Why authors choose the titles of their stories is always something that interests me.  Some give specific thought to the title and what it means, while others pick an idea related to the theme of the story as their title.  Still others simply toss a descriptive title at their novel and let it go at that, the words suggesting the stories main premise.  For many books we never get the thought process behind why the author chose that particular title sadly, because that process can be intriguing.

The title of a book is very important, as it’s generally the first or second thing the potential reader sees along with the cover art.  For established authors, generally their name is enough to drive interest, but for authors still struggling to make a name for themselves it’s the title of their work that grabs attention.  For that reason I generally spend considerable time thinking of what the title of a story I’m writing will be, and in the case of my first book it was a combination of several things.

Initially, the title Isolation’s Mirror no doubt seems odd.  It’s short and at first doesn’t seem to really convey a lot about the story.  As a point of fact, however, it is intended to convey the idea of the major theme of the book at a glance – and that is how isolation generally forces people to reflect upon themselves and their lives.  It forces them to see themselves without the benefit of other people’s opinions or ideas – just like looking into a mirror shows one their true, physical self in stark relief.  In effect, a mirror for the internal self that no one else sees.

In the book, the main characters are thrust into this situation, and there they not only have to contend with this individually, but also must deal with the reactions of how this affects the others around them as well.  The self realizations, the fears, the anger, the self doubt… all these things lead to the central conflict.  How they deal with these things is unique to each of them, and just like life, doesn’t always turn out how they want it to.

Thus, the title of my story in it’s true, naked essence, and one that hopefully gives readers pause as they see it.