So we need titles for the Rocky Start books. Bob and I kicked some ideas around–“kicked” being the operative word here, some of the right out of the conversation–and we came up with some, but . . . eh, we’re not there yet.
Want to play?
The books are set in a town that’s about 1/3 retired agents. The heroine, Rose, had been hiding out there for nineteen years from the cops on an arrest her ex-lover framed her for. The hero, Max, is just passing through to pick up the boots his ex-boss sent there for him. So we were thinking some play on undercover work, romance, but quirky, off the wall. Because it’s us.
The Spy Who Liked Me is what I’m looking at for the first title, because the book only covers a week, so no time to fall in commitment love. But Bob says they’re not exactly spies.
Then there’s a treasure hunt for gold in the second one, so I suggested The Spy Who Came In With the Gold, but Bob said no.
He does like Dead Drop Gorgeous (thank you, Office Wench Cherry) for the one about three retired female assassins who are out to get each other.
NONE of these are set in stone. So what we need is
Three titles
that are quirky, offbeat
and relate to each other
and imply light hearted romance and some violence
while possibly riffing on the idea of retired or otherwise undercover agents and assassins.
We’re not going to use colors again, but some similarity in the titles is important.
And if there’s something visual there that the cover artist can start with, that would be great.
It’s that charming mixture of romance and violence, aka Crusie and Mayer, that we’re going for.
Have at it. I’m going to go move.
“A charming mixture of romance and violence” is exactly what I’m going to use to describe myself henceforth.
T(h)reats in Triplicate for our three ladies. Am pondering.
If you like Drop Dead Gorgeous, then maybe two other titles with either drop or dead in them? Drop Everything Else, for instance. Or A Drop in the Bucket. (Yes, I know those suck. Just examples.)
Bob just pointed that “Dead Drop Gorgeous” would get killed by autocorrect.
Back to the beginning.
I now have Voila’s Drop Dead Gorgeous playing in my head, and have to go watch the music video of it again. I love that video – full of people getting bumped off in all the fun ways, and the song’s such an earworm.
I really like Dead Drop Gorgeous! Damn AutoCorrect! Full speed ahead!
That is a shame because I love Dead Drop Gorgeous – but Bob is right. As usual.
Isn’t there a way to submit a phrase to be overlooked by autocorrect?
Probably but I have not mastered that yet.
Totally not germane to the conversation, but if you haven’t read “Killers of a Certain Age” by Deanna Raybourn I highly recommend it.
Borrowed it yesterday 🙂
“Antique Rude Show”
“Career Separation Anxiety”
“Gums and Amor”
If you want to stick with the ‘drop dead’ theme:
Drop Dead Date
Drop Dead List (Hit list)
Neither of you are in the west so titles of westerns may not work but you could do something with classic western titles- they died with their boots on, treasure of the Sierra Madre, who shot liberty valance, etc. it’s not a western but really like Ms. & Ms. & Ms. Smith for the three assassins (after Mr and Mrs Smith). Ha ok I am making myself laugh anyway.
Oh, Bob is all over Westerns. That’s the reason Agnes falls for a guy named Shane.
I like your title of “The Spy Who Liked Me” — exactly what is the distinction between spies and agents that keeps Bob from approving that title? I think the difference is not so salient to most readers that there would be a problem with riffing off various movie titles, especially since James Bond movies are a kind of universally recognized source for public knowledge about intelligence agents.
Depending on the themes or settings of the three novels, there would be a lot of ways you could go with those titles — “The Man with the Golden Screwdriver” or “Diamonds are Pretentious” or “Octopizza” or whatever. Just a thought.
I’m not exactly sure and he’s backtracking on that.
Evidently they’re spooks or dogs. I’m clueless.
‘spy’ is a broooooooaaaaad term, especially in genre fiction! I say run with it!
The Spy Who Liked Me
The Hills Have Spies
Three Way Spyfight
🙂
(done being silly now)
The Good, the Bad and the Deadly
The Town called Forgiveness
Off topic, but I still can’t find Lavender’s Blue on Amazon.co.uk. What am I missing?
First you go to Books, then click on Advanced Search. Fill in Jenny’s name under Author. Go to Pub. Date, and on the drop down select During. Under Year, fill in 2023. Click the Search Now, and you should get it.
Or just click on Jennifer Crusie, it is on her author page, alternatively change All search to Kindle Store and Lavender’s Blue will be the first book
Thanks Kay and Kim. It does seem crazy that I ran searches for Lavender’s Blue, and searches for Bob and Jenny, both independently and together, and under both Jennifer and Jenny, and no hits at all. I have now finally found it but it took a lot of work.
