Everyone is asking about the title to Book 2. I don’t have a good answer. I did, then something changed and events that were going to happen in Book 2 were moved to Book 3, which I’m working on right now (when not adapting classic crime fiction for the stage, playing with Dash, or wasting a whole day playing Medieval II Total War – damn, but that’s a good game!).
The former title is actually a Romeo line from Act III scene i. It was used by Raphael Sabatini for one of his lesser known works (the man wrote a ton of novels, but only three remain in print! Sacrilige!)
But, because that is now the title of Book 3, I’m back to the drawing board on Book 2. There’s a lot of falconry in the sequel, leading me to a Juliet line, "O for a falconer’s voice to call this tassel gentle back again." A Falconer’s Voice. I like it for the symmetry – Juliet’s line for Book 2, Romeo’s for Book 3. Coolio.
But it’s not a compelling title. After all the bruhaha and nonsense over the title for MV (Book 1), I’m looking for something with more snap. Keeping with the Falcon imagry, I could use the Petruchio line, Sharp & Passing Empty. But that’s no better. I’d avoid that book!
Then I thought about the events of the sequel, and thought that maybe The Falcon’s Lure might be a better fit. That’s where I’m at just now.
Tomorrow I’ll probably dump the whole falconry thing and call it The Heir of Verona. Which is also accurate, if uninspired.
Grrrr. On the plus side, they’ve announced that The Muppet Show Season Two is coming out this fall. So, all told, I’m having a good day.
DB
