Ask any author, and odds are their book was not published under the title they devised for it. It’s actually pretty rare for a book to keep its original name.
HAUNTED began life as THE SILVER STRAW. A literary agent didn’t like that and suggested POOR LITTLE BABES instead, echoing what Eleanor etched on her window.
A different agent suggested we title it for the address, 13 RAVEN CREST (careful readers will note that that is no longer the address for the Arnaud Manor!)
At one time, it was kicking around with the title BLOOD PARLOR. Gross, huh?
Then it was THE ARNAUD MANSION. I realized English people actually use the word “manor” to describe such a home, so it quickly morphed into THE ARNAUD MANOR, which is the title Kensington Books bought it under. My editor wanted a more snappy, brief title (and one that could be echoed with the next two books in the trilogy) so we came up with HAUNTED, which I think perfectly expresses the novel.
And that is why HAUNTED has had seven different names. Make them lives and add two more, and we’d have a cat.
Lynn Carthage is the pseudonym of an acclaimed fiction writer who has been a Yaddo fellow and teaches novel writing. Connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
