Book Title Announcement + Finish-the-Sentence-Friday: Names

Thanks to all who participated in our contest this week. It was fun reading your predictions about the title of my book.

Today I am pleased to announce that Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All The Answers Learned To Ask The Questions will be on bookshelves in June of 2010!

Yep, after a week of discussion and debate, the folks at Zondervan decided that Evolving in Monkey Townset just the right tone and provided just the right hook to beckon readers to open the book and turn to the first page. Those of you who picked Option #5—This (I Think) I Know: How to Question Everything You Believe About God And Live To Tell About It—will be pleased to know that we plan to incorporate that subtitle into the copy that appears on the back of the book.

Congratulations to Jon (of comment #11), who will receive a signed copy of Evolving in Monkey Town in June. (I’ll send you an e-mail, Jon, so you can send me your address.) That seems like a long way away, I know, but I’m told that in the publishing industry, it’s immanent.

Others who chose correctly include: Peter, BETH, Olivia, Kedric,  Stephen Southern, and an anonymous reader via my Contact page.

Thanks so much for all your interest and support.  I’m really glad that the title will be the same as the name of the blog, because this is where I really came to refine some of my ideas based on your feedback and thoughts. I feel that this book is as much YOUR project as it is mine.

So, since we’ve talked about the name of my baby, let’s talk about the names of yours! 

We’re in the midst of a bit of a baby boom here in Dayton, and I’ve really enjoyed hearing some of the beautiful names my friends have chosen for their newborns.  In fact, I’ve been inspired to update my little database of prospective baby names, which has been languishing in my computer for about four years, waiting for me to take a break from my career and start a family! (Maybe after the second book?)

It’s fascinating to see how much thought goes into each name, how important the meanings are, and how each child seems to grow into his or her name as the months and years go by.

So, in that spirit, finish one of the following sentences:

“I named my son(s)/daughter(s) [fill in the blank] because….”

or

“My favorite names are…”

or

"The most important thing about a name is…"

Have fun with it!