Good evening. Thank you all for your feedback. I’m very grateful for every little bit. And special thanks to everyone who offered to help me with the title. Your hard work and sincere desire to help are appreciated. Finding a title that is clear and clever is by no means easy, and my novel seems to be one of the perfect examples.
Of course, I tried the AI, from Grok and ChatGPT to the Self-Publishing School title generator. What I end up with was rather pitiful. The SPS title generator kept emphasizing on the borders: Love across borders, Dreams beyond borders, When borders fade etc. Grok and ChatGPT gave me a bunch of Gretna Green-themed options: Journey to Gretna Green, Dreams of Gretna Green, In the shadows of Gretna Green… Well, if I put Gretna Green in the title, I might as well go with the original one. Just as Scrivener’s virtual beta reader recommended. (I’ll need to make a special post on that one.)
Again, I must commend all of you who sent your suggestions. Heartbeats in the wind. Love doesn’t wait. Unlisted hearts, forbidden love. Only you, only now… These are just a few of the many options I received. Thanks again for all your efforts. I thought about them. Let’s say, in the final scene, when Louise comes back, instead of asking about Gretna Green, she may say, “only you, only now” - and that would be the title. But none of that “clicked”.
In the end, I thought I might as well leave it the way it is. Vadim mentions Gretna Green at the end of chapter 3 (after watching the movie that gave him the idea), and Louise paraphrases his words when she comes back to him in the last chapter. So, “Gretna Can’t Get Any Greener” it is.
As for the other feedback, hopefully, the editor will be able to provide me with enough synonyms for the word smirk, so I don’t have to repeat it over and over. And no, there will be no sequel. If anything, I need to come up with a story that wouldn’t make it seem as if I put the same protagonist (whose name and country might be different, but the personality remains the same) in a slightly different situation.
By the way, can anyone recommend a good cover design artist?
Again, thank you very much for all your support.
Have a great week,
Leonard.