The Billionaire's Fake Engagement
The Sheik and the Virgin Secretary
Crown Prince, Pregnant Bride!
The Italian's Passionate Revenge
What do these titles share in common? They belong to real books. Series romance publishers seem to use a simple title matrix for their books. In column one, there is a list of hero descriptors--billionaire, sheik, prince, Italian, Texan, etc. Column two would be heroine descriptors; such as virgin, secretary, bride, pregnant, or captive. Add an adjective (fake, passionate) and one other element (revenge, secret, lovechild), and stir gently. Voila! One romance title!
Well, if they can do it, why can't we? This morning on Twitter we were giggling over the repetitive nature of these titles and we decided to create a Romance Title Generator. Each day this week I'll post a category, and you can list suggestions in the comments. Here's the schedule--start thinking!
Monday: Exotic location
Tuesday: Hero
Wednesday: Heroine
Thursday: Adjective
Friday: Verb
Saturday: Extra element
I'll post the list in its entirety on Sunday, and we can amuse ourselves by creating fake romance titles from the possibilities.
ETA: Several people asked why I didn't start today, so I added a location. These novels are generally set in exotic locations, oftentimes European countries that exist on no real maps. Create a Greek isle, or a small Italian principality, or an emirate hidden deep in the Arabian desert.
My offering is Castronia, a small Italian speaking principality in the Adriatic sea. Where is your novel set?
Disclaimer: The point of this is not to make fun of the actual books. Though they are certainly brain candy, I've read a fair share of series romance novels. However, even an avid reader of the books must admit that the titles are formulaic to the point of ridiculousness at times.
