“Without going too much into the mental process that led to this (words like ‘sausage-making’ and ‘rock-polishing’ come to mind), I wanted a title that at least suggested that there were a number of elements in this book (hence the Seven), and Seven Stones just came naturally, and that was nice (‘stone’ is always a weighty word) and suitably alliterative but not a complete poetic thought (or rhythm). So, a bit more thinkering (no, that’s not a typo), and I came up with to Stand or Fall, which sounded suitably portentous.
It took a bit of ex post facto thought to figure out what the heck that meant, but things usually do mean something if you think long enough. In this instance, the ‘stand or fall’ has to do with people’s response to grief and adversity: to wit, if you aren’t killed outright by whatever happened, you have a choice in how the rest of your life is lived—you keep standing, though battered and worn by time and elements, still a buttress and a signpost—or you fall and return quietly to the earth from which you sprang, your elements giving succor to those who come after you.”