One of my favorite things about being an author is getting to select the names of my characters. I only had three babies of my own, but there are so many other wonderful names out there to choose from! Besides, I love to play with names. Fit their meaning to my characters or even create plays on words.
For example, my teacher heroine in Head in the Clouds is Adealide Proctor – Proctor being a synonym for teacher. Or in Gift of the Heart, my Christmas story based on the biblical account of Ruth, my hero was named Beauregard Azlin. Shorten his first name to Bo, add Azlin, and you have [BoAz]lin. In A Texas Christmas Carol, I paid homage to the original Dickens tale when it came to naming my characters. The hero is Evan Beazer, reminiscent of Ebenezer. Cheerful heroine Felicity Wiggins is inspired by the jolly Fezziwig. There is an adorable beagle named Humbug and a loyal horse named Fred. Mrs. Bell keeps house for our hero, giving a shout-out to Scrooge’s youthful sweetheart.
To see more of the fun I have with character names, visit the Name Game page on my website.
My upcoming release is a fun, romantic short story inspired by The Twelve Days of Christmas. I was in a very Christmassy frame of mind when I wrote this story, so I decided to take all my character names from biblical people tied to the nativity story.
I borrowed the hero and heroine’s names–Anna and Simeon–from the two elderly prophets who proclaimed Christ’s messiahship in the temple courts when Jesus was presented for purification. Simeon’s family name is Shepherd in honor of Jesus’s first visitors. There are also three kings. Anna’s surname is King, and she is an only child living with her two parents.
Then there is Grandpa Joseph and Simeon’s sister Mary. Gabriel makes an appearance and I give a brief nod to the other heavenly host with the mention of the dearly departed Grandma Angelina. Simeon’s mother Elizabeth references the mother of John the Baptist, and Anna’s father David references the City of David, where Jesus was born. And Herald Fielder? Well, the herald was harked in the fields to the shepherds, so even our unsuitable suitor was part of the fun.
And of course, I had to set the story in Bethlehem, TX. Yes, there really is such a place. Texas has just about everything, after all. In fact, more than one community has used this name through the years. The one I based my story on is a small farming community in Upshur County. I made my fictional town a little larger than the settlement that existed there in the 1850’s. There’s not much there now other than a church and a cemetery, but I like to imagine that the spirit of Christmas is alive and well in that place.
My True Love Gave to Me is now available for preorder. This is a short story, coming in at under 10,000 words, but it might be just the right size for a busy holiday season.
The Twelve Days of Christmas get a romantic Texas twist!
Anna King has pledged her heart to Simeon Shepherd, but her father refuses to grant her hand to the young farmer. Simeon determines to be patient and earn David King’s respect over time with hard work and evidence of his ability to provide. However, when a wealthy new suitor arrives in Bethlehem, Texas to woo Anna with her father’s support, patience is no longer an option. Simeon has twelve days before Christmas to best his rival and prove once and for all that he is Anna’s true love.
Do you pay much attention to character names when reading a story?
Can a name enhance or detract from the reading experience?
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Yes, names can add much to a story. I really appreciate thoughtful names that enhance the story. Sometimes name seem out of place – wrong era, wrong character.
Thanks, Susan. I agree that names are important. One of my pet peeves is running across names that have very complicated spellings and pronunciations. They trip me up as I read and can pull me out of the story.
I love naming characters, but my methods haven’t quite measured up to the way you do it. Hmm. I may see some changes in my future.
Ha! It’s just an extra layer of fun to help keep me motivated and enjoying the process.
I once wrote and released a Christmas short story and had so much fun doing so! This was sounds delightful, Karen. 🙂
*This one sounds 😉
Thanks, Becky! I’m enjoying the experiment. 🙂
I’ve already pre-ordered it. I’m with you, Karen, I love, love names. Each one I use is important and picked with purpose. Love your cleverness with the names, can’t wait to read it.
Thanks, Gena. 🙂
I’ve already preordered & can’t wait to read this Christmas story!
I do pay attention to names in a story. I’m a word person, so names are included. 😉 I like a name that flows well; not choppy or stilted-sounding. Unique names are fine as long as they are easy to pronounce. Probably the thing that I dislike the most about character names is one that I don’t know how to pronounce (but I’ve learned to Google :D) or one that has multiple pronunciations, but I don’t know which one the author has chosen. I want to read it like the author chose!
And I like how you enjoy names. I do, as well. I had several favorite names on a list before I had children. God blessed us with a girl & a boy, so our family always felt complete, even though we’d wanted more than two. Maybe I need to write a book so I can name my characters after the other names I didn’t get to use for my own babies! 😀 haha
Ha! I say go for it, Lori. 🙂 The world needs more stories with aptly named characters. 😉
I love names! We ran a small farm with cattle and my dad would let us name the calves. Mine were always the weirder the better, to the point where my mom always said I would never be allowed to name my own children. 🤣
On the importance of names…I was at a small local writer conference, discussing this with a friend. She said (in her delightful Southern drawl): “There was a boy back home. He was kind, and he was sweet, and he was handsome…but his name was Earl, and that just ruined him.” (With apologies to all Earls out there…🤣)