I have a title for the book I was tentatively calling Hoosier Beginnings. The publisher (The Indiana Historical Society) wanted a title that would appeal to readers outside of Indiana, especially since the action takes place in what is now Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Virginia as well as Indiana.
It’s an interesting fact that when an author works with a traditional publisher, the publisher not the author creates the title for the book. I gave my publisher about several possibilities and they had a team look at my input and come up with some other choices. Authors that work with a hybrid publisher, such as what I am doing when I write my mysteries, choose their own titles. It’
Back to my historical fiction novel, I’m hoping a title not only grabs a potential reader’s attention but also hints at some themes in the book. Clearly fire and family are very important in this new book.
We started with this list of possible titles:
From Fire to Freedom: Tales from Early Indiana
Forged by Fire: Stories of Early Indiana
Forging New Paths: Tales of Danger and Hope from Early Indiana History
Forging New Pathways:
Live Another Day: Tales from Early Hoosier History
Paths to Danger, Paths to Freedom
Forged by Fire and Danger: Tales from Early Indiana
From Fire to Family: Tales of Danger and Hope from Early Indiana History
From that list the publisher gave me four choices:
Forged by Two Fires: Finding Family on America’s Frontier, 1776–1832
Forged by Fire: Finding Family on America’s Frontier, 1776–1832
Forged by Two Fires: Fighting for Family on America’s Frontier, 1776–1832
Forged by Two Fires: The Bitter Struggle for America’s Frontier, 1776–1832
Then after ruling out all options because of other books with the same or similar titles, we agreed on a title of:
Families of Two Fires: Forging America’s Frontier, 1776–1832
I will receive a galley of the book next week and check it for final revisions and edits then send it back to The Indiana Historical Society for formatting in preparation for printing. It should be available within a few weeks. I finished writing this book in 2017, but some delays and then Covid really backed it up. It’s very gratifying to finally be at this point in the process. As soon as I know the final publication date, I’ll post it here and on Facebook.
Randall Wisehart 