Yep. You read the headline correctly. The title of my sequel is Mimic.
I just finished it!!
Omg . . . finally, right? That’s pretty much how I felt. For those of you following my fan page, you know I was kinda tipsy while typing the last sentence. I was on my second glass of wine at B-Dubs. I don’t usually have a second, but I was sooo close to finishing that I just went for it. Momentum was in full swing, and I didn’t dare interrupt it.
Before I explain the title, let me extend a huge thank-you (with warm fuzzy hugs) to those of you who have been patiently waiting. So many have reached out to tell me how much they loved Gambit, ask about the sequel, and offer support. I can’t even begin to convey how that kept me going when things got rough.
You guys are AWESOME.
That's right. :)
Okay, about the title. When REUTS helped me pick out Gambit’s title, we were thinking along the lines of chess. Sacrifice play and all that. So I toyed with the idea of using chess terms as future titles. Problem was, none of them thrilled me as much as Gambit did. I mean, come on, it’s the name of one of my X-men faves. But I told myself not to worry too much about it. The title would come. At some point, inspiration was bound to strike.
And thanks to my son, Caleb, it did.
We were shopping at Barnes & Noble’s, checking out the graphic novel section. He was showing me one that he’d recently bought, and a nearby title caught my attention. It was a superhero comic, and I was just thinking “hey, that would make a great book title” when the inspiration hit me. I love the X-men. And I love superheroes.
So why not use superhero names as titles?
Totally psyched, I jumped on the idea. I’d already built a series arc with themes for the next three books. I just needed three awesome superhero names to go with them. After a ton of research (thank god for Wikipedia), I decided on two X-men characters and one from Marvel:
Book 2: Mimic
Book 3: Gauntlet
Book 4: Rogue
The titles should match the themes nicely. My biggest concern is whether I can fit it all in. Mimic doesn’t have everything in it that I’d planned. I ended it the way I had expected, but there just wasn’t room for all the scenes. Scenes I’ve played out in my head a hundred times. I can’t give them up, so I’ll be juggling a few things to include them in the next book.
In the meantime, I have some serious editing to do. The sequel draft is currently sitting at 131,840 words. That has to be whittled down before I submit it to REUTS. It won’t be easy, because I’m super attached to the way it is now. But it has to be done. My imaginary cutting room floor is about to get really messy.
I’ll try to post more about Mimic along the way—themes, characters, trivia, etc. I quit doing posts and blitzes to free up time for the book, but I’ll get back to it. And again, thank you all SO MUCH for your patience and encouragement. Writing the sequel was a long, tough journey, and I couldn’t have done it without you.
More to come. Take care!
Image Credit: Awesome Dean, Grateful Kitty
