Philippa East

Ooooh. I like The Time Stealer! But I’m also wondering, since this is meant to be a trilogy or a series, could you have two titles – one for the trilogy and one for each book. So it could be The Time Stealer Trilogy. The individual titles could possibly be linked in some way. Like the chess theme that runs through the titles of the books in…[Read more]

Thinking out loud here…

Daughter (Children?) of Shadows

Daughter of the Shadowland(s)

The Time Stealer’s …… (Adversary/Daughter/Enemy)

@alanr – just saw that I basically suggested the same as you!

I keep coming back to the words enmeshing/unmeshing. For me that feels really evocative of family tendrils, the way the brain works (especially in cases of forming, breaking and reforming connections). – it makes me think of a web and a net and a loosening of patterns. Don’t know how you might use it but I love that word!
Enmeshing Seven /…[Read more]

I like that way of putting it. Helpful.

I haven’t seen ‘Downsizing’ but it sounds like a film that is a bit overloaded with ideas and ends up getting lost among them.

You talk about bonds and use the term ‘enmeshed’ so I’m going for The Untangling.

Hi Philippa,

From all the information gathered I would suggest:

– Missing You (works on several level depending on who the sentence refers to or who us doing the miss – if that makes sense)

– The Other You

– The Way Home (again can be interpreted on several levels)

– Little Girl Lost (again lost can be interpreted on several levels)

– Here…[Read more]

Hi Philippa, ‘Lost and Found?’ with or without the question mark, popped into my mind, I think because of the railway scene in your story. Perhaps if you simply included a question mark in your current title it would convey that the abduction is still haunting the family. Also, I really like Jonathan’s idea of using the number seven in the title.

I haven’t either, Sandra! Though in my writing I try to adhere to the RUE rule and thus probably don’t explain enough.

Maybe “Seven Years Gone?” Just simple and kind of … vaguely … title-ish? Or maybe just her name. Or what about those title generators or standard methods for titling a book, eg this? Or maybe something that could be a quote at the moment of change that hints at the situation: “Abby Smith Is Hiding” or something.

I like the ‘Here Ends…’, but what to say is ending.

…the Seven Years of Pain
…the Seven Years of Separation.
Why not something like Seven Years Apart or The seven years of separation. The End Begins Here…? Just playing now!

I also wonder if some of the other themes are more relevant to the title? There are an awful lot of themes going…[Read more]

Interesting one. Titles can be hard. Sometimes a really perfect one will just present itself. Other times…

I was looking, as I’m sure you have, at a thesaurus to see if it was possible to simply replace ‘abduction’. The best I could do was ‘Here Ends the Absence’, or possibly ‘Here Ends the Departure’ which I’m not sure really does it.

A few initial ideas – not sure if they are anything like suitable:

She once was lost

But now she’s found

(Been playing Amazing Grace…)

Re-filling the nest

Stolen childhood

In my head I am wanting to focus on the seven years. Seven is a highly symbolic number. Seven year itch, seven colours of the rainbow. Seven seconds, seventh son of a seventh son. Seven deadly sins, seven horcruxes if you like Harry Potter. I think it’s the first “difficult” number for children to master in multiplication. She’s been gone seven…[Read more]

One of those moments that tend to restore your faith in human nature. And yes, very moving.

Same moment. Same reaction, Sea!

Yes, Thea – that ‘never apologise, never explain’ – I read, many years ago, that to do so was a sign of immaturity, but it’s one I haven’t always managed (not so much about my writing, I’m glad to say).

Interesting article, Sandra. I agree that many people have a tendency to downplay their work, to lower the expectation of the reader / viewer, as a sort of safety mechanism. And, as Squidge said, there are those who take this to the extreme and are really fishing for compliments.

You make a good point, Sandra re the story challenges being a good…[Read more]