When I first heard about Lynne Murray‘s new book Bride of the Living Dead and the fact she was looking for blogs to host her on her upcoming blog tour for BotLD’s release, I admit I jumped up and down and shouted “Me! Me! MY blog!” partly because I fully expected zombies. I anxiously awaited my preview copy (I ripped open the envelope with all the eagerness and ferocity of a ghoul really wanting to get to the best gooey parts inside…) and settled in to read it right away once it arrived.
I kept expecting zombies to show up even after the first few zombie free chapters. After all, the heroine Daria loves horror movies (I love her T-shirt collection depicting old movie posters) so it stood to reason there would be monsters coming along at some point.
As I reached the mid-point, however, I finally realized this book was zombie free. And I found I didn’t care. Daria’s tale of true love, wedding planning trauma, crazy exes, and her relationship with her anorexic control-freak sister didn’t need flesh-eating ghouls to entertain me. Funny, touching and unique, Bride of the Living Dead was a joy to read and I am delighted to welcome Lynne here to the Den as she talks about:
What’s in a Title?
A book title, like a book cover, has a job to do. Its primary assignment is to get the reader to physically pick up the book, or if it’s viewed online to click on the link to find out more. At that point the words in the short description of what the book take center stage. At any point the reader can move to away from the book, so these are very important words.
The title, Bride of the Living Dead, has changed since I wrote the book. For a long time it was called A Guide for the Dysfunctional Bride. When the book found a home at Pearlsong Press both the publisher and I felt that it sounded too much like a nonfiction how-to book. We had fun brainstorming possible titles and one candidate became a chapter heading–Attack of the 50-Foot Wedding Planner. However Bride of the Living Dead won out over the rest.
The main worry I had was that fans of books like Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies might think that there be disappointed to find no zombies or similar undead creatures in the book. The heroine, Daria, loves old movies that feature such critters, which is why she views the effort to turn her into the Stepford Bride as a horror movie in action, aiming to transforming her into a rose-petal pink, mindless bridal creature. People have asked if Daria is a Bridezilla, super-demanding bride, but the truth is that she needs to find a way to access her inner giant reptile. We all need that monster sometimes to help us fight for what we want.
Fortunately those who demand zombies and other undead creatures in their fiction have not (so far) been roused to form a mob, light torches and hunt me down for impersonating a zombie in a romantic comedy. It might help that I live on an extremely steep hill in a windy part of town-very hard on torches.
I am an avid reader of urban paranormal books and I moved deeper into the real realms of the fictional undead in the book that followed Bride of the Living Dead. Vampires and other paranormal creatures inhabit my next book, The Falstaff Vampire Files, which will be published by Pearlsong Press (though the publication date isn’t yet set). The book has humor, ghosts, vampires and life-sucking entities from another dimension, creatures that humankind was never meant to encounter, that seize upon the slightest invitation to prey upon the living and the undead.
The charming creator of this blog was kind enough to say that she “came for the zombies and stayed for the humor.” Thanks for that, Dana, it was my fondest hope for the title.
Lynne Murray, author of the romantic comedy, Bride of the Living Dead, has had six mysteries published. Larger Than Death, the first book featuring Josephine Fuller, sleuth of size who doesn’t apologize won the Distinguished Achievement Award from NAAFA (the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance). She has written three ebooks of encouragement for writers as well as essays, interviews and reviews on subjects that rouse her passions, many of those can be found under “Rants and Raves” on her web site at http://www.lmurray.com. Lynne lives in San Francisco and when not writing she enjoys reading, watching DVD film directors’ commentaries and spoiling her cats, all of whom are rescued or formerly feral felines.Want to know how to reach Lynne and/or find out more about what she’s doing? See below for links a plenty!
Web page: http://www.lmurray.com
http://www.pearlsong.com/brideofthelivingdead.htm
Blogs: brideofthedead.blogspot.com
http://lynnemurray.livejournal.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lynnemurray
http://booktour.com/author/lynne_murray
Okay, I’m stumbling into my own Den a bit late… caffeinated with my Belgian chocolate mocha and happy to welcome Lynne!
Nice work; I LOVE the title, Lynne! I managed to sneak a few peeks at the ms myself and it looks like a very funny, very enjoyable read!
Congrats!
-Kilt
“Stepford Bride”? Only a man whose brain was dead would swallow such a concept. But the brain dead ARE with us….. (sigh)
Way to go Lynne. May your carteer take off and never crash.
Hi Dana! Great post today. You know that what I wish for Lynne is also what I wish for you. 🙂 Keep slugging. You’ll whip that thing into shape yet.
LOL.
Wow, the first thing I thought was zombies too (hmm, guess your fab host and I have that in common). But the book does sound fabulous!! It is definitely going on my TBR list — immediately! Thanks for sharing, Lynne and good luck!!
