First up: Beta Emails have gone out to prior Beta Readers for Axtara 2! If you are a prior Beta Reader, check your email inbox!

Second, there’s a reason I called the Axtara sequel “Axtara 2” in the paragraph above. See, one of the bits of feedback given by the Alpha Reader crew was that the title I had picked, Magic and Mayhem, really didn’t work for them.

Upon reflection, as much as I like the title, they were right. It did work for some, but the problem was the latter half of the title. The “mayhem” bit. Mayhem, to them, spoke of a slightly different Axtara story, one that was less cozy but either more madcap or more action packed.

As I said, they were right. Magic and Mayhem was the perfect title. It flowed well. It rolled off the tongue. It was nicely alliterative.

But it didn’t quite fit the book. The genre is still Cozy YA Fantasy. It’s more Dealing with Dragons than The Hunger Games or Treasure Island.

So Axtara 2 is getting renamed. It’s keeping the “Magic and—” bit of the name, but “Mayhem” is getting swapped out for something else. I’m considering a couple of names right now that keep the cadence and alliteration, but in the meantime yes, the name is changing (note: I’ll still tag it as “Magic and Mayhem” along with the new title once I’ve fixed on it).

Oh, and just so we can all share a bit of a laugh, here’s a list of some rejected names that didn’t make it past screening for some reason, shared from the Discord.

Magic and McAdams
Magic and Maccabees
Magic and Macintosh
Magic and Maelstrom
Magic and Magellan
Magic and Maginot
Magic and Mahjong
Magic and Manatees
Magic and Mao Zedong
Magic and Maquis
Magic and Maserati
Magic and Merino
Magic and Misogyny
Magic and MIRVs
Magic and Mongooses
Magic and Mortars
Magic and Muslims
Magic and Mussolini
Magic and Muumuus

Now, as you consider what horrors might be unleased were some of those rejects actually the title, I’m going to go prep Axtara 2 for the Beta crowd. If you are interested in being a Beta Reader, watch this space! A public Beta Call will be up at the end of this week!