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If I’m being honest, I really love the title and think it captures so much about the story that readers will discover within the book’s pages. The title arrived to me very early on – I was only about twenty or so pages into the first draft – and never strayed from it (my agent and editor ultimately loved it, too, so at no point in the process of writing or production did the title ever change). There are really three things I admire about the title Olivia Strauss Is Running Out of Time. First, I love that it’s sort of a big, clunky type title (my favorite kind!) which I think perfectly suits the protagonist, Olivia. She’s a bit of a mess at the start of the story, and so I don’t think a very neat and tidy and simple title would quite suit her. I also love that her full name is included in the title. It lets readers know right away that this is very much her story. At the start, Olivia is a bit self-absorbed, too – something she really works at changing throughout the text – so for that reason I also like that her name is the very first thing readers see when they pick up the book. Lastly, the second part of the title captures...[read on]
The Page 69 Test: Olivia Strauss Is Running Out of Time.
Q&A with Angela Brown.
--Marshal Zeringue
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