What's in a Name?

Back in March, I sold Do It Yourself mystery #6 to Berkley Prime Crime on the following couple of paragraphs:

When Derek and Avery first get the inside track on a distressed condo in Josh Rasmussen’s complex, it doesn’t seem like a very exciting project. But the price is right, and they can turn the property around quickly, which will help their cash flow. And besides, Avery thinks they can amuse themselves by giving the small, bland space some much needed oomph.

However, it isn’t but a few days after renovations start that they have all the excitement they can handle. It begins with the suspicious death of Hilda Shaw, one of the neighbors. Hilda was the resident busy-body, always sitting at her window watching the other tenants coming and going. She delighted in knowing things about people, personal things, and in letting people know that she knew.

As it turns out, every one of the residents in the small condo complex is hiding a secret of their own, including Josh Rasmussen, and Avery soon finds herself knee-deep in other people’s dirty laundry. The trick becomes figuring out which of the many secrets is the deadly one, and which of the neighbors killed Hilda, before someone else learns too much about what is going on and has to die as a result. And this time, that someone might just be Avery.

Since April, I’ve been busy – at least on and off – writing the book. I have to send it to my editor by October 1st . . . AND IT DOESN’T HAVE A NAME!!!

So far, the working title has been Secrets and Small Spaces, but that doesn’t have quite the punch I’m hoping for. And that’s where you come in.

For the next three weeks – let’s say until September 21st – give me your best suggestions for a title for my book. After the 21st, I’ll look at the offerings, pick one or more to send to my editor along with the manuscript, and draw a name out of a hat of one of you, who gets to become a character in the book.

Yes, since I haven’t submitted the manuscript yet, I can totally do that!

One of you may also end up with the winning title, but that won't be up to me; that's something the sales and marketing departments at Berkley figure out. They may pick one of the titles we suggest, or they may come up with one of their own. In either case, as soon as I know what it is, I'll announce it.

Keep in mind, the title has to be short enough to fit on the cover: 3-4 words, max. It has to sound somewhat mysterious or criminal, but it also has to have that Do It Yourself home renovation connotation. The other books have been called Fatal Fixer-Upper, Spackled and Spooked, Plaster and Poison, Mortar and Murder, and Flipped Out.

Let the games begin!