Timothy Hallinan is the author of ten novels, including the first three Poke Rafferty thrillers "A Nail Through the Heart," "The Fourth Watcher," and "Breathing Water," and a work of nonfiction. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Southeast Asia, primarily Thailand, where he has lived off and on since 1985. www.timothyhallinan.com
My fourth Poke Rafferty thriller, set - like the others - in Bangkok, is due out this August, and it's got everything but a title. At the moment, in the William Morrow Catalog, it's called Title TK.
"TK," for some reason known only to publishers, means "to come." No matter what it means, I think it lacks that certain snap that makes a reader pick up a book. So the people at Morrow and I are asking your help in naming it.
Some background.
The books follow the adventures of an expatriate American "rough-travel" writer named Poke Rafferty, who has settled permanently in Bangkok and married his Thai lover, Rose, a former dancer on the notorious Patpong Road. Poke and Rose have an adopted daughter, an 11-year-old former street child named Miaow, and at the beginning of this book, it finally looks like things are going well for this little family.
And then a nightmare figure from Rose's past barges into their world and puts everything at risk - their physical safety and their emotional survival as a family. Poke's only hope hope is to discover the whole truth of Rose's past -- a journey into darkness that turned a shy, awkward village teenager into the queen of Asia's most lurid red-light district. And there are secrets back there he's not certain he can truly accept . . . or survive.
The central part of the book - Rose's story - concludes on a cluster of barren rocks in the middle of the Andaman Sea, where she literally has to fight for her life.
I called the book "The Rocks." The people at Morrow don't think The Rocks suggests much of anything to anyone, and that a title with "Patpong" in it will suggest quite a bit. I'm afraid it suggests too much, since this is not one of those erotic fantasies in which beautiful young Thai girls fall mysteriously and helplessly in love with middle-aged western men. I worry about things like that.
But on the other hand, maybe my publishers are right. They know more about selling books than I do. Maybe I'm oversensitive. Maybe I'm a snob.
They've suggested two titles, "The Queen of Patpong" and "The Patpong Girl." I'm still sort of favoring "The Rocks." Please help us settle this by voting for the title you like best.
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ROSE OF PATPONG
might be better.
Bangkok Rose
Patpong Streets, Rough Thai Seas
Don't Ask Those Questions
Bad Day on the Rock
Wish You Were Here, Poke
I like Rose's Story.
Good luck - Denny
Jagged Rocks
The Secret Hides Beneath The Rose (haha!)
Taking the the previous titles into consideration, I think it is important that the this title not only fit the book, but also fit the series!
Can't wait to dive into this one!
All the best,
RJ
Tim Hallinan
I have a story called "WORDS UNDER RED"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0011DUGEA/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=133140011&s=digital-text
"RED LIGHT ON ROCKS"
"THE BLOOD ON THE ROCKS"
Why did you give your character the name "Rose"? Perhaps a rose of a color that comes closest to your reason, placed on a dark rock would convey the idea behind the story and be a pretty decent visual for a cover.
Someone far more creative than I, you or one of the people posting comments here, could put it together to come up with an attention-grabber.
Beth
A rose on a dark rock. Wow. Great image. In this case, given that those rocks are a fearful place, a deep red rose would work best.
I think I'm going to do this with every book. There are so many good ideas out there.
Tim Hallinan
In Latin, the word can mean breath. Breath and blood, dark red, are what animates the body.
I'll stop now.
Beth
Or am I saying too much?
Tim Hallinan
I don't like either of the three choices given in the poll. The Patpong ones give the sound of what you are trying to avoid...the lurid connection to Patpong.
I agree "the rocks" is generic and overdone.
I remember a book by Martin Cruz Smith called Rose. So be careful of that territory.
Thinking quickly, how about...
Rafferty's woman. ( makes it sound about Rafferty?)
Rafferty and Rose. (Just following the thelma and louise train of thought.)
Rose's Secret.
As I think, I realize the name is hidden in the secret that you aren't sharing for obvious reasons.
Lemme think more,
Usman
PS: I only take airline tkts to BKK. There are no buses there. :)
Thanks for all the creative thinking. I wish there were a title hiding in the secret. There's barely a secret -- the story pretty much tells itself naturally without a bunch of forced revelations. Usually I have to work to avoid those moments and make them look organic (so to speak) but this time it all flowed easily.
Rose is definitely the center of the book. One of the early titles for it was ROSE'S BOOK. I still kind of like it.
And while a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, the same is apparently not true of novels. It's all about that two-second bookstore encounter -- will the reader pick up the book or not? If she does, it's my job to keep her reading, but it's marketing's job to get her to pick it up in the first place.
Tim
Tim