As an indie author, I’ve always hired freelance professionals to see to the important details of my book, such as the cover, the layout, the editing. But it seemed to me that the title probably didn’t require a professional...right?
My latest series, The Warrior Kings, takes place in Ancient Ireland at the end of the eleventh century. Their kingships fascinated me and they seemed so different from English tradition. I was so deeply entrenched in the research that I named the three-book series The Derbfine Series. I was so excited to use that term because all my heroes were part of that four generations of kings, all the way back to Brian Boru. But the reader didn’t know what the heck it was! I wasn’t making a big splash with new readers, even ones eagerly looking for an alternative to the English romance.
Lesson learned! Readers will not get pulled in by a Gaelic term they don’t understand the meaning of. So I changed the series’ name to Descendants of Brian Boru. That pretty much spells it out...unless your romances have only taken place in Elizabethan or Tudor England. Do you even know who Brian Boru is? Finally, I took a step back and saw the big picture. My heroes are all warriors. That’s what existed in Ancient Ireland. Myths and legends ruled their lives. Survival was never guaranteed. Life was raw. The perfect setting for deceitful alliances, passionate romances, and truly nasty villains.
Welcome to my series - The Warrior Kings! I hope you’ll give it a read especially with the limited time special pricing. I’d love to hear your thoughts about book and series titles.