Behind the Title Death at the Double Inkwell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like most of my stories, a title usually presents itself before I start writing the book. Characters will be invading my mind, their lives playing on my mind’s screen, and while reveling in their lives, an “essence” of their stories will develop. That essence ultimately becomes the title of the story. And if I’m lucky–as I have been thus far with publishers, the title I come up with initially gets to STAY

 

At the very beginning of the birth of DDIW, I knew a few things about the story: there would be twin mystery novelists and there would be a death–and I had an idea of who would be the one to die.

 

So, the title, Death at the Double Inkwell isn’t a metaphor or some deep thought of the book; it literally arose because of the death and because the two main characters were twins (double) and writers (inkwell).

 

Sorry to disappoint those who thought I might be deeper than this. LOL Sometimes, I’m so not.

 

When LLP accepted my book for publication (the first edition), there was a chance that the book wouldn’t be called DDIW. I can’t even remember the other suggestions, but I stuck with championing for Death at the Double Inkwell as the title even when my pubber said, “But there is more than one death in the book.”

 

And there was. LOL In a revision, I had added a few more corpses, this is true. But as I argued, there was one big death that moved the main characters through their storylines (though I have to shake my head now because what death is “little” – such the thoughts of a writer).

 

But of course, the title only tells part of the tale; there are still 80,000+ words that do a great job in visually showing how these twin mystery novelists must ban together and deal with the death (and the aftermath) that occurs.

 

Learn more about Jovan and Cheyenne and the trouble that follows them by picking up Death at the Double Inkwell.