One day I fully expect to come across a romance novel entitled “The Unexpected Runaway Heiress’s Christmas Fireman Rancher.” Have you ever noticed that sometimes the titles of romance novels have very little to do with their content? There’s a disconnect between the story and the title. When the story is really well written and the title is lame, it’s fairly obvious to me that the writer did not conjure up the title.

I find that sad. It must be a contractual thing with traditional publishing. Otherwise why would a talented writer come up with such a poorly written title? The above fictional title includes many of the key words in titles I suspect weren’t author-written. For Regency and other English and Scottish romance novels, the key title words include “accidental” as in “The Accidental Duchess,” “The Accidental Marriage,” “The Accidental Kidnapping,” etc. Don’t you hate it when that happens? Other key words in those genres are heiress, runaway, rake, governess, highlander, warrior, etc. So one day we’ll likely see “The Runaway Heiress Governess Meets the Accidental Highland Warrior.”

I don’t claim to be an expert in writing titles. Far from it. But at least I recognize the connection between the title and the story, and I don’t think readers feel cheated when they read a book based on its title and find meaning there. It’s a simple thing, really, isn’t it? Or is it?

I strive for perfection when I write a romance novel or anything else, which includes making the title as good as I can make it. Do I ever reach perfection? Not hardly. But you’ll never find a romance novel or other book with my name on it that has a meaningless or impossibly stupid title, if I have a breath left in me.

When personal computers first came out, I jumped on the bandwagon and bought one. I remember my dad watching a news show on TV around that time and asking me what “Windows” was. I had no idea. Back then, if I had any problem with the computer, I knew it was my fault. Now, while I have eight or ten windows open at a time, I know when I have difficulty with my computer, it’s usually the computer’s fault.

Over the years my outlook on my writing has also changed. I once took more stock in what others said about my writing than what I believed about it. Now I have the strength of my convictions. I know what I like and I write what I like. I don’t like everything I read, so I don’t expect everyone to like what I write. But that doesn’t make me like it any less. I have my own unique voice, and if you don’t like it, go read something else.

That doesn’t mean I can’t benefit from observations or advice from an astute editor or reader. I send all my ebooks to my oldest friend Chris, who walked to school with me starting in the first grade. She’s one of the smartest people I know and has always been wise beyond her years. She’s also a voracious reader and fearlessly blunt in her opinions. Call me opinionated myself, but I have much more faith in evaluations by an intelligent, avid reader than by a 25-year-old publishing house assistant editor who scans 20 manuscripts a day.