A -Z Challenge Z is for Zed

ZED is a name I saw in the village of Lochinver in Assynt. It was on the sign-board of a thrift or second hand shop. It was the sort of shop where you can buy odd plates, granny’s glass jam dish, holiday reading and it was Zed’s.

I’ve used the name twice. Once in a short story and more recently in my wip, tentatively titled, Courting the Countess. In the new book, Zed is that indispensable man at the hero’s right-hand. He’s self-educated, upright, an orphan and darkly attractive to a certain kind of woman.

Zed is so attractive to this woman that she’s started writing a companion novella to tell his story and that of the countess’s maid.

So far from being the last word, Zed has become an ongoing one. What do readers think? The first parallel story I remember is from Paul Scott’s wonderful Raj Quartet when he tells the first novel over again in the voice of another character. I was spell-bound.

Mirror work

I have enjoyed my month of a-z blogging and have visited many great blogs on the way. If you’ve dropped in here to see what goes on, I hope you’ve found something to please and thank you for coming. Anne, whose name led us out…

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A – Z Challenge Y is for Yogi and Yellowstone

Courtesy of Vectorolie at FreeDigitalPhots,net

Yogi Bear was the wonderful cartoon fantasy that restored sanity to many a household of squabbling children during the late fifties and early sixties. When I said I was going for Yogi for today’s post my husband was right in there. His pal was Boo Boo and there was Mr Ranger, he said. and of course, he put me right over Yellowstone. It was Jellystone. 

I enjoyed a fabulous break in Jellystone around the Labor Day w/e. Andy Murray won the American Open and the hot springs sprung. I did not, however, see a bear of any kind; Grizzly, Brown, Black or Cartoon. There were other hikers who had and there were many signs portraying the reality of an angry bear whose territory had been invaded.

Reality versus fantasy? As a writer I have to deal in both, but I hope that the fantasies I weave are imbued with reality.

How do you do it? Cartoon villains whose defeat is obvious from the get-go or equally crafted characters whose defeat becomes essential to the happy-ever-after?

I’ve always been interested in the more complex psychology of the villain and wrote my first long essay on them for Sixth Year Studies English. We have to recognise that Sherlock would be the less without Moriarty – don’t we?

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A – Z Challenge X is for Xerxes

XERXES left a lovely review on amazon.com of Bella’s Betrothal, so of course, I thought I’d mention his name here today. The review says “The novel is set in early nineteenth century Edinburgh, which the author describes with vivid realism.”

Reviews are precious and so much appreciated.

Xerxes is Persian in origin and means something like king, ruler, monarch. It was used for several of the Persian kings in and around the 5th century BC so it’s a bit tautological – if that’s a word.

Like the other names beginning with X, Xanthe, Xavier, Xander, the name Xerxes is pronounced with an initial sounding Z. One name that has an initial sounding X is Excaliber because in English pronunciation the E is needed to render a soft x hard.

Excaliber was the name given to the legendary Arthur’s sword – you know, the one he pulled from the stone. Hunting for a meaning for excaliber is interesting if imprecise. There’s general agreement that Caliburn is an option and that the word may mean simply sword. Although like yesterday’s Winston and Churchill, it has been taken over for advertising ends, there doesn’t seem to be more than the one example of its use – as Arthur’s legendary sword.

Today is the final day when you can access MuseItUp’s April sale for Bella’s Betrothal.

BELLA’S BETROTHAL at a special price till April 28th:

Amazon UK http://goo.gl/P3lmzk US http://goo.gl/7mh8FI  AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1

Ca http://goo.gl/1j33Tk

Kobo http://goo.gl/k0b8SN

MuseItUp http://goo.gl/f0zFKa

/apple itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id713274218

smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/355001

A – Z Challenge W is for Winston

Spitfire by Bernie Condon at FreeDigitalPhots.net

 

Winston Churchill was Britain’s Prime Minister through the years of World War II. Not a young man when he achieved this honour, he’d seen active service in wars as early as the late nineteenth century when he served in South Africa.

Both Winston and Churchill have become iconic names synonymous with reliability, tenacity and many other good qualities of an enduring nature. Whether the aristocratic Dukes of Marlborough from whom Winston Churchill is directly descended would enjoy being used to advertise car insurance in the shape of a bulldog eating chips with Dawn French, begs more than one question.

And that is the point of this post. Big fleas have little fleas. A really good name, idea slogan, sketch or event attracts imitators and imitations. It’s in part flattery. It’s in part laziness. It’s in part cultural.

It’s always because the original tapped into the general consciousness and WAS GOOD.

Choosing character names is notoriously difficult. Hard consonants at the beginning, in the middle, towards the end? Sibilants? Too many ending in A? Too many starting with a particular letter? Not Scottish enough? Too Scottish? Not archaic enough? Too archaic?

Still, it’s a great job. Are you a writer? What’s your character naming bugbear?