Out of Service
Over and Out
Out of It
Dead Heat
Formerly Fuzzy
Cop-Outs
Felons & Fuzz
Badges & Babes
Gardas & Gals
Out of Whack cracks me up, too.
I laughed out loud. Bob likes it, too.
I love brainstorming but can’t come up with anything really witty/quirky. Here’s my list:
Whack a Mole
Whacked Up
Life Whacks
Whack off
Whack Up Plan
Covert Affairs
Covert Crush
Covert Charisma
Covert Charm
Charm Assault
Armed, Charmed, and Alarmed
Alarm Glock
Flirting with Danger
Dirty Little Secret Agent
Undercover Lover
Undercover Assets
Smack Attack
Heart Attack
Encounter Attack
Force Field
Field Agent of Attraction
Alarm Glock! That made me laugh!
Whack a Mole works for me!
I don’t know how we’d use it, but Alarm Glock cracked me up.
Agent Under Covers
Dirty Double Agent
Secret Agent Sins
Sleeper Agent
Cover Story
Deep Cover
Cover Blown
Trigger Happy
Hair Trigger
Trigger Warning
Trigger Finger
Hair Trigger Hook-Up
Trigger Happy Hookup
The other two don’t work as well
Fatal Redaction.
Heh heh
The Rose Decode
Rose Gold
Undercover Rose
I Left my Heart in Rocky Start
Rocky Start Me Up
Rocky Starting Over
Appalachian Trailed
Appalachian Tailed
Peek ‘n Duck
Trail Mixup
The Elephants’ Graveyard
Ezekial’s Boneyard
All I can think of is puns on their names.
Buried Roses
Coming Up Roses
Trailing Rose
Mountain Rose
Make Rose Madder
Rose Tinted
Rose to the Bait
Maximum Cost
Maximum Security
Maximum Velocity
Maximum Yield
Maximum Temperature
Dead Good Something?
Dead Good Partners / Mates / Friends
Dead Good Thieves / Crooks
Dead Good Assassins / Killers
# 3 hit me first: Dead Shot Divas
#2: Gilded in Gold
#1: Good Luck and Glock-speak
Other thoughts:
Glock Full of Goodies
Hush-hush, Bang-bang
A Rose by Any Other Name
Working for the Week(end)
Terrific on Target
Boots, Bullets, Bras, and Beer
A Rocky Start to Romance
A Rocky Start to Murder
or drop the A at the beginning
Rocky Start to Revenge
Etc
A Spooky Tale.
Spooks R Us
The Spook Who Liked Me
Something Spooky This Way Comes
A Tale of Two Spooks
Probably better for a series with ghosts in it though.
My mind is fixated on “Rocky Start and Bullwinkle”, despite this being completely meaningless.
What’s wrong with Rocky start?
I like that.
Rocky Start
Start to Work
Work to finish
Clearly I am not cut out for this title business…
I like that, too:
Rocky Start
Hazards Ahead
Unknown Destination
Another thought:
Rocky Start
Dangerous Territory
No Way Out
Bob likes it, too. So we’re going with it. I’ve been shooting down so many of his ideas that any that I kinda like, we’re going with.
Could you do something like
Rocky Start
Rocky Start Revisited
Rampage in Rocky Start*
(*Or Riot, or Revenge, or Ruckus, or Rivalry- if there are three women involved)
Covert Diversion
Covert Bounty
Covert Liquidators
Brainstorming before breakfast today, but only remembered to refine and submit after midnight.
It was before work so I guess I was feeling low because I went went kinda dark, more assassin than spy.
I thought of tools of the trade:
Stiletto.
Silencer.
Arsenic.
Arms/firearms.
Thus yielding titles related to tools, types and/or methods that would be used to despatch someone…
A Silenced Silencer.
A Sheathed Stiletto.
The Blunted Bayonet.
The Uncloaked Dagger.
A Noticeable Ninja.
A Magnanimous Mercenary.
A Lately Localized Legionnaire.
Unconcentrated Arsenic.
The Blocked Blowgun.
All would need a subtitle like, “A Liz Danger novel.”
Unbareable Arms sounds like a pub. Tagline you can’t carry even if it’s concealed.
This reminds me of one of two Family Ties episodes I ever watched, where a dream sequence involves signing the US Constitution and it’s hot, so someone suggests that there should be a right to bare arms and everyone removes their long sleeves!
These may not work for this trilogy, but someone should use them
Stealth and the Single Girl*
Fear of Spying
A Doom of One’s Own
* or Woman
Dead Drop Reckoning