How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?Visit Jill Fordyce's website.
We selected the title Belonging, because at its core, the novel is all about the undoing of aloneness that occurs when we feel like we belong and also, conveys a sense of warmth and hope. The story depicts what it’s like to feel like you don’t belong, the lengths we’ll go to try to fit in, the secrets we’ll keep, the people we’ll keep at arms’ length. It speaks to where we find belonging—in friendship, family, faith, a community. I had two different working titles before selecting the title Belonging. The first was Why She Loves Country Music—essentially a metaphor for the story itself, taken from a conversation between Jenny and Henry, where she tells him she loves the old country songs that tell a good story, are bittersweet, and have a happy ending. Then, for a while, I called the book, I Know You by Heart, a reference to the memories Jenny carries of all those she lost, what they taught her, the lasting nature of their love. Ultimately, Belonging was the best fit—an acknowledgment of the journey of Jenny’s immigrant great-grandparents, Jenny’s own longing for family, and Henry’s...[read on]
The Page 69 Test: Belonging.
My Book, The Movie: Belonging.
Q&A with Jill Fordyce.
--Marshal Zeringue
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