Q&A with Marcia Bradley

From my Q&A with Marcia Bradley, author of The Home for Wayward Girls: A Novel:

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

There was one word that came to me when I was writing my book. That was wayward; a word that guides the reader in many ways. The definitions of wayward run the gambit from difficult to disobedient as well as following no clear pattern. My agent and I first thought of having Wayward as a one-word title; we also tried to come up with a list of alternative titles to include when the book was sent to editors. We considered Silent Cloud which left us needing air. Then a few that I felt were very off point like At His Feet and What Sinners Do.

I kept going back to the original idea for the book. I’d been out west, driving really fast because the speed limits there are mind boggling. We passed a building with a sign that said Home for Girls. And that led me to my title: The Home for Wayward Girls. My agent and I were sure of this title; my editor at HarperCollins was 100% in agreement. And I was totally...[read on]

Visit Marcia Bradley's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Home for Wayward Girls.

Q&A with Marcia Bradley.

--Marshal Zeringue