HI, Jack, and thanks for stopping by! It’s always a pleasure to see you… and I can recommend Lynne’s book as something I think you’ll enjoy!
Rebecca! You made it despite your evil computer!! Thanks so much for joining us and yeah, I can guarantee with your sense of humor that you’ll love the book!
And Kilt! You’re there too! I just stumbled into my comment moderation queue and started moderating. 🙂
What a lovely compliment, Dana. You absolutely adore anything zombie and when you realized there weren’t any, still loved the book.
Lynne, I agree we have to have titles that grab attention and titles have to be chosen carefully because we want our readers to know what our book is about from the title.
I do like your explanation of Daria’s motives and hence the title fits. Sounds like a fun book.
Congratulations!
I love humor in romance. It’s the perfect combination. My soon to be published novels (also with humor) have gone through several title changes. I greatly disliked (I wouldn’t go so far as to say I abhored, but almost) the second book’s title–the one they came up with–and threw a hissy fit (privately). They agreed to change it to something I like. I am forever grateful. So I’m glad you ended up with a great title, even if your book isn’t about actual living dead. It’s very attention grabbing.
Congrats!
An undead book I could read? No zombies, or ghoulies? Booyah!
I adore my zombie writer friends, but reading support is rare as i don’t have the stomach.
Sia and Olivia!! Yay! It’s a party here at the Den! I”m drinking spiced coffee now… anyone want some?
Sia, the book was just such a fun read that I had to forgive the lack of flesh-eating ghouls… Although I’m looking forward to Lynne’s paranormal book too!
Olivia, romance without humor to me is… well, it’s boring. The older I get, the more I appreciate humor in most genres. Maybe it’s because without humor, the world is a dull place too…
Wendy, we appreciate your support even if our writing DOES make ya wanna upchuck. 🙂 I guarantee you’ll love Bride of the LIving Dead and it comes without the need for nausea pills!
The humor sounds great, Lynne. And there’s nothing wrong with using the title to grab the reader’s attention. I wish we’d all find perfect titles for our books.
Good luck with your sales.
The perfect title is like the perfect last sentence… when it works, it’s a thing of joy…
Sounds like a great book, Lynne, and I think the title perfectly sells the concept — I mean, who would have thought a few years ago the “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” would lead us all to take the zombies literally?!
Spiced coffee sounds delicious.
Amazing how these things turn into parties so quickly. 😉
If it weren’t for laughter we’d all be insane by now. Or suicides.
Even we who have strong stomachs need to laugh a lot. Thank you Dana, and all your fellow authors, for the laughter. 😀
And if I might add, I enjoyed Bride of the LIving Dead much more than PP&Z….
It’s really good, Jack. A friend of ours makes the spice mixture (grinds up cardamon pods as part of it) and it’s just scrummy! And thank you, Jack, for always being part of our ‘parties’ and supporting all the authors!
Lynne will be along in a bit; she’s attending to a sick kitty so I’m holding down the fort in the meantime. And that’s another wonderful thing about Lynne – she has seven felines!
I always like to support people who have dreams. Dreams are too precious to allow them to die.
What a lovely sentiment, Jack! And one I agree with!
Hi to Dana and all her Friends,
Sorry to be late. Up too late and again early with sick kitty, and then I started nodding out! Fortunately I was strangely drawn to this Den by the enticing aroma of the spiced coffee!
Wow, you guys have the best blog comment party I’ve seen in a long time! I really appreciate your positive reactions guys, you are the audience I was most anxious about–true fans of zombies who might not take kindly to my not having actual living dead in the book!
Hi, Lynne! We’re glad to have you and happy to have enticed you with spiced coffee…
Here goes, hope I don’t miss anybody–
Kilt, thanks for the kind words!
Jack, the un-brain-dead attitude and supportive words are much appreciated!
Rebecca, thanks for the TBR placement, even without undead characters, I hope you enjoy!
~Sia, Beth and Dana, you’re right, titles can be a tightrope act. Sometimes you get the lightning, sometimes the lightning bug. The perfect title is one that grabs you and also satisfies you. I’m always aiming for that, but sometimes you go with what you can come up with and hope for the kind of reaction Dana was kind enough to share.
Olivia, I agree about humor in romance. When it doesn’t show up I tend to start snarking at things that were not MEANT to be funny. Also titles are a fine art in and of themselves. A friend and fellow mystery writer (as we then were) once submitted a whole page of titles to her publisher (as it then was) and they didn’t use a one of them. In all fairness I love the one they used instead–A Cry for Self-Help.
Wendy, I’m new to zombie fiction. It took me years to watch the movie, Night of the Living Dead (midnight showing, we stayed up the rest of the night too scared to sleep) but my horror movie friends keep at me and I’m gettin’ there! THe more urban paranormals I read, the more undead-friendly I get.
