Vote for the Title of My Middle Grade Fantasy

Last week I posted about receiving my first ever official fan mail, a letter complete with two drawings of the mythical creatures in my middle grade. Also interesting to note from this 12-year-old young man was that he didn't like using the name of the main character, a girl named Lizzie Peterson, as the name for the book.

I've always liked using her name in the title. It has a nice ring to it, a sort of 'Harry Potter' feel as well, that lends itself easily to series.

On the other hand, two sisters, an 11 year old and a 13 year old, reported back today they both liked the title as it was.

So here's what I'm hoping from you: Vote on the titles. Let me know what you think. Which one would be most successful in marketing the book and the series? Which one would appeal to boys as well as girls? Just boys, or just girls?

I'll post the current teaser copy as well so you have a feel for the content.

Proposed titles:
Lizzie Peterson and the Places of Naming
or
Legends of Kyreo: The Places of Naming

Here's the blurb:

Lizzie Peterson craves adventure. Well, who wouldn’t if your secret pets—a unicorn and a flying horse—helped raise you to believe you might be a child of prophecy in a far off world? Yes, somewhere beyond her Ohio home is the magical world of Kyreo, where eleven-year-old Lizzie dreams of going someday to meet the cunning gnomes, the mystical faeries, and the hungry hippogriffs, and to see the five moons and the lands of crystal and cloud. And, of course, to find out what that prophecy really is all about.

But when the Shadow Wizard attacks Lizzie’s family, she and her brother Jack must flee to Kyreo just to stay alive. The world they find is not nearly so fanciful and fun as Lizzie had hoped, for the Shadow Wizard has conquered the heroes and champions and enslaved most everyone else.

Dark forces begin to hunt them almost immediately as Lizzie, Jack, and their magical horses set out to find new heroes to defend Kyreo. If they fail, their lives, the world of Kyreo, and even Earth itself may hang in the balance.

Lizzie Peterson (or) Legends of Kyreo is a middle grade fantasy and is complete at 65,000 words. This stand-alone story has series potential and will appeal to readers who enjoy the Fablehaven and Percy Jackson stories.

So, what do you think? Which series title? Lizzie Peterson, or Legends of Kyreo? And don't forget to tell me why!

Next post: the results, and a discussion about Character.

My First Fan Mail

Once in a while something happens that brings such joy to us that we can't help being overly excited and want to share it with the world. Then, we step back and analyze what happened, feeling anxious we've overstated the situation and should calm down.

But it turns out we were, in fact, right, and that it was, in fact, as awesome as we thought.

That happened to me this week. I unexpectedly received my first ever true fan mail.

One of my readers, a twelve-year-old young man, decided he wanted to send me a note about my book. So he hand wrote a note. I'm still in awe and humbled that he would go out of his way to do that. I'm going to quote it below because, well, I hope you all have the opportunity to get something like this one day. I may even frame it. Keep in mind he read it well over a month ago, so this was truly unexpected.

This is for my middle grade fantasy, Lizzie Peterson and the Places of Naming.

"Dear Josh Perkey,

"I read your book and I loved it! I am a big fantasy fan myself and I absolutely loved your book! I have drawn pictures of Pyrwing and Genivere because I liked your book so much.

"I would like to make some suggestions. First, the title. I, for one, don't think of "Lizzie" as a very "epic" name. The title would be much more appealing (to me at least) if you dropepd the "Lizzie Peterson" part and just did "The Places of Naming."

"Other than that there's nothing else I would change. Love your book!"

"Your fan, _[his name]_"

And he included the hand drawn pictures, which were way, way cool. A black stallion pegasus and a white unicorn, drawn to show they really do kick some major booty in the adventure. I can't even draw stick figures, and he sent me these incredible images.

Wow.  Thanks again, my young friend. You're one awesome fan.

So, with that note, my next post will be about a new title for the book. I take this seriously. I want to see what you think. And here's to hoping that, in whatever endeavors you engage in, you get lucky enough to have this kind of feedback. It makes all the rejections, the waiting, the intense effort, the writing, the rewriting, the editing, the marketing, the incorporating feedback, and sweat and tears worth it. And that's why I write.

Lizzie Peterson Book 2 Chapter 1

High praise: my daughter could hardly stand it after reading chapter 1 of Lizzie Peterson book 2 (in the Legends of Kyreo). She was hopping up and down at the dinner table pining that there was nothing else yet to read! I just gave her the chapter I wrote this morning! I gotta say, I was feeling proud.


Dave Farland is right: after a while, some of those years of practice, lessons, and learning pay off, and you write something kinda decent on the first fly. Not saying it's awesome or anything--that's not for me to say--but it passed the most important first test. Whew!