Too Late to Die

In 1986, Bill Crider published his first Sheriff Dan Rhodes novel, TOO LATE TO DIE. But did you know that was not the original title he had in mind for the book?  He originally titled it TOO LATE TO CRY, and at some point in the book, Rhodes tells one of the characters that it’s too late to cry now. However, the publisher thought TOO LATE TO CRY sounded too much like the title for a romance novel, so they reworked it to TOO LATE TO DIE, which didn’t make much sense (after all, when is it too late to die?), but maybe sounded better for a crime/mystery novel.  Everything worked out okay as the novel won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and Dad went on to treat us to 24 more Sheriff Rhodes novels.