The new title is....

[easol.livejournal.com]

"Skin Trade."

WTF?

Seriously, WTF?

Translation -- sex sex sex, with more of LKH's unadmitted fetish for strippers. I betcha she brings back a few more were-sexworkers to join the harem and be healed by Ma Petite Fissure De Ruine.

The sad thing is it might be a decent title coming from an author who had a different focus. Like if somebody were RESCUING people from a sexual underworld, or exposing the nastiness. But since it's LKH, we know it's just the natural follow-up to the oh-so-tasteful title of "Swallowing Darkness."

And I can't see how LKH thinks that she's a writer of Deep Lit-ra-chore if she churns out novels with these titles, let alone the ghastly contents.

Comments

[sharkbytes.livejournal.com]

Actually, I figure it's a follow-up to the Blood Noir title, rather than Swallowing Darkness. It seems to follow the same pattern, blood/skin and then a word that makes little to no sense.

I just can't wait to see the tacky cover image, myself. It should be an all-time winner, and I thought it would be pretty hard to beat the awful Cerulean Sins cover.

Anyway, the title in and of itself isn't that bothersome to me--it's what she'll wind up doing with it that's absurd. It's kind of a clever play on words, but she'll never live up to that. Unless she works in some kind of shapeshifter-skin angle, that would be pretty cool.

[pastygothchick.livejournal.com]

I thought it would be pretty hard to beat the awful Cerulean Sins cover.

Dunno she came pretty close with "Swallowing Darkness" cover purple chested guy with the thorny chakram.

[artemis-rex.livejournal.com]

I'd hope that it was a reference to weres, but it probably won't be. At least anyone picking it up out of curiosity won't be fooled by the title ...

[rodentfanatic.livejournal.com]

It actually reminds me of that one AB book where a witch was killing the shifters for their skins...I remember thinking that was a pretty cool idea.

Doubtless, though, it is something sexual in this case.

[pastygothchick.livejournal.com]

The Lunatic Cafe.

[frabjously.livejournal.com]

If it were another author I'd guess that the book would be about shifter skin trade and some guy who would sell them on the black market.

[dameruth.livejournal.com]

I'm just waiting for her to give up and title one of these things "Backdoor Sluts #9" or whatever.

[othellia.livejournal.com]

Is that a hidden reference to the Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers?

[pandorasblog]

Seems tacky even in light of the direction the books have taken. Though I guess it'll warn the customers what they're getting...

...actually, it'd be really funny if it turned out to refer to a lycanthrope tattoo parlour. You know, where they have special techniques for tattooing people who would normally heal too fast for it to work?

XD

[xarra.livejournal.com]

Now that's a cool idea! Wolfsbane or some anti-were herb on the needles?

[librarista.livejournal.com]

I have spent way too much time thinking about shapeshifters and body modification. If I ever write a story with shapeshifters the rules for them will be heavily influenced by that thinking. Forget folklore and mythology. I only care about how long tattoos last and the effects of piercings.

If Skin Trade referred to a tattoo parlor, we'd have had lots of blogs about all the difficult, gothy, in depth research LKH did. Like going to goth night at the local club and looking at a $5 bargain book at Borders.

[dreamstrifer.livejournal.com]

My first thought was sexual slavery, you know human trafficking?

And then I remembered this is LKH. Still sexual "slavery" but not nearly so "Tasteful"

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

Isn't "Skin Trade" supposed to be about the vampire that got away in Incubus Dreams? I vaguely remember a blog about Anita, Edward, Olaf and Bernardo going to Vegas after Anita got a head in the mail from the killer.

[librarista.livejournal.com]

No! If they go to Vegas then there's possibly a very good reason for the book title. That can't be it at all. And if it is I think I'll get a headache. It'd be nice, though. If she could get herself back on track and think about plot and past books in other ways than keeping track of who's been in Anita's what.

