the sun is shining and the dog is asking for a walk.

Until this is over, stay safe and take care. Tomorrow is another day.

What's in a Book Title?

My BWL books

my email

Most authors think hard and long about the titles of their novels. They need to be memorable, of course.  How to find the perfect title?

We can go to the classics... Some of what Mark Twain wrote were considered "boys' stories" in their time. And so his titles were meant to draw the interest of this audience...The Adventures of Huckeberry Finn, Tom Sawyer.  Very what you see is what you get. When I was writing my adventure novels for young people, a seasoned author advised me to follow Mark Twain's example and so: The Ghosts of Stony Clove got a title. (She also told me not to be afraid to put ghosts in the title!)

Mark Twain, who knew a cracking good story

How about those one word titles... they are easy to remember!...Jaws, Jazz, Beloved, Atonement, Emma, It, Middlemarch, Mudbound, Room and Outlander come to mind. I've never achieved the magnificent feat of a one word title!  The closest I've gotten is two words: Seven Aprils, my novel of the Civil War that is the first of my American Civil War Brides series.

My two-word title novel

Some titles are beautifully poetic and evocative...To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord of the Ring, Catcher in the Rye, Tender is the Night, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Their Eyes Were Watching God.  Don't those titles make you want to dive into the story? 

My upcoming novel, Mercies of the Fallen came from a beautiful song written and performed by my one-time neighbor Dar Williams. Mercy of the Fallen. It begins:

Oh my fair North Star, 
I have held to you dearly,
I had asked you to steer me...

Those lyrics spoke to me as I was writing this story of damaged people growing in grace and beauty through the travails of war. Here's more of what proved deeply meaningful to me 

in my own storytelling:

There's the wind and the rain, and the mercy of the fallen...
There's the weak and the strong and the many stars that guide us, 

we have some of them inside us

Speaking of song lyrics, I used popular songs of the 1940s to title my romantic suspense Code Talker Chronicles. The first is I'll Be Seeing You because my team of Luke Kayenta and Kitty Charante have not yet met, but Luke's longing for Kitty is already in place.  In Watch Over Me, they have their first adventure together. This sets the stage for what they'll do from now on: watch over each other.  Book 3?  How does All of Me (one of my mom's favorites) sound?

Book 1

Book 2