 

 

BELLA’S BETROTHAL at a special price till April 28th:

Amazon UK http://goo.gl/P3lmzk US http://goo.gl/7mh8FI  AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1

Ca http://goo.gl/1j33Tk

Kobo http://goo.gl/k0b8SN

MuseItUp http://goo.gl/f0zFKa

/apple itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id713274218

smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/355001

A – Z Challenge V is for Vince’s Visibility

Visibility is not a name. I know. Trying to find a name starting with V has brought up lots of lovely people.

People like Vesna, Veronica, Veena, Veta are known to me.

You’re maybe getting my drift. Lovely folk, but none of them universal or in one of my novels; and none of them villains.

Villains have appeared on a lot of blogs and are of great interest to the writer. I love writing my villains, if only I’d thought to call one of them Vince, and I think that stems from the degree of complication I can craft into them.

Villainy is not always visible and in fact succeeds the better if it’s hidden. Bella’s Betrothal has a villain called Graham Direlton. To start with he’s the universal bogeyman, but that changes…

BELLA’S BETROTHAL at a special price till April 28th:

Amazon UK http://goo.gl/P3lmzk US http://goo.gl/7mh8FI  AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1

Ca http://goo.gl/1j33Tk

Kobo http://goo.gl/k0b8SN

MuseItUp http://goo.gl/f0zFKa

/apple itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id713274218

smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/355001

A – Z challenge U is for Ulverscroft

ULVERSCROFT is a large print publishing house. Within the Umbrella title are FA Thorpe and Linford Romance.

Last year I submitted my debut novel Mariah’s Marriage to Ulverscroft for their consideration. I’d seen an article by Sarah Quirke on the Romantic Novelists’ Association blog, October scroll down, which offered advice on how to submit. Her acceptance arrived among the electronic Christmas cards and was a lovely surprise. Mariah’s Marriage will appear in the Linford Romance line next year, probably in February.

Large print was for children for such a long time. but as the market changed when people began to live longer and their eyesight suffered the effects of age, it came into its own for adults as well. My mum had damage to her eyes as a side-effect of diabetes and reached the stage when she couldn’t cope with ordinary print. Finding a box of discontinued large print library books at a sale was such a wonderful event for her. Now there are shelves and shelves of them in my local library: and all much read.

So, look out for Mariah’s Marriage from Ulverscroft early next year. In the meantime, it’s available as below:

Mariah’s Marriage is available from most online book shops. A continuation of one of its characters will be published shortly by MuseItUp, Daisy’s Dilemma.

Mariah’s Marriage amazon UK http://goo.gl/4LWt1H , US http://goo.gl/JjY907 Ca http://goo.gl/n8e7Jt AU http://goo.gl/koHXW9 kobo http://goo.gl/LaFygG

Bella’s Betrothal, set in Edinburgh 1826, is on special offer till April 28th. For 99c @ AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1 .

The rest of the world:

Amazon UK http://goo.gl/P3lmzk US http://goo.gl/7mh8FI  AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1

Ca http://goo.gl/1j33Tk

Kobo http://goo.gl/k0b8SN

MuseItUp http://goo.gl/f0zFKa

/apple itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id713274218

smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/355001

A – Z challenge T is for Tobias

TOBIAS is the hero of my debut novel, Mariah’s Marriage He’s everything a young lady of fashion in 1822 might dream of.

An earl. A former soldier. A one-time second son – so less stuffy than if bred to the job. He has that touch of arrogance a regency heroine delights to tame and he dresses well.

“Tilly, is Papa in the downstairs study?” she asked the maid, who was agog at the appearance of her escort. Mariah had forgotten how circumscribed their lives were. Of course Tilly would be interested in the earl’s tailored wool coat with his spotless waistcoat and carefully tied neck cloth. The men who normally visited here wore ill-fitting garments which were often stained with food. Not only that, but the earl had a clean-shaven face and the hair of his head was trimmed into a neat style that allowed his strong bones to be seen easily. Seen and admired, she thought.

In addition his name is from the Hebrew and means something like God’s goodness. What more could that young lady want?

Now, my first encounter with Tobias might well have been in the Toby of Toby jugs. Toby jugs are those much loved little , well, jugs, cast in the shape of an olde worlde gentleman with double-breasted coat and ruffles and a broad brimmed hat. People enjoy collecting them.

I’ve mentioned before how difficult it is to think of character names that stand out, but don’t betray the period. There were so few in circulation. Tobias holds lots of attraction for the romantic author, not least because it shortens admirably to Toby. That would be indicative of a growing warmth between the H & H and not of any pottery classes.

Mariah’s Marriage is available from most online book shops. A continuation of one of its characters will be published shortly by MuseItUp, Daisy’s Dilemma.

Mariah’s Marriage amazon UK http://goo.gl/4LWt1H , US http://goo.gl/JjY907 Ca http://goo.gl/n8e7Jt AU http://goo.gl/koHXW9 kobo http://goo.gl/LaFygG

 

Bella’s Betrothal, set in Edinburgh 1826, is on special offer till April 28th. For 99c @ AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1 .

