First, I want to thank those who came out to the Southern Festival of Books on Sunday to say “Hi.” It was a beautiful and warm day. I made some new friends and good connections. So, thank you again for your support.
Someone asked me the other day how I come up with names for my characters. Honestly, I’m not sure about all of them. When I wrote “The Moody Dragon with No Name,” the names (except for the dragon, of course) just seemed to appear with the image of the characters. I wanted the tiny mouse to have a name that was way too big for him. Honestly, I don’t remember where I found his name; I probably googled male names from Ireland, Scotland, or somewhere, and it clicked. For my little lizard, the name Lilith the Little Lizard seemed to flow easily within the story. Now for my children’s book “The Little Witch’s Wish,” it was easy to come up with the names. I wrote this book with my niece in mind. The little girl is Gabby, named after my niece; her mother in the book is my sister, her mother; the great gran is named after our great-grandmother, and Aunt D, you got it, ‘yours truly.’ That was easily written.
Now for my adult books… Some names I have not settled on completely, but my characters in “Dating Die~Sasters” (coming out early 2025) were surprisingly easy to come up with. I started with my protagonist and what I wanted her to be like. Once I had figured out her personality, I knew I wanted her name to reflect her strength. I had a friend years ago (she has passed); her name was MaryAnn. I wanted my lead female to somewhat honor my friend. Also, I have a sweet, sweet pit bull named AnnaMae. She is strong and, as I said previously, extremely sweet. So, my strong, beautiful, talented, kind, intelligent, sweet character is named Anna Marie.
The three main male characters (paranormal love interests) were a little harder. The next-door neighbor is named Benjamin. I chose that name because I’ve always liked it – easy enough. It is a Hebrew name and means “son of the right hand.” The detective named Alexander was harder. I researched names and their meanings. Alexander is a Greek name that means “repulser of evil, defender, and/or defender of men.” As the detective and protector, I felt this was a strong name for a handsome shifter. The last possible love interest is the maître d’ at the Italian restaurant, and his name is Scott. It’s more of a fun name and means “a man from Scotland.” The last names were all researched except for Anna Marie’s. While I was drawing one day, I noticed the name of one of my art supplies and thought about how much I like and want to visit a castle. So, her last name is Castleton. When it came to her sister, I wanted a fun name, and every Chrissy I’ve known has been a fun type of person. Hence, Anna Marie’s sister’s name is Chrissy.
Sometimes, when I’m thinking of names, I’ll look around at people I meet almost anywhere. It could be the grocery store, doctor’s office, my favorite coffee shop, anywhere. It might be a name I saw in a book or a movie, or something I made up. I make sure the name feels right and speaks to me. My characters take on a life of their own, especially once they have their names.
If you have any questions you’d like to ask, just message me, and I’ll do my best to answer them in an upcoming post. Till then, have a great week filled with love, laughter, hugs, and blessings!🌻
We are Creatively Unlimited! 
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