Naming my book took almost as much consideration as naming my only child. Both took ten full months from scratch to be completed, still need constant daily attention, and are always the last thing I think about at night. I chose my son’s name as a tribute to Oscar Wilde, (as I indeed chose my pen-name, yet another connection to how the two relate to each other). For me, it was a natural choice… Did I want to pick typically strong male’s name? Like, John, Dan, Dave, Mark? Did I want something a bit more exotic? Enrique, Valentino, Axel? No, I knew I wanted something soft and romantic. I decided about five years before I got pregnant that my boy’s name would be Oscar. This was fated after getting lost for three hours inside Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Walking aimlessly around, hungover and surviving on Babybel cheese that my sister had stashed in her bag from our continental breakfast we couldn’t manage that morning. Eventually, we found the grave we were looking for, and as tradition, we put on lipstick to make a wish. I kissed the Hopton woodstone and looked up to Oscar Wilde’s tomb and knew that I would call my boy after him if ever I managed to stay pregnant. It was a dedication to a great Irish man, soft but expressive, intelligent and sharply witty. HOWEVER, my kid is only ten months old, but I can already tell that he is already THE POLAR OPPOSITE OF ALL THESE THINGS. I gave birth to some kind of extremely masculine dare-devil. Like, I’ll probably have to wait until Oscar is thirty-years-old to bring him back over to Père Lachaise. Just out of fear, he would climb on top of the tombstone to jump off while doing a backflip. Anyway, I’m hoping I have better luck naming my book. But now I have the time to consider the consequences. Did I want a humourous, lighthearted kind of title? Like, ‘Love at first bite’. Or did I want to go traditional; ‘The flame and the flower…’. Romance novels have a stereotypical cliché for titles… Usually involving the word, ‘Seduction’, ‘Scandal’, or any kind of male authority, like something to do with a Lord, Prince or Duke. (I’m only teasing, my second novel is actually called ‘The scandal of the Lord of Princes’s seduction’). Anyway... I needed to find the theme that was running through the novel. Something that would showcase the story while still obviously highlighting the writing genre. The book’s backbone evolves around this Michelin-starred restaurant, so I decided the title’s name would be about that. I also knew i wanted the title had to be short, simple and in French. As the story’s narrative developed, more points connected to the name, and I became certain that I was on the right track. Many great book titles are just ripped straight from the storyline they describe. Whether it is from a line of dialogue that is particularly poignant or a stand-out provocative descriptor. But I chose my title because a single word had several meanings throughout the book. I could put a unique spin on it in different scenarios. And my word was… Butterfly. Or… Papillion, because Je l'ai traduit en français, because it’s a French restaurant, So, Papillion has a few meanings throughout the entire series, not just the first book. The restaurant where Sage works is named Papillion, and it is called so because of the kitchen’s unique symmetrical design. It later transpires that she has a little tattoo of a butterfly on her butt, and earns her the cutesy nickname of ‘butterfly’ from the love-interest. Papillion is also a metaphor for how Sage just wants to reignite her life again, by emerging from the cocoon she’s been trapped in her entire life. Finally, it symbolises the transformation of the story’s relationship from something dark into something delicate but beautiful. So… Papillion just seemed to fit right. But it’s still a work in progress… Originally, I had my first draft signed off as La Papillion until I realised that the word butterfly takes on the masculine noun of ‘Le’ in the French language. But I didn’t like Le Papillion. So, I tried to change it to L.A. Papillion, (as in Los Angeles), until I realised that I wanted the story to be based in San Francisco. Ah, using a bit of creative license with alliteration on that one, resulting in me cutting the dead-weight and just settling on ‘Papillion’. That is the title of my first book, Papillion. Of course, I had other ideas, like ‘Sage Papillion’, or ‘The hidden Papillion’. Still, as of right now, it’s just Papillion. I decided this by saying the title out loud, five times really fast, constantly for about three weeks. Trying to see if it was a tongue-twister, or if it lost its meaning for me. Then I tried to imagine people talking about the book in an office or chit-chat at a party. Did it sound right out in public and in casual conversation? Yes, I think Papillion is catchy and suits the book. The theme is mentioned throughout the story in several manners. Not that all titles have to have character-driven or plot-driven related names. ‘To kill a mocking bird’, isn’t actually about strangling feathery fiends. Some titles are centred on actions, imagery or important events in the book. The main thing I had to consider was what kind of response my intended audience would have to it. Obviously, I already have a cover page vision, and I can see the title on it. It definitely looks like a cute little romance novel. Nobody will be picking it up thinking it is an autobiography about a lighthouse keeper’s solitary lifestyle in Nova Scotia.
When I think of how I buy books, it is usually in a crazy rush in the store closest to the boarding gates at the airport.
The colours and graphics are usually the first things that pull my attention in the sea of options.
I literally do judge a book by its cover...
And my ‘Papillion’ title will be nestled against a feminine aesthetic that will hopefully stop someone in their tracks with one minute until boarding-gate closure.
As Oscar Wilde once quoted,
“With Freedom, books, flowers and the moon, who could not be happy?”.