So, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was contributing to an amazing group of authors for an anthology named, The Glassheart Chronicles. It releases August 1st and I am so honored to be a part of it. It is a collection of stories based upon the theme of dangerous love but the most interesting part is that each story is based on a side story within one of our novels.

I chose Sawyer Tuttle.

Since The Canopy has yet to release many of you aren’t aware what an integral part of Elliott’s and Julia’s story Sawyer plays. I can’t and won’t tell you how but he is definitely a huge character and I look forward to you all getting to know the amazing Sawyer better.

For this blog, I want to talk about titles. For those of you who aren’t aware of why I named The Understorey what it is and who want to know what the rest of the series’ titles and meanings are, check out part of Elliott’s guest post where he interviewed me for a change:

Elliott: Okay, that’s cool. I guess I could stop losing track. Tell me, how did you come up with the name of the novel?

Fisher: Oh, this is cool. Okay, so I knew the book was going to be set in Bramwell, West Virginia and the area has the most beautiful forest. Plus, nature plays such a massive role in all four books of the series, I decided to find something that could relate to both the theme and its scenery.
I researched what makes up a forest and found that it can be divided into layers much like the ocean or the inside of the earth. From bottom to top, you will find the undergrowth, the understorey, the canopy, and the emergents. Essentially, the life and how the plants in each layer thrive are indicative of the theme of each book. Although, the third and fourth book will be sold as one. The name of the series is ‘The Leaving Series’. There’s a double meaning in that, tee hee. ‘The Leaving Series’ is The Understorey, The Canopy, The Undergrowth and The Emergent, in that order.
Elliott: Get out of town! I had no idea.
Fisher: Well, you never asked.

So, as you can see the titles within ‘The Leaving Series’ are deeply involved and when searching for a name for Sawyer’s story, which is essentially a fourth book within ‘The Leaving Series’ I had to go with The Wonderboom.Yes, Sawyer’s gift is literally a wonderous boom but I had no way of tying that to nature.

My ‘aha!’ moment came while doing a little research and I stumbled upon this:

According to gopretoria.co.za,

“‘The Wonderboom’ (translated “Tree of Wonder” or “Miracle tree”) is a unique 1000 year old fig tree found North of the Magaliesburg Mountains in Pretoria. The tree, now a national monument, is unusually large, standing some 25 metres high and having a 5,5 metre diameter main trunk. It’s growth pattern is also unusual: as its branches grew longer, they drooped towards the ground and eventually took root and formed a circle of new trunks or daughter trees around the original tree. There are now a total of 13 trunks and the colossal tree covers an area with a diameter of 55 metres. The local people of the area revered the tree as sacred – legend has it that a chief of an indigenous tribe lies buried beneath its roots, fabled to be the reason for the tree’s immense size.”

Wonderboom Tree Trunk in Tshwane

It is an unbelievably beautiful and ancient tree and it provided so many links to Sawyer’s story, I just had to use it, thereby linking it appropriately to ‘The Leaving Series’ and providing just the right amount of mystery and fantasy.

So, needless to say, I cannot wait for you to read my little short story and introduce you to a few others and their amazing writing but even more than that, I can’t wait for you to get to know Sawyer. He’s my hidden gem within ‘The Leaving Series’ world.

You have me, I told her, and I won’t let you lose control. You mean too much to me.

Add The Glassheart Chronicles to your Goodreads and look for it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble on August 1st!