Book Titles

Over the last twelve months I have been paying a lot of attention to book titles because for the first time in my writing career I finished a tenth draft of a work of fiction without knowing what I would call it. Usually I have a title before I write a single word so it was somewhat disconcerting to work on a nameless novel. Luckily, a writer who, like me, is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at the IILM, Victoria University of Wellington, made a great suggestion after reading my manuscript. My Penguin publisher tweaked the title slightly then registered Lives We Leave Behind on the Penguin (NZ) database. I love the title. It fits the story perfectly. I am now happily working on the eleventh draft. My novel will be published in 2012.