When I started writing The Girl with the Empty Suitcase, I knew right away (kind of) what I wanted the title to be. The original title was actually "The Girl with the Camera", but less than a month into writing the first draft, it changed to "The Girl with the Empty Suitcase", and that name stuck. It fit, and I knew.
I'm not a decisive person by any means. It's actually a source of jokes among family and friends. Don't ask me what to have for supper, if I want to go somewhere or not, what my preference is for most things. I won't know.
But, when I do make a decision, I tend to stick with it. In fact, when we were wedding planning, our travel agent (we had a destination wedding) even commented to my now-husband how decisive I was. I'm sure she didn't understand why he started laughing.
So, once I decided on The Girl with the Empty Suitcase for a title, it stuck. I tried it out, thought about it, played with it, and of course researched it. I told my husband the title, a few friends and family members. And then I decided on it, so that was that.
I had a bit more trouble thinking of a title for this book. To begin with, I had absolutely nothing. I just saved files as "untitled". I started the book shortly after releasing my first, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it, but in the chaos of releasing my first novel, after the first chapter was written and everything else planned and plotted, I left it alone for a month or two.
The title too.
Nothing stuck.
I couldn't even think of anything to try to make stick.
But then, somewhere in the third chapter, something came to me. I played with the exact wording a bit, but all of a sudden, I had something.
I wasn't sure, so I called it my "working title". I talked to my husband about it, and my mother-in-law, who was the super talented cover artist for my first (eeek!) novel. And I researched some more, to make sure there wasn't something out there in my field with the exact title or something.
There wasn't.
When I officially announced my second book in February (you can read that here) I had that working title. And now, after a tweak or two, it hasn't changed.
So, I'm sticking with it.
And now I kind of love it. It fits perfectly.
I've decided.
The novel follows a young woman, a new bride, Sharon, in the early 1960s. She is completely wrapped up, physically, in domestic life, but it doesn't fit her. And she is tormented by a secret.
So, the title is...
Drumroll please...
TO AIR THE LAUNDRY
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Now I should probably get back to compulsively checking social media... oops.
I mean writing.