Background
Choosing a book title is a personal thing. Some authors know the title before they begin to write, in fact it appears miraculously as they are doing their research.
Others wait until they have written the first draft. On reading and editing it a title appears as being an obvious choice.
Then there are some novels which arrive at the publishers and one of the team, it could be the editor doesn’t like the chosen title and persuades the author to choose a different one.
Choosing Janus ~ Gateway to Heaven on Earth
My parent’s original title of their novella was simply ‘Heaven on Earth’ so why did I think fit to amend it? Firstly it is a prequel to my Riduna Series, set from the late Victorian era through to WW1 and on to 1920. For both books in the series I chose names which reflected the setting but added an air of mystique.
Riduna, my first novel, is allegedly the ‘Roman’ name for the island of Alderney. Although some researchers have cast doubt over this more recently, Riduna was once seen on shop fronts and as the name for the local rugby team. In fact, folks from Alderney used to call themselves Ridunains.
Ancasta, from my second book Ancasta ~ Guide me Swiftly Home, is the Goddess of the River Itchen, Southampton, from which this novel flows, before, during and after WW1.
Thus, when I decided to publish my parents’ novella I thought it would be quite nice to continue the theme. Janus is said to the the ‘door’ or ‘gateway’ to another dimension. Since my parent’s little book was titled ‘Heaven on Earth’ I felt that Janus would be a perfect Gateway to the island life thy described therein.
Janus ~ Gateway to Heaven on Earth is available in paperback on Amazon. It will soon be available to order from any good bookshop too.
Diana Jackson 