Every year when I finish one book and send it to the publisher for final prep and publication, I have to prepare marketing materials for the book that follows. This includes providing a story synopsis, dreaming up some blurb and copy ideas, choosing an excerpt and coming up with a title. Of these processes the worse (most difficult) is deciding on the title.

I’m usually doing this at a point when the book is still in rough draft, or sometimes when the story is little more than an outline. That’s why figuring out a title is so hard. I can write an excerpt and an outline can become a synopsis, but at title? Like the cover art, the title is meant to grab the eye and intrigue the brain. They’re important!

When Fleece the Cat was being published, I’d written a couple of chapters in book 8, and I had an outline, but not much more. I didn’t know what to call the book. I had to have a title that included the word ‘cat’ to maintain the series branding. The story is about the murder of a property developer, though, so there’s no obvious cat linkages. I decided to call the story If the Cat’s Away. The reference is to the old saying, “If the cat’s away, the mice will play” meaning that without the boss around keeping them in line, employees will muck up the situation. It’s a little obscure, but I thought it would work.

Then I wrote the book. Two new characters join Sledge’s management team and, although both can hear Frank’s mind-speak, neither will admit it. His annoyance, then his deliberate taunting as he attempts to get them to acknowledge him becomes a running joke throughout the book. I realized that Listen to the Cat! would be a much better title.

At the same time I decided If the Cat’s Away didn’t work for book 8, it might be perfect for book 9, which I was working on the promo materials for. This is a summer story and like Cat Among the Fishes it takes place outside Vancouver, while the Jamieson-Armstrongs are on holiday. With a small change If the Cat’s Away fit book 9 perfectly, becoming When the Cat’s Away.

I consulted with the publisher who agreed calling book 9 When the Cat’s Away and renaming book 8 Listen to the Cat! made complete sense. So that’s what we did. If you have an older copy of Fleece the Cat you may find that the Also By list and the excerpt for book 8 at the end use If the Cat’s Away. Don’t worry, it’s the same book as Listen to the Cat!, but I’ve asked the publisher to swap out the names for the future.

So if you’re wondering what ever happened to If the Cat’s Away, that’s the story. It’s still there, just hiding under a new name.