Editing has its complications particularly when getting viewpoints from several people and having to assess how I feel about them in terms of my original idea in writing a book.
My editor was suggesting changes to the new book's title, and I didn't like any of his suggestions. I see the book as having a theme, which the title, To Speak of Things Unseen, reflects. Its MacGuffin is a book, which told too much of the spirit world to satisfy some-- and enough to attract others. When you write an article or speak of the unseen, do you draw to you that which you would rather not? It's the question and not just in my book.
As to my husband's (wearing his editor's cap) objection to the title, he felt maybe it has been the problem with the first book. Maybe so. To be honest, I have a problem with any of my books-- I consider them novels, romances, and always with a theme. I don't write just romances as always there is more than whether he and she will get together. Authors (who don't copy) write what comes to them through their muse. The muse gives me a message for each book as well as that interesting couple who are about to find love along with a lot of problems.
A bit from To Speak of Things Unseen (title probably). I do not see ghosts and have been to Jerome multiple times and in many buildings, which are claimed to be haunted. There are interesting vibes in the historic site, which is very alive for tourism and those who love spending time in its atmosphere.
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An hour
later, he had driven her up to Jerome. “Ever been here before?” he asked as he
found a place to park the truck—not easy given there were already a lot of
visitors and limited parking. She felt the energies and realized this place was
full of ghosts. She wondered if Mitch knew that. While she knew he had powers,
she wasn’t sure which ones.
“No, this
would be a first time, but I’ve heard of it.”
“It’s had a
long history of mining. This is Cleopatra Hill, and are you interested in any
of this?” He laughed when he saw she’d been distracted—what he couldn’t know
was why.
She saw a
woman walk past wearing a long dress, with dark hair mostly hidden under a
bonnet. Was she part of an historic reenactment? Then she vanished. She had
seemed oblivious to Mitch and her—even though Elke was relatively certain the
ghost knew they were there. Some ghosts had a hard time adjusting to not being
human. If this woman had died in the period where her clothing fit, she’d had a
very hard time. Being in places they had been when alive provided comfort until
they could finally let go of one life—one probably unhappily lived or ended.
Looking around, she saw more. She wasn’t sure how aware the ghosts even were of
one another. She saw some wearing rough clothing, maybe one-time miners.
“Do you see
ghosts?” she asked when she looked back at him.
“Chidn?”
“Navajo call
them chindi- the bad ones anyway. Is
that what Apaches call them?”
He nodded. “You
wouldn’t have asked if you didn’t see some.”
“When I want
to and especially places like this, where there are a lot. Maybe the tourists
draw them or where so many may have died.”
“They don’t
stick to cemeteries, huh?” he teased.
