It’s no secret that I have no idea what I’m doing. I know zero about writing movements, picking a trendy title, or putting something on a novel’s cover that will attract the right audience.

Luckily I know people who know these things. 🙂 I had a Skype session with my wonderful editor and mentor, Nerine Dorman, and the insanely talented Tallulah Lucy, and they nudged me in the direction of picking a new title for The Physician’s Apprentice.

A damn scary direction, I’ll be honest, but I’m also very aware that TPA is almost as generic a title as they come.

I’ve been thinking of this book as TPA for five years now, so shifting gears wasn’t easy. Yet there was something exciting about it at the same time.

The concept of an apprentice is important to me–it had to be clear that the protagonist of this book isn’t done learning. I realise now that’s something I projected on Cara subconsciously, if you consider this post. (She’s in no way based on me–just wanted to put that out there.)

Also, without giving away too much, deception and illness/plague, and lies spreading like a plague are major themes in this book. I think the physician in the title of the novel made it clear there would be healing-related themes, but now I could actually put something even more specific in the new title. Exciting stuff.

So, apprenticeship, plague, and deception. I ended up using metaphoric words for the latter two, but I think it works out beautifully because this title plays on so many of the underlying ideas in the book, and also made choosing names for the other books in the series so much easier. Yes, you read that right, I’ve titled the rest of the series too. Can’t wait to tell you more about that in the future.

In the meantime, it’s with great excitement that I share the new title of TPA with you. 🙂

I’m so excited about this, and I hope you love it as much as I do.

I do also plan to keep the physician’s apprentice in some way or another, even if it’s just in the tagline or in the blurb. I initially thought it could work as a series title, but I’ve since realised that’s not a good idea. I’m still working on a new title for the series, but I’ll share it with you as soon as I’ve made progress. 🙂

I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who helped me find a new title. You’re all awesome, I’m lucky to have you.

Stick around, folks. Stuff’s about to get interesting!

Yolandie