How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?Visit Tracy Lynne Oliver's website.
I really struggled with titling my book. The story started with a powerful image; an old black man, head in his hands, sitting on the edge of a bed in a decrepit hotel room or some sort of run-down apartment. I needed to write his story. After putting words down, and learning where it was going, I eventually just used Magician as a working title. I referred to my work in progress as such until the book was complete.
But when the novel was finished, the question I asked myself was what to call it. I did my best to come up with alternatives but nothing else seemed to fit. I kept Magician.
As the book’s story takes you through the life journey of one man, Magician doesn’t seem to capture what the totality of the book is. Magician is only the final version of this man. His story begins even before he is the Boy. So, it might not be the best representation of what the novel is fully about, but it does highlight the gravitas of what he becomes and...[read on]
Q&A with Tracy Lynne Oliver.
--Marshal Zeringue
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