Book III Growing Pains: Quest for a Title

I’ve mentioned elsewhere what an unholy cage-match-with-Lucifer Book III turned out to be--although now, with a book I love in hand, it all feels worth it. Here’s evidence of the ghastly fight: a brainstorming worksheet of possible titles, made over the course of a frustrated week. There are some 220 below, and this is not the only such list. Eventually I narrowed the list to 30, then 15, then five. I settled, of course, on The River of Shadows. I’ll never know if that weird River grew more central to the story because I chose the title, or whether I discovered the title at last because my subconscious knew all along that it would be.

Anyway, here are the rejects. Some of these are colossal stinkers; a few I still rather like (The Ghouls in the Nursery! Keep your little darlings away from this one, Mom & Dad!) One or two might even, one day, find a use….


The Chains of Fire, The Garden in Ashes, The Shadows on the Heath, The Spectres on the Heath, The Rage of the Sleepers , The Banquet of the Sorcerer, The Canvas of the Spider, The Mercy of the Elements, The Tournament of Spiders, The Journey’s Shadow, The Burning S_________, The Burning Stream, The Buried Fire, The Mirrored Serpent, The _______ Mirror, The Crystal Spiders, The Blinding of the Mage, The Pyre of the Mage, The Pyre of the Sorcerer, The Blinding Shadows, The Blinding Shadow, The Visible Shadows, The Blinding Shade, The Blinding of the Gorgon, The Blinding of the Manticore, The Blinding of the Gryphons, (Sphinxes, Ogress, Trolls, Serpent, The Blinding of the Magi, The Blinding of the Judges), The Rules of the Spider, The Peddler of Shadows, The Shadow Market, The Infernal Market, The River of Shadows, The Trail of Shadows, The Blades of the Seraphim, The Verdict of the Spectres, The Trail of the Spectres, The Path of the Sorcerer, The March of the Spectres, The Parliament of Fiends, The Guild, The Burning Realm, The evil, The Highway of Shadows, The Shadow Tide, The Tournament of Shades, The Pyre of the Seraphim, The Splendour of the Necropolis, The Angels and the Spider, The Mirrored Serpent, The Blades of the Seraphim, The Spider in the Flames, The Feast of the Manticore, The Ruins of Eternity, The Eternity _______, The Spoils of , test, Furnace, Kiln. The Opening of the Kiln, The Spider in the Kiln, The Spider in the Furnace, The Savage Mariners, The Looted Sanctuary, The Plundered , The Hunting of the Spider, The Artistry of the Spider, The Spider’s Artistry, The Wasp on/in the Mirror, The Stars in the Mirror, The Spectres in the Mirror, The Infernal Forest • , The Beasts of the Infernal Forest, The War of the Scavengers, The Savage __________, The Conquest of the ___________, The Tears of the __________, The Beasts in the Garden, The Feast of the Jackals , (too much like a feast of crows), The Gorgon’s Stepchildren, The Children of the Gorgon, The Gorgon’s Banquet, The Demon’s Stepchildren, The Garden of the Scorpions (Basilisk?), The War of the Jackals, The Children of the Manticore, The Jackals of Twilight, The Carnival of Madness , The Pyre of Animals, The Children of the Gorgon, The Children of the Basilisk, The Dream of the Scavengers , The War of the Scavengers, The Thieves in the Garden •, The Outcasts and the Thieves •, The Kingdom of the Jackals, the Lair of the Jackals, the , The Dream of the Jackals, The War of the Jackals, The Prey of the Jackals, The Prayer of the Jackals, The Smile of the Jackal, The Coils of the Serpent, The Tears of the Serpent, The Ghouls in the Temple, The Cabinet of Spiders, The Country of the Spiders, The Dream of the Glass Spider, The Dream of the Spider, The Spider’s desire (barf), The Nectar of the Underworld, The Nectar of the Seraphim, The Stain on the , The Feast of Forever, The Banquet of Eternity, The Feast of Eternity, The Nectar of the Firmament, The Nectar of the Underworld, The Nectar of the Seraphim, The Nectar of Shadows, The Shadow of the Basilisk, The Tears of the Basilisk, Why tears? Who’s the basilisk? The eguar, of course. And are they good, are they sorry that they’ve destroyed the world? Not to judge by the one on Bramian, The Shadow of the Gorgon, The Tears of the Gorgon, The Children, The , Something suggesting the defection from the herd that all our heroes must go through, And something with another social animal? Perhaps a mythical animal?, Plunder. Siege, Scavengers. Survivors, The Four-, The Bleeding of the Sorcerer, burning of, trial of, Arunis comes from Agaroth. He cannot go and get the wine, because if he ever returns he will be trapped there. So when someone (Ott?) brings the wine back, it is his dream come true, Spider, Serpent, Beast, [Scorpion], Vulture, Gorgon, Basilisk, Manticore, Hydra, Minitaur, The Rage of the Scorpions, The Coils of the Serpent (gag), The Kingdom of Serpents, The Laughter of the Serpent, The Test of the Scorpion, The Trial of the Scorpion, The Testing of the Spider, The Quarrel of the Spiders, The Envy of the Scorpions, The Tears of the Spider, The Dream of the Spider, The Tunnel of the Spider, The tunnel of the Scorpions, The Valley of the Scorpions, The Torches of the Seraphim, The Blades of the Seraphim, The Tears of the Scorpions, The War of the Spiders, The Children of the Gorgon, The Kingdom of the Spiders, The Spiders in the Garden, The Beast in the Temple • Sanctuary, The Beasts in the Temple • Sanctuary, The _____ of the Underworld, The Enemies of the Spider, The ____ of the Spider, The Burial of the Spider, The Induction of the Spider, The Initiation of the Spider, The Apprenticeship of the Spider, The Spider’s Ressurection (?!) The Gift of the Scorpion, The Trial of the Scorpion, The Gift of the Spider, The Promise of the , The Banshees in the Garden, The Wolves in the Garden, The Scorpions in the Garden, The Lust of the Spider, The Test of the Spider, The Hunting of the Spider, The Rage of the Spider, The Dream of the Spider, The Spider’s Ambition, The Envy of the Spider (s), The Tournament of the Spiders, The War of the Spiders, The Ravens in the Choir, The Ghouls in the Orchestra, The Ghouls in the Choir, The Ghouls in the Palace, The Ghouls in the Nursery, Hospital, Fortress, The Ravens in the Choir, The Ravens in the Temple, The Ravens in the Garden, The Tournament of the Ghouls, What monstrous animals might feature in the story? Basilisk [last word only], dragon [no], banshee, The Ghouls in the Meadow, The Jackals in the ____, The Trial of the Scorpion?---