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

Gah.
I may be wrong, but... didn't all her Anita titles originally convey double meanings? Like, "Guilty Pleasures" referred to both an actual place in the book and the concept. Seems like all of the earkly titles had that: Lunatic Cafe, Circus Of The Damned. Both literal and metaphorical. Now, we have... Blood Noir. What the hell is that? What does it mean? It had nothing to do with what happened in the book. And I highly doubt "Skin Trade" will be connected to its content in any way. Just a couple of words that LKH thought would look good thrown together.

[pith]

The AB books used to be named after businesses (and the symbolism, obviously). But I think she said she ran out of business names that would work as titles.

[akisora.livejournal.com]

The phrase "Skin Trade" brings up images of a sexual slave trade. I know I wont be reading it. I stopped at Danse Macabre, and can't bring myself to go any further.

[dreamstrifer.livejournal.com]

I thought the same thing, too.

[watersheerie.livejournal.com]

I really wish that LKH would quit messing around with this illusion that her books actually hold something worthy of being read, and just title the damn things "Fuck-Fest"

Now a title like that manages to convey what the series is actually about at this point, with the fewest words possible. We also have the double 'F'...and that's the kind of clever play on words and diety-given genius that readers expect from LKH.

[pastygothchick.livejournal.com]

We also have the double 'F'...and that's the kind of clever play on words and diety-given genius that readers expect from LKH.

Or Larry Flynt.

[wolfychan.livejournal.com]

Is that like Face-Off?

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

Nice of her to give her book a name that is identical to or contained in over 3,300 other titles, according to Amazon. I'm sure that won't confuse anyone.

[no-ron.livejournal.com]

exactly! :))

[darkese.livejournal.com]

Skin trade makes me think of swingers and wife swapping. Skin flicks, skin mags, skin trade, skinTASTIC!

*shudder*

[lovefromgirl.livejournal.com]

Dylan Thomas got away with it because he was, get this, a really good writer.

Laurell. Please do not pretend you are anywhere near on par with him.

[easol.livejournal.com]

I imagine at some point she will bring him up and how "Dillon Thomas'" work inspired her and shaped her and she is sooooooo attached to him and blah blah blahity blah.

[sevariusjr.livejournal.com]

Just go ahead and name this one "Bag of Shit", and that way people know exactly what they're going to be getting.

[longtail.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing somebody is going to start kidnapping her sweeties for some reason or another...maybe somebody finally figured out she "needs to feed" on penises, so they're going to take away all her penii and try to make her eat vagoos.

Or she suddenly finds a child sex ring and procures new additions to her harem.

Or something really weird is going to happen and JC, Anita, and Richard have some weird triumverate mishap and trade bodies. Hilarity ensues as Richard has Anita's body, Anita has JC's, and JC has Richard's.

Anita: Hey! Now I don't have to go chasing peen, I have one of my own! ...Wait a sec, I'm a vamp now. Killing them and having sex with them I can handle, but not actually being one. Like, a for real one. Not just a succubus by proxy. Wangst.

Richard: Um...it sucks to be you Anita. I'm exhausted. Wangst.

JC: Holy shit, I'm alive again! I'm going to do the one thing I've wanted to do since I died umpteen years ago...go get a tan. Wangst if you need me.

[amamelina.livejournal.com]

JC: Holy shit, I'm alive again! I'm going to do the one thing I've wanted to do since I died umpteen years ago...go get a tan. Wangst if you need me.

Oh, that was beautiful

[ctrl-issue.livejournal.com]

*holds head in shame* and I am probably the only person who's immediately thought of DuranDuran. *weeps* Please, please, don't let her ruin DuranDuran!

[wonderbink.livejournal.com]

No. No you're not.

*sings* "Would someone please explain . . . the reason for this strange behaviour . . . "

In exploitation's name, indeed.

[morriganscrow.livejournal.com]

The title, while trite and unimaginative, could lead to a fine who dunnit about child weres and shifters being sold on the black market for sex/parts/magical ingredients.

*smacks self in forehead* What am I saying? Who's writing this? Silly me!

[gator-grrrl.livejournal.com]

She should just call it Werefucking, because you know that's what 97% of the book will be describing.