Needing a book title and cover help
I’m working on my next Dave Riley book after being away from the series for over a decade. I’m well into the manuscript and the pub date will be 7 May. I’m very excited about rejuvenating the series (although Dave is, of course, much older, like I am). He’s retired, living on Dafuskie Island in the low country (and actually took over his uncle’s bookie business as a sideline). He’s mellow, kind of bored, and his life takes a turn for the exciting when Horace Chase from Chasing The Ghost shows up.
While it’s part of the Green Beret Series and that will be on the cover, I’m at a loss for a title.
The basic plot is Riley & Chase build a team in the low country of South Carolina to try to find a young boy who has been kidnapped, apparently by the Russian mob, in order to get the kid’s father to divert all the Super Bowl online betting to his company (around 100 million) to their account.
I’m open to title suggestions. The working title was The Green Berets: Chasing The Lost. But I’m not sure on it.
I also love this image of Blackbeard’s flag and think if we sharpen it up and modernize it, it might make a great cover, although Jen has her reservations. It’s a skeleton toasting Satan while spearing a heart. Okay, maybe I’m a little twisted. But the book has this Deadwood, lawlessness atmosphere with gun battles in the Low Country, where Blackbeard used to raid and plunder. I’m building a new civilian A-Team around Riley and Chase, with a crazed Ranger named Gator, an old flame of Chase’s named Erin who as a veterinarian is the team medic, a young Gullah named Kono who is their intel man among the many islands and some others. I plan many more books with these people in this new setting.
Oh yeah, I’m also actually posting on my Facebook fan page almost every day, so if you’re interested, go ahead sign in to it. Lots of Cool Gus, Sassy Becca and Write on the River. http://www.facebook.com/authorbobmayer?ref=hl
Posted on February 8, 2013, in Write It forward and tagged Bob Mayer, books, Green Berets. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
I’m gonna side with Jen — Blackbeard’s flag gives away too much. I’d think an image of sawgrass coming from a dune, a broken shell, and the neck of an old rum bottle protruding from the sand, maybe the glint of the edge of a coin or is that an old buckle from a GI web belt? I’d also select the type for a rugged, well-worn feel. I like covers that invite the reader to “c’mon inside — take a look around. You think you know what’s goin’ on ’round heah? Well, guess agin!” For the print version, carry over some of the image to the back cover to get ‘em to turn it over to read the blurb and wonder at that odd little object down there at the left hand corner…
Sounds like a fun, adrenaline filled story Bob. Chasing the Money came to mind. Chasing the Innocent. Chasing Green. (green as in money, green beret etc..) I can think of more, but they just keep getting lamer and lamer so I’ll stop! Good luck with the title.
I’m thinking about the swampy inlets and lawlessness. This is from Isaiah Chapter 14. Maybe it will give you some inspiration:
22This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says:
“I, myself, have risen against Babylon!
I will destroy its children and its children’s children,”
says the LORD.
23“I will make Babylon a desolate place of owls,
filled with swamps and marshes.
I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction.
I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
Chasing the Lost is good, but maybe a bit too much like Chasing the Ghost at first glance. Chasing the Scream, possibly? Or is that too melodramatic? Chasing the Tide? Blackbeard’s flag is macabre, but not immediately recognizable. I really like Richard’s cover suggestions, above, but don’t know how close you want to stick to the military techno look of the first books. Could you blast a hole in the middle of a traditional Jolly Roger and fill it with a speeding power boat at sea image? Or something else from the story? Just throwing out ideas; I’m sure something will come to you!
He’s not lost so it shouldn’t be Chasing the Lost.
Maybe Chasing the Captured? Chasing the Taken or Stolen? I don’t think lost works.
Well the kid is kind of lost, although there’s a plot twist I don’t want reveal. The thing is I want consistency. We’ve got Chasing The Ghost and I’m still leaning toward Chasing The Lost. But for cover, maybe a patrol boat coming out of the fog, someone manning a .50 cal on the bow.
How about: The Green Berets: Blackbeard’s Ghost
or The Green Berets: The Ghost of Blackbeard
Make the bad guy Blackbeard’s illegitimate great-great-great-great-great grandson (and more than a little proud of it). He’s back plundering grandpappy’s old stomping grounds.
It sets up a ghost theme for the sequels. You could also do “Chasing Blackbeard’s Ghost” and follow up with chasing other ghosts and go with the chasing theme, but chasing seems a little weak for Green Berets. More like tag your it. You could do some themes, though based around the ghost idea – a whole series of villains who are part of a worldwide cabal of descendents of famous pirates and marauders. And who better to go after pirates than the Green Berets. Gives the series a swashbuckler feel.
The Green Berets: Morgan’s Ghost
The Green Berets: The Ghost of Calico Jack
The Green Berets: Black Bart’s Ghost
The Green Berets: Roberts’ Ghost
The Green Berets: The Ghost of Barbarossa
And for fun, throw in a female villain
The Green Berets: The Ghost of Grace O’Malley
Or you could make it stronger – something like “Chasing Barbarossa” in keeping with the “Chasing” theme, but find a stronger word than chasing. How about “The Green Berets: The Hunt for Barbarossa, The Hunt for Grace O’Malley, The Hunt for Blackbeard, The Hunt for Calico Jack.
Hunt is definitely stronger. You could rechristen the series – something like “Search & Destroy: The Blackbeard Mission” or “Search and Destroy: The Hunt for Morgan’s Ghost” That sort of thing. You’ve got the military vocabulary. What would you call a rescue mission other than a rescue mission run as a black op? The Blackbeard Strike? The Calico Jack Initiative? The Kelly Enterprise? The Barbarossa Assault? The O’Malley Assignment? The Morgan Operation
You could go with the Operation motif: Operation Blackbeard, The Calico Jack Operation
You could go with “Mission: The Blackbeard Mission, Mission Barbarossa
You could go with “Task Force” as in” The Blackbeard Task Force, Task Force Barbarossa or just “force” like Force 10 from Navarone only give your guys a colorful name like Ghost Force
You could give the series the “Ghost Missions” moniker as in: Ghost Missions – Operation Blackbeard or Ghost Missions – The Barbarossa Mission
Lots of possibilities that bring forward the idea of chasing, the Green Beret Team and the Ghost thing.
Look forward to the new series.
Tom King
Puyallup, WA
Tom– certainly a lot to consider. Thanks for taking the time to lay it all out.
Someone already mentioned Chasing the Money, which is a good one. I also thought of Chasing the Mob.
Some really great ideas for me to mull over for cover concepts. I think Bob and I are getting closer to a title. Sometimes it’s just right there, but have to explore all options.
BOB, How about a different take on the saying “Russian Roulette” to be “The Russian’s Roulette” for the title of your book, since it deals with kidnapping and ransom.
Ugh titles are the hardest. Either they come to me right away or it’s 5-10 changes. Just popped over to FB to like your page.