Thanks, Otherlisa, when my publisher saw that the thinkgeek site was selling Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (along with their various zombie action figures), she sort of hoped they might be interested in BotLD, but I said without real zombies not very likely.
Jack (again!), I hear you–never let go of your dreams is my motto too!
Thank you Lynne. I so hope the sick little one is okay. (We love our kitties, we do.) 🙂
Heh. Lynne, I’m with you re: snarking at things that aren’t meant to be funny if I don’t get my humor in romance. And do keep watching the zombie movies! Some are good, some are bad… they’re all deliciously undead!
Thanks, Jack. My sick kitty is snoozing comfortably now, and I’ve got some meds on the way for him. My kitties are all former ferals or rescues, but they rescue me back on a daily basis.
I’m getting more zombified (is that a word?) by the day, Dana, and enjoying the process. Sometimes a sturdy chain restraint is necessary (for the zombies, not me–not kinky that way!) to keep a safe distance as in Shaun of the Dead.
Zombified is a very GOOD word, says I! And as for the chain… I say nothing. I just smile. Heh…
Now THERE’S a title: Zombies in Chainmail. Heheheheheheheheh…!
Oh sign me up for the paranormal! (writing genies and mermen, I guess that’s a given.)
Sounds like a funny book – the title is so tongue in cheek it’s right up my alley!
I suspect you are right, Ms. Fennell!!
Now I’LL have to read PP&Z! If it’s that tongue-in-cheek it may be better than I have hotherto believed. I could always use a good laugh.;-)
Judi, brilliant concepts mermaids/mermen and genies! I’m glad to learn about your work! Thanks for the encouragement on The Falstaff Vampire files, my own paranormal won’t be out for a year or so (combining Sir John Falstaff, vampire, and friends from the Boar’s Head Tavern with some of the gang from Stoker’s Dracula and a very skeptical San Francisco shrink).
Jack, the zombie ambiance here in the Den strangely compelling. I am also now swaying toward reading PP&Z as well (even though my usual response to Jane Austen-based works is to just go re-read Jane Austen again, or in certain moods watching the 1996 Pride and Prejudice for the blank-teenth time–actual number omitted because it was too embarrassing to keep track).
Sir John Falstaff and vampires? I know I have to read this one when it comes out. Lynne, you and I seem to think alike on these issues. I’m not that fond of mashups but some are very enjoyable. (Such as Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter; or Queen Victoria, Demon Hunter. But for me the ultimate movie mashup HAS to be Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter. Yes it really IS out there. Should have won the Golden Turkey. Or at least the Platinum Beetle.)
It’s always fascinating to read about the writing process of others. Great intro, Dana, and thanks for sharing Lynne. Sounds like a delightful read!
Jack, I had no idea that the vampire and demon hunting ranks included such illustrious personages. Definitely Golden Turkey material!
Hi, Louisa, and thank you for joining us!
I have to say I enjoyed a bit of PP&Z, but I honestly felt it went on too long and the joke would have sufficed in a short story… My favorite non Jane Austen Austen take is Lost in Austen… 🙂
Dana, I must that of all the Austen-ish efforts Lost in Austen was the most tolerable. It was even tolerable enough to tempt me.
Talk about coincidence. I went (late in the day, but I started late) to post on Live Journal about this visit and what should I discover in a friend’s post but zombies marching (shambling?) to save libraries as explained by a narrator with a lovely British accent:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=humgY7hEBd8
I really enjoyed Lost in Austen because it held true to the original story and characters. Not so much PP&Z…
And see, Lynne? Once you get … er… inoculated… er… indoctrinated? with the zombie bug, you’ll see ’em everywhere!
This has been a really fun visit, Dana! Thanks to all the your brilliant commenters…hmm I think I may board up a few windows just in case that banging is not a loose shutter but something more undead!
hee hee… It was a pleasure to have you at the Den, Lynne!!
Likewise it was a real pleasure to join such a rollicking group of authors. Loved the laughter too. You’ve scored again Dana! 🙂
BTW Lynne, steel shutters are better than wood. Just make sure your airways are well filtered (to block the stench). And set up an indoor generator so we can all keep up with the latest on the apocalypse at the Den and on Unbound.
Lock ‘n’ Load friends. And watch your backs.
how fun! loved the intro, lynne’s post, her bio, and the comment party 🙂
and now i have another author to add to the amazon wishlist!
Heh. Trust Jack to hand out the practical advice! Very true too!
Sheina!!! Nice to see you here! I’m glad you made it over… and yeah, you’ll want to read this book!
Pingback: JASON
Pingback: DAN
Pingback: JEROME
Pingback: HP