You win. I have a new book title.

I was sure I’d ride this book-writing/editing/publishing process to the end with the title I fell in love with: Joy without Apology.

I mean, I loved it so much I put it EVERYWHERE... all over this website, my Substack, my social media.

But I was — gulp — wrong.

A dear friend of mine who is also a spectacular publicist and promoter had another idea. I didn't agree with her. But I tested it against the original title.

And it won — by a margin of over two to one.

So... presenting... my new title:

ESCAPE TO JOY

I mean, I like it and all... I just had to kill one of my darlings, which is always hard for a writer.

But I'm slowly warming to it. I mean, it's evocative and all, right?

I've even had a few AI mockups of the book and cover made. And I like this one:

This is ABSOLUTELY not the final cover design, because I'm not using AI for that. Professional cover designers have earned their stripes for a reason!

But seeing those words on a cover makes me get all tingly inside. So I guess that's as good a test as any.

What do you think of the new title? I'd love to hear.