Now that I'm nearing the end of the book I need to decide on a title. So far I've been through several working titles: Bertha P (unlikely to attract attention, in fact, guaranteed not to); The Story of Bertha P (not much better); A.K.A. Anna O (well, I suppose the name Anna O is more recognizable than Bertha P, but not widely so, and there is also the problem of punctuation: should it be aka, AKA, a.k.a., A.k.a or A.K.A?).
My latest idea is The Various Guises of Desire. Now this I really like. It's pleasingly euphonious, with subtle hints of eroticism, perhaps the thinking woman's Fifty Shades of Grey. But could I be accused of misrepresentation? After all, it isn't a bodice ripper.
I don't think so. In fact, it seems to me highly apt. I don't agree with a lot of Freud's thinking but I do believe he was onto something with his ideas about what he unfortunately termed 'polymorphous perversity', which looms large in my version of the Bertha Pappenheim story. It also chimes with my thesis that Bertha's absence states were associated with a form of temporal lobe epilepsy and that during them she experienced states of mystical rapture.
Some people I've consulted don't like it.
Does this matter? No title, no book is going to please everyone. And at the moment I can't think of anything else.
Literary agent Rachelle Gardner has some practical suggestions on the subject. I've applied most of them and find that they throw up nothing that would contraindicate my choice.
Writer Terri Marie gives more visceral advice. The title will come from within, she says. It is simply awaiting discovery and when recognized will instill you with confidence and catalyse the energy of the book - 'like a light shining through the window'. This is much how I feel about The Various Guises of Desire.
Votes, please, from readers of this blog. Or if you can think of something yourself, please suggest! A free copy of the book to anyone who can provide the eventual title.
My latest idea is The Various Guises of Desire. Now this I really like. It's pleasingly euphonious, with subtle hints of eroticism, perhaps the thinking woman's Fifty Shades of Grey. But could I be accused of misrepresentation? After all, it isn't a bodice ripper.
I don't think so. In fact, it seems to me highly apt. I don't agree with a lot of Freud's thinking but I do believe he was onto something with his ideas about what he unfortunately termed 'polymorphous perversity', which looms large in my version of the Bertha Pappenheim story. It also chimes with my thesis that Bertha's absence states were associated with a form of temporal lobe epilepsy and that during them she experienced states of mystical rapture.
Some people I've consulted don't like it.
Does this matter? No title, no book is going to please everyone. And at the moment I can't think of anything else.
Literary agent Rachelle Gardner has some practical suggestions on the subject. I've applied most of them and find that they throw up nothing that would contraindicate my choice.
Writer Terri Marie gives more visceral advice. The title will come from within, she says. It is simply awaiting discovery and when recognized will instill you with confidence and catalyse the energy of the book - 'like a light shining through the window'. This is much how I feel about The Various Guises of Desire.
Votes, please, from readers of this blog. Or if you can think of something yourself, please suggest! A free copy of the book to anyone who can provide the eventual title.
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