The rest of the world:

Amazon UK http://goo.gl/P3lmzk US http://goo.gl/7mh8FI  AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1

Ca http://goo.gl/1j33Tk

Kobo http://goo.gl/k0b8SN

MuseItUp http://goo.gl/f0zFKa

/apple itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id713274218

smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/355001

A-Z Challenge S is for Stenhouse

STENHOUSE is a Scottish geographic surname and according once more to the erudite George F. Black, after the barony in Larbert, Stirlingshire. The first appearance of the name is around 1200 in written records when John de Stanhus acted as witness to a gift.

I once paid for two hours genealogical research of Stenhouse as part of a fund-raising effort. (Actually my husband bought it for me as a birthday gift.) One of the most interesting results was to discover how very male the family was. Right through the 19th century each spur of four, five or six children produced a greater number of males than females.

Another interesting, if useless, factoid was how many of those men married women called Janet. In one case where the man married three wives, two of them were called Janet. Saves embarrassment, I suppose.

Like most Scots families, Stenhouses turn up all over the world. Miners, bankers and Polar explorers float to the surface. i even found a hardback book by a Stenhouse from Newcastle, but the family were in ship-building and had moved from the West coast of Scotland half a generation earlier, when I was looking into arctic issues in the library.

Why use a pseudonym? Well, the other surname is Graham. And my goodness there are a lot of Anne Grahams out there. The publishing house that took one of my plays has one in Dorset, for example. So despite all those 19th century males, I’ve stuck with my maiden name. As yet, there’s been little confusion.

Do you use your own name? What prompted that choice?

Bella’s Betrothal, set in Edinburgh 1826, is on special offer till April 28th. For 99c @ AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1 .

The rest of the world:

Amazon UK http://goo.gl/P3lmzk US http://goo.gl/7mh8FI  AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1

Ca http://goo.gl/1j33Tk

Kobo http://goo.gl/k0b8SN

MuseItUp http://goo.gl/f0zFKa

/apple itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id713274218

smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/355001

A – Z challenge R is for Reuben

Reuben is the name I’ve chosen for the hero of my upcoming release with MuseItUp, Daisy’s Dilemma. It’s available to pre-order from MIU here and will be coming soon on other platforms.

Back to the blog in hand. What does Reuben mean? Simply son and probably from the Hebrew.

As to why I chose that name, I think I liked its strength and felt it was slightly old-fashioned in the way I needed it to be old-fashioned. One of the things the historical romance is up against is the fact that there were very few first names in general use. You’ve got to be imaginative, that’s part of what writers do, and here comes Reuben.

There are several contemporary and recent Rubens in the US music world and I discovered John Wayne played a character called Reuben ‘Rooster’ Cogburn – Hmn, not sure that helps my cause.

I’m just that little bit in love with my own Reuben at present and hope you will be, too. Look out for him – soonish. Anne

Bella’s Betrothal, set in Edinburgh 1826, is on special offer till April 28th. For 99c @ AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1 .

The rest of the world:

Amazon UK http://goo.gl/P3lmzk US http://goo.gl/7mh8FI  AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1

Ca http://goo.gl/1j33Tk

Kobo http://goo.gl/k0b8SN

MuseItUp http://goo.gl/f0zFKa

/apple itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id713274218

smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/355001

A – Z challenge Q is for Quarraalia

Quarraalia is an Australian aboriginal name and means a star.

How many people with this name do I know? Well, from my one visit to Australia, none. Finding names beginning with Q wasn’t too difficult, but finding names of people I know or characters I have encountered was much more difficult. It’s not an initial letter much used for names that depend on the English or Gaelic languages.

I jumped in with Quintus – fifth child. I did study Latin at school. I may know someone called Quentin although I’m not putting any money on it. I think JK Rowling named that cat with a Q, but it’s a long time since I read the books and two mins on google prove me so wrong, it’s embarrassing.

Then I wondered about Queenie. Comfortably cockney and sort of fifties. Again I could not produce one known to me. So I thought it might be time to look at other cultures.

There are lots of boys names and some girls names starting with Q when you travel east of the UK, which is where I am. Again, I recognise many, but don’t know anyone personally or fictionally. Having come to that conclusion, I thought I might just pick one that appealed to me and here she is – Quarraalia – many variations of spelling are available but all the sites I looked at say the meaning is Star. Sounds good, bright, sparkly and full of promise.

Are there wonderful people called Q??? in your life? who are they?

 

Bella’s Betrothal is on special offer till April 28th. For 99c @ AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1  you can discover what Bella did when Charles told her not to scream.

The rest of the world, too:

Amazon UK http://goo.gl/P3lmzk US http://goo.gl/7mh8FI  AU http://goo.gl/3yj8U1

Ca http://goo.gl/1j33Tk

Kobo http://goo.gl/k0b8SN

MuseItUp http://goo.gl/f0zFKa

/apple itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id713274218

smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/355001