Literalature

Have you ever seen a title and said to yourself, "I wonder what that's all about?"

If you read this blog, I know you have.

The editors of the Wyoming Legacy Love Inspired Historical novel series apparently worried mightily about confusing their readers with fancy titles that include metaphors and allusions. As I was walking through Half Price Books, I came across the novel seen below, held in your author's massive mitt. The first thing that you'll notice is the title: The Wrangler's Inconvenient Wife. Come on, Darling, tell me how you really feel about me.

Oh, wait! There's the subtitle: She's the wife he never wanted.

Ouch.

I do like the cover photo, which has been nicely hit with a very light Photoshop painting plug-in. Of course, it's a little tough to tell if that's the wife or the reason that the wife is inconvenient. The horses seem equally fond of each other.

Being an inconvenient spouse in the back country was an unhealthy way of life. People tended to die of various infectious diseases back then and once buried, disinterring them wasn't generally considered a good idea.

Despite the almost overwhelming temptation to spend a dollar and actually read the thing, I resisted.

On the same trip, I saw that someone had taken the display copy of The Conan Compendium and had left a tossed-aside copy of Crime and Punishment on the pile. Sorry, Vertikles, but it's Robert E. Howard 1, Fyodor Dostoevsky 0.