Book Tour: Author of Cutting Cords - Jo Ramsey: Choosing a Title & Giveaway

Choosing Titles
By: Jo Ramsey

I have to admit, I’m not good at choosing titles for my books. At all. Which is a problem, because I’m one of those authors who can’t start writing until I have a title for the book. That tendency has led to me giving books titles like “Insert Title Here” and “Becoming.” Becoming what? I have no idea, but that was the original title for the fourth book in my Reality Shift series. My publisher and I are working on a new title now, since we’re working on editing that book so the ARCs can be sent out sometime next month.

Unfortunately, sometimes books are published with titles that don’t quite work. Reality Shift book 2 is titled Filtration System, which made perfect sense to me. In it, Jonah and Shanna have to insert energetic filters into the energy field of a girl with autism. But in comments on one of the reviews of that book, several readers said that if they hadn’t read the review, they wouldn’t have wanted to read the book. The title turned them off.

Because of that, I’m trying to come up with better titles for the remaining Reality Shift books, as well as making sure that the titles for the books in my upcoming series The Dark Lines are good titles. The series title leaves a bit to be desired, but I like it…

The first book in The Dark Lines was originally titled Bridge. When my publisher and I started edits on it, I asked to change that to Black Bridge. The Black Bridge is a major location in the book (and in the city where I grew up). When I told a few teens and family members the original title of the book, some of them said it made them think of the card game, and my husband’s grandmother said it made her think of false teeth. So that was a pretty clear sign to me that I needed to change the title.

I don’t know why I struggle so much to choose good titles for my books. I don’t have much trouble coming up with the characters or the plots, but titles just plain elude me. After I wrote the first drafts of the first ten Dark Lines books, I went through and changed the titles of six of them because the titles just weren’t good. Hopefully I won’t need to change those again now that that series is being published, because I’m running out of ideas.

Then again, it could be worse. A former friend of mine had so much trouble thinking of titles that he would just look around the room and out the window for title ideas. One of the books I beta read for him was called Red Mulch. And it wasn’t a gardening book.

 
 

Cutting Cords
By: Jo Ramsey
 
When Shanna’s father moves out, leaving Shanna alone with her mother, her home life goes from bad to worse. At least she has Jonah to remind her that she deserves a good life, even if she doesn’t always believe him.



Stressed about her parents’ separation and worried about what it will mean for her, Shanna is glad for the distraction of her friend Tammi’s request for information about guides. Although Shanna is still learning, she knows how to answer Tammi’s questions. The problem is, the entity Tammi is asking about isn’t really a guide. It’s a dead spirit who wants to take over Tammi’s life. And Shanna discovers that another entity, one with the power to destroy our universe, wants to use Tammi as well.


Guided by Jonah and Tethys, and helped by another being of light, Shanna must send the dead spirit to the afterlife before it’s too late—for Tammi and for the entire Universe.
 
 
Excerpt:

Jonah confirmed my instinct by saying, “Yeah, Shanna and I have some important stuff to do. She’ll call you later and let you know what we can do to help you.”

“He isn’t deciding,” I corrected. “He’s agreeing with me. Tammi, I’m sorry. I have plans with Jonah.”


“Yeah, I can just imagine what those plans are,” she said snottily.


I bit my tongue. Literally. I refused to give in and run off like I usually did when someone implied something like that. I didn’t think the words had actually come from Tammi, even though they’d exited her mouth. Tarina wanted to try to shake me. “You have a better imagination than I do, then,” I replied, keeping my voice calm. “Like I said, we’re going to talk about how to help you.”

“I don’t need any help from freaks like you,” she snapped.

 
Don't forget to check out Jo :
Website: http://www.joramsey.com/
Blog : http://www.joramsey.com/?page_id=7
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JoRamseyYA
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=717297351

 

*~* Giveaway *~*

The Tour stop with the most comments 

  one randomly drawn commenter will receive an autographed print ARC of the novel, and 2011 Reality Shift calendar will go to the host

 

Don't forget to check out the rest of the stops on Jo's Tour!

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/01/vbt-cutting-cords-by-jo-ramsey.html?zx=aabc52725e83cc13

I started to answer. Jonah put his hand on my arm and said to Tammi, “I’m sure you feel that way now. However, you’ve already asked for our help. We don’t give up that easily.” He let go of me. “Come on, Shanna.”

I didn’t even bother taking my books out of my locker. I only had two assignments due the next day, and if I didn’t finish them, I’d take the consequences. Hurrying away from Tammi/Tarina was more important, before the ache in my gut became real pain. The ache in my third energy center, to be precise. Where I always felt something when a negative entity or even a negative person hung around me. Somehow I knew Tarina’s presence caused the feeling. “See you tomorrow, Tammi,” I said sweetly.

Tammi glared at him. “Why do you have the right to decide what Shanna’s going to do?”