Trumpet Blast: The New Title for My Second Novel Revealed. Thank You, my Collaborators

Whew! Despite a few leaks in response to persistent pleas, I’ve waited to reveal the new title for my second book until today, my birthday, since this is such a huge gift to me. Thank you all for participating in the “game” to help me replace my perfect but rejected La Querencia with something equally “transcendent” but more accessible. And what a process it was. Every single suggestion sent led, step by step, to the final (by then obvious) selection.  

You may recognize the new title (you may have recommended something close to it). There was a lot of consensus, so you may not be surprised. I actually thought a final title might be more “out there,” and require multiple rounds of dueling options, but as I pared down the (nearly 330-option) list for the reveal, my new perfect title simply emerged. Here it is with place-holding artwork. 

It’s the Total Package. 

According to agent/friend April Eberhardt, this choice “seems to have all of the subjects.” You’ll recognize it as one of the combo titles mentioned in the last blog, where I also indicated that the elements of the name San Miguel, a sunset (the English-language stand-in for Querencia), dreams and the concept of “last” were common to most of your suggestions and seemed to best resonate with the theme and tone of the novel. With “dream” already in the tag line, it’s the whole package.

Titles can take a while to  “sink in,” but this one does a lot for the story.

The sunsets in San Miguel are breathtaking. As Rachel says in the book, “La Querencia is the perfect time before the end of life. A sunset is the most beautiful, last hurrah of the day.”

Shout Outs: Final Round 

Thanks to Lynda Woodworth  (a former colleague at Dragonette,Inc./GCI Dragonette) for indicating potential readers would be intrigued if the location of San Miguel was in the title. It “sounds exotic, enticing and would make me want to find out more.” Certainly, the setting is a major element of the story—it couldn’t take place anywhere else. And, when you say “San Miguel” eyes do glaze over and smiles begin—"I’ve always wanted to go there.” “ I almost bought a house there.” “San Miguel” was in at least a third of all title suggestions.

A big nod to fellow writer Ruth Chatlein, whose book, Katie Bar the Door, came out around this time last year. She strongly championed the idea of “Last Call. ” “The combination of a bar and a group of people trying to realize their final dreams.” This was also in at least another third of overall suggestions. It puts “Sunset in San Miguel” into a narrative, begging the question- why is it the last?

Kudos to Lainey for suggesting I try pairing the emotion with the location. “The Last Mexican Sunset, Hope and Sunset Dreams in San Miguel-kind of thing.” I did, in fact, throw everything into the title line and subtracted the essence. It was fun.

And I thank artist  Ken Probst  who told me (quite vigorously) to stop overthinking and use my own words, “The Last Best Part of Life.” This title tops my alternates list for its irony. A huge part of the story is about the viability of the last dreams of the five characters. They probably don’t all come true. At least a quarter of you agree.

"Third Date," by Ken Probst. It exemplifies some of the antics of the characters in my novel.

And I still really love “The Sunset Dreamers," which is also on the alternate list. Thank you Lynda Naslund. Both of these phrases will no doubt end up in the book in some form or another.

Will the Sun Set on this Title, is the Question.  

I know it’s just a “working title,” subject to the whims and tastes of a future publisher. Though working titles have a way of settling in and becoming inevitable . . . if not predictable, I say with a nod to the great Jacqueline Mitchard. And I am unconcerned. I have nearly 330 alternates—a helluva backup list.

Above all, I am so thrilled you engaged in the process and, I hope, enjoyed it. You helped me break down my hoity-toity concept into something simple and powerful—or rather, simply powerful. It works. As evidence, I no longer mourn the loss of La Querencia. It remains the name of the bar in the story so I don’t have to give it up. And it may just be more appropriate in that capacity.

You guys are great. Count me in on your creative teams for your own projects. 

Best birthday present EVER!