How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?Learn more about the author and her books at Wendy Walker's website.
The title does a lot of work highlighting the theme of the book and also the basic set-up for the plot. Molly Clarke disappears on a back road far from home. A note is found that says “Don’t look for me” and explains that she is leaving because she feels her family will be better off without her. When she is not found, the search is called off and she is presumed to have walked away from her life. But, of course, that is not the case. When taken alone, the title might not be quite as effective as it is. However, because my books fall squarely in the thriller genre, and when taken together with the book’s cover which depicts a woman running away from an approaching vehicle, the fact that this is a book about a missing woman is quickly conveyed.
What's in a name?
I spend a lot of time finding names for my characters, and even the towns and streets in the story. I keep a spreadsheet with names I’ve used in prior books so I don’t repeat them, and then I grab an old phone book (which has last names) and pull up a website with baby names for...[read on]
The Page 69 Test: Four Wives.
The Page 99 Test: Social Lives.
The Page 69 Test: Don't Look for Me.
Q&A with Wendy Walker.
--Marshal Zeringue
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