When I started writing the Wynter Wild books in 2017, a stream-of-consciousness half-a-million-word jumble of ideas and scenes covering several years of Wynter’s life, and written out of order, I knew early on that it would be a long series. So the necessity of naming the books in some sort of coherent manner was an issue I dealt with early on.

I wanted titles that played on a single theme, but I hadn’t decided what that theme would be. I jotted down endless ideas using themes from the story – not only music, but also “threads” (a recurring theme relating to broken or frayed threads, and of course braiding of hair and bracelets), lines from classic folk songs, matching words relating to family, and more.

Having decided on music, I brainstormed phrases and then matched them up with the relevant books. The later titles weren’t finalized until the earlier ones were already published, since those plots weren’t fully developed yet, but I had a list to select from.

Here’s my reasoning for each title – and a trip down memory lane for those readers who have stuck with the series to the end. Book title links take you to pages on the Wynter Wild Wiki, which includes spoilers.

1. Little Sister Song

2. Out of Tune

This book starts six weeks after Wynter escaped the ashram, when she’s settling in to life outside. But nothing is easy, and she feels out of phase with reality much of the time, unable to connect with school friends or her foster mother, and unable to live with her family where she yearns to be. Hence, she feels out of tune with the orchestra of life on the outside.

3. Rhythm and Rhyme

In this book (which incidentally covers the longest time span – about 7 months), Wynter is in a  vaguely suitable foster home and seeing more of her family, so she’s feeling pretty positive – hitting her stride, finding her rhythm, as indicated by the title. She makes some proactive decisions as she looks forward to living with Caleb – including arguably devious steps to secure the purchase of their new home.

4. Lost Melodies

The title refers to the disappearance of two people who are or were important in Wynter’s life – Indio goes to London, and she learns about another disappearance in her past. The secret habit she forms, a reflection of her mental health, is her attempt to retrieve those lost moments.

5. Distortion

Distorted family relationships are a key theme in this book. Miriam reappears, bringing into focus the damage she did to her children, including her indirect responsibility for Indio’s messed-up feelings. Incidents from Wynter’s past emerge (such as her damaged voice) to show how her early experiences distorted her life.

6. Natural Harmonics

On the surface things are going well for the family as their band’s career takes off and their gigs are a success, thanks to the natural chemistry between them as musicians. Meanwhile, what Wynter perceives as a natural connection to Indio is interpreted very differently by his girlfriend. (For the non-musicians, harmonics are the ethereal flute-like overtones produced when a string vibrates along its full length as well as in fractions of its length. On the guitar you can produce a harmonic by lightly fretting the string at the 5^th, 7^th, or 12^th fret.)

7. Duet

This title refers of course to the alternating viewpoints between the family in Washington, and Xay in California – as well as the “duet” of the childhood friends, Xay and Wynter, on their path toward reconnecting.

8. Minor Key

Events that should be exciting and joyful, such as Xay meeting the family and the band going on their first tour, are marred by tragedy and other circumstances, throwing a bittersweet cast over everything.

9. Broken Strings

This refers to Wynter’s “broken” vocal cords requiring surgery, followed by mutism – an emotional reaction to the drama around her. Family strings, or connections, both at home (with Caleb’s downfall) and in other branches of the family, are tested or broken.

10. The Beat Goes On

I chose this rather generic title as a way to round off the series (when I intended this to be the final book), to give the impression of the family’s stories continuing beyond what happens in the series. I tied up some loose ends while leaving other storylines open to possibilities for readers to imagine. The series only covers three years, and Wynter is only 18 – she has her whole life ahead of her!

11. Echoes

After deciding to write the Australian tour, I had to pick a character to torture – and it made sense to choose Xay, as he’s the one returning home. Echoes from the past are inevitable. He goes through a tumultuous emotional journey and the echoes become overwhelming.

Wynter Wild series

Finally, a quick word about the series title. Before I’d thought up any book titles, I knew I’d name the series after the main character because, regardless of all the sub-plots, it’s her story. So I figured I should give her a simple but memorable name.

Her name was originally a common “hippie” name, Summer, but that seemed too on-the-nose since she grew up in the desert. So I rather arbitrarily switched to Wynter (and gave Joy a valid reason for naming her that – she missed the winters of her early childhood).

I searched for an alliterative second name, and “Wild” sounded good to my ear. Her upbringing was rather wild, in a sense, and once we learn about her mother’s past, it makes sense why Miriam was attracted to the name.

Following the end of book 11, Wynter may be seriously considering changing her second name…