Q&A with Margi Preus

From my Q&A with Margi Preus, author of The Silver Box: An Enchantment Lake Mystery:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

The title, The Silver Box, was originally the working title of the second book in the series, which was ultimately entitled The Clue in the Trees. (The first in the series is Enchantment Lake). This was until a writer friend of mine read a draft and said she didn’t think it should bear that title unless what was inside the Silver Box was revealed by the end of the story. I realized she was right; my editor also agreed; and so we had to come up with a different title for Book #2. After filling notebooks with failed titles, my editor suggested The Clue in the Trees, which turns out to be so perfect and has so many layers of meaning that you could practically solve the mystery by the title alone. (Dear Readers, do try it!)

So now you’ve learned a lot about the title of a different book! But it turns out that The Silver Box is the best title for Book #3, which really revolves around solving the puzzle of this box, and by doing so, revealing the secrets of Francie’s family. Readers who have read book one and two are familiar with the mysterious box—and the mystery of Francie’s mother—and I hope they are excited to find out what secrets the box hides. Readers who haven’t read the first two books should not be put off! They can...[read on]

Visit Margi Preus's website.

The Page 69 Test: Village of Scoundrels.

Q&A with Margi Preus.

--Marshal Zeringue