Thread: Help me choose a title

Hello fellow storyteller,

I've written a cozy mystery set at a Midwestern college. Student detectives investigate a stolen antiquity and using information from campus and local sources--including a seance--solve the crime. They do their work with naivete, zeal and high spirits.

That was their problem. My problem is choosing a title that will arouse curiosity and will reflect a facet of the story. I plan on publishing this mystery on Kindle.

So my job for you, should you decide to accept it, is to help me choose the best title.

And, the choices are:

Crime on the Dean's List

Faculty in a Frenzy

Next Time We Steal the Carillon

School Spirits

Campus Crime Capers



Thank you for your help.

Of the items on your list, I like "Next Time We Steal the Carillon" best, probably because I don't know what a Carillon is, and I'd probably be intrigued enough to read the jacket info to find out.

How about posting a bit in fiction and seeing if members come up with any more ideas?

I am a mug for alliteration, but campus capers and faculty frenzy are a bit predicable sounding.

I also like "Next Time We Steal the Carillon" I think it's catchy.

A carillon is a set of (sometimes very large) bells operated from a common control (like a keyboard) - quite a challenge to steal one.

If the story involves a stolen antiquity, then perhaps the name of the antiquity included in the title would best suit, with or without the name of the leading investigator or investigative team? Such titles are easily recognised as crime/adventure fiction and attract the target readers - obscure titles have a harder time achieving this first step.

Next Time We Steal The Carillon is a good title, but suggests that the story is about the thieves rather than about the detectives.

If you have any suggestions for a title, please post them.

Originally Posted by darvex

If you have any suggestions for a title, please post them.

Without knowing anything about the stolen antiquity, or the student detectives, or the name of the campus, etc,
any suggestions would be stabs in the dark at best.

the only thing that comes to mind were those teachers that used to write 'Carpe Diem' on the board and it's supposed to mean Seize the day or something like that so maybe you can use word play for it to mean something closer to your material. Emphasis on 'Sieze' (like steal).

"Next Time We Steal the Carillon" definitely peaks my curiousity more than the others.

Thank you all for helping me choose. The winner is Next Time We Steal the Carillon. I just published it on kindle publishing today.