Kdot wrote:

I recommend migrating away from a title containing "Satan". You might best use a temp title. I have stories I haven't chosen a title for in like 3 decades (403's title for example, for the past 4 years was "Lizzie" and before that it was 10y as "Ultimate Soldier" until I realized she was anything but.).

There is no shame in waiting until after you've written the novel to give it a title. Even then, the publisher may scrap your title, so don't marry it.

Satan is a word designed to draw in both thriller readers and Christians. The Unholy Trinity would be an alternate term to use in the title. I'm leaning toward the latter.

The Battle of Thermopylae had an unavoidable ending for King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans, but it still made for a story so compelling, it's still told to this day, 2500 years later.

Satan's Apocalyptic Treachery
Satan's Unholy Trinity
Satan's Revenge

I've exhausted my search for synonyms that could replace Satan's Last Stand. Regardless how I word the title, Christians already know the ending and expect it to go a certain way. Satan has to lose in the end, although the Antichrist's fate and that of his followers will not go as planned. The only other title I can think of is Revenge of the Unholy Trinity. Neither title has been used before, based on a search on Amazon. Technically, this story is partly about revenge, but that's not the central theme. The Unholy Trinity (Satan, Antichrist, and False Prophet) use deception to attack the Church (events known as the Great Tribulation in Revelation), followed by the final battle against Christ on Armageddon (Mount Megiddo).

I should add that it becomes clear during book one that all is not going as prophesied by John, Daniel, and the other prophets.

This title thing is going to be the death of me. The story will ultimately come down to a battle between Satan and Christ, but with a twist: Satan has a plan that might allow him to destroy Christ, in spite of the Revelation prophecies. If Satan wins, God the Father has agreed to allow him to rule Earth forever. Satan might end up destroying the Trinity in the process.

Suggestions?
Revenge of the Unholy Trinity
Satan's Treachery
Battle for the Earth
Battle for Heaven and Earth
Satan's Final Deception
Satan's Hail Mary (just kidding)
Satan vs. God
Satan's Last Stand
Last Stand of the Unholy Trinity

Last/Final doesn't mean he will lose, just that it's the last battle in human history. Winner take all.

Thoughts?

Nineteen chapters of Revelation converted to notes, including the defeat of the Antichrist and the False Prophet. Satan's defeat is next. Only three chapters to go!

The bad news is that the Catholic study guide I'm using says that the defeat of Satan and his minions is a spiritual battle, not a physical one. Jesus slays the opposing armies with a sword coming out of his mouth (i.e. the word of God). They didn't convert in spite of countless disastrous warnings from God (seven seals, seven trumpets, seven woes), so I'm guessing seeing a preacher-king on a white horse isn't going to hold much sway either. Interestingly, Jesus arrives from heaven with his armies of angels and followers, yet He personally slays the armies of the world by himself. So why the show of force?

Protestant Dispensationalists interpret Revelation as involving a real battle on Armageddon, so the Catholic interpretation is rather anticlimactic, which isn't what you want at the end of a trilogy. Needs work.

P.S. New title for the book series: Satan's Last Stand. Seems like it might be an equally appealing title to Christians and non-Christians. Requiem for Heaven and Earth was a little too obscure given that many Christians don't understand the imagery behind Revelation. Some parishes don't even like to teach it out of fear of scaring Christians.

The professor provided so much detail, I always assumed it was real. Coconut shells, seawater, metal strips, wire, pennies, etc.: the wire coming from the pennies leads to the positive pole of the battery. Metal strips on the other side of the coconut, lead to the negative pole of the battery.

Early in season one, Ginger regularly wore a dress made from a tarp with the words SS Minnow on it.

I own the entire series. :-)

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip
That started from this topic port aboard this tiny ship
The mate was a mighty sailing man, the skipper brave and sure
Five passengers set sail that day on a three hour tour
A three hour tour

Of course it begs the question why the Howells, Ginger, and even Maryanne brought enough clothes to dress differently for almost ever episode. Also, why did Thurston bring a trunk full of cash? Plot holes!

Battle Hymn of the Republic seems to have been a bad choice. The song has been playing in my head since yesterday. :-(

A tyrant named Donnell who wants to conquer the U.S.and set up a dictatorship? Does he hold military parades? :-)

I'm missing something. What's wrong with that verse, njc? Also, I did here that verse on Spotify yesterday.

K, you have to admit it's a more powerful title for attracting Christians at a glance. Requiem is, admittedly, more neutral. I made some notes overnight to see what else might work.

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njc wrote:

Oh, and learning the terminology of English Grammar gives you words to express your thoughts on the subject.

"I like the way it reads." :-)

Switched series title again. I think the latest is more powerful. I wonder how many people under thirty will get the reference to the hymn.

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j p lundstrom wrote:

I consider my time better spent on the three R's--reading, research, and writing.  JP

Amen!

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B Douglas Slack wrote:

I did some research, Dirk. You can "deactivate" your account insted of deleting it. THis way, you retain your account, but nobody can see or post things to you. The deactivation remains in place until you either log in and reactivate it OR use your FB credentials to log in to another site.

Bill

Thanks, Bill. I saw that, too. I decided to delete it. Of all my FB friends, there are at most six who I already interact with through this site. The remaining eighty or so friends sent me friend connections out of the blue. Most of them post stuff I don't want to see in my feed. And I despise videos that start running without waiting for me to click. I like to read, and the muted videos are a distraction, like annoying ads.

I read it this morning. The closest I found to a usable title was Doomed to Flames. Meh.

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For the second time in a few years, I've deleted my Facebook account. Is it just me, or is it a complete waste of time? All I ever see are those stupid autorun videos when I would rather read intelligent posts written by fellow authors.

Does anyone successfully use Facebook for marketing your books?

Thanks.
Dirk

Looks like we have a winner: Requiem for Heaven and Earth. Revelation mentions that the old heaven and the old earth pass away.

Thanks, njc. I checked Foretold, Dies Irea, and other phrases from the video. They're all used, except for Chant for the Dead. Unfortunately, that's somewhat off topic.

Although more poetic than evil sounding, I like it better than mine.

Thanks.
Dirk

Apocalypse Unleashed is also taken.

Son of a... Eve of the Apocalypse doesn't show up under Amazon books, but it's the name of a Warcraft game.

Nuts. I thought of Unholy Trinity, but it's been used for ten different books.

Thanks. Unfortunately none of those draw me in, especially since few people will know what the foreign words mean.
Why "eye" of the Antichrist? I should add that it's only the first book that focuses primarily on the Antichrist. After that, it's more of an ensemble, including the False Prophet, Satan, and in the 3rd book, Christ.