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Guestpost Author Carolyn Crane + Giveaway
Filed in Carolyn Crane , Guest Post , The Geeky Lover Posted on September 27, 2010 @ 6:00 am
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We are really proud to have Author Caroline Crane here at Book Lovers Inc today. Double Cross, book 2 in her Disillusionist Trilogy will be released tomorrow and today she is here to talk about names and how she finds the right one for her characters. Believe me you don’t want to miss this. At the end you also get a little surprise. Please give Carolyn a warm welcome.
All about names
Hi! First, I want to thank Book Lovers, Inc. so much for having me here on the eve of my release! I’m so glad to be here! Hi everybody!
Okay, I’m posting about names today. And, one of the funny things with names is the reaction of Susi to the names in the Disillusionist Trilogy. I asked if I could mini-interview her for part of the post, and she graciously agreed.
Carolyn: Hi Susi! So, okay, you know I really loved and appreciated your review of Mind Games. Though, I couldn’t help noticing certain names threw you off. Specifically, Otto and Helmut as German grandpa names! LOL. Can you say a bit more about your associations with those names?
Susi: Hey Carolyn! Yes I was really surprised by those names. Here in Germany both are mostly reserved for the 50+ crowd. Helmut was BFs grandpa’s name. When I first met him he was already 82 years old and one of the nicest persons I ever met. Such a caring and loving man but also old. We also have Helmut Schmidt, at 92 the oldest living German Chancellor and Helmut Kohl also an ex Chancellor who just celebrated his 80th birthday this year. I think this name was in the top ten of most used German names in the 1920s/30s. Now it’s not even in the top 100.
Carolyn: What’s funny is that, when I was in college I had this friend who was almost named Helmut, an old family name, but instead he got a really common name, and everybody agreed it was too bad he didn’t get Helmut, because it seemed sort of radical and punk rock. It reminded me of the word helmet.
And Otto, to me, says, dark and mysterious and gothic. But, in a handsome, intriguing way. Not so much for you? Just as bad as Helmut?
Susi: For Otto it’s even worse. I live in Magdeburg which is also called Ottostadt (Otto-City). We are named after the famous Ottonian dynasty which was from 919-1024, so a very long time ago. This time got it’s name from those three men:
* Otto I the Great, First Holy Roman Emperor and Duke of Saxony, died 973
* Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor, died 983
* Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, died 1002
So you can see this name was spoiled for me a long time ago. But there is another fact that makes Otto un-sexy for me. The silliness that is Otto Waalkes. He is a Germany comedian with lets say not the most stunning hair cut and he is really the impersonation of being silly. And imagine how I felt when the suggestion of your Otto being bald influenced me when I had this picture in my head.
Carolyn: OMG! That is so funny. That is terrible. That cap! You are, like, ruining Otto for ME now! So, you have trouble picturing a handsome and virile Otto? Is this interfering with the sex scenes?
Susi: Yes for me it was problematic at first to picture Otto in sex scenes but believe me Helmut would have been worse. But surprisingly that vanished while reading. At first Otto is just far away so I had no real connection to his character and my head just made him one of the many Ottos. But when he started to actively be part of the story my picture of him changed and I didn’t care so much any longer.
Carolyn: That’s good. To think I found the names Helmut and Otto darkly exotic. I think, if the book ever sells in Germany, maybe that name needs to be changed! Or even anywhere in Europe. LOL. What do you think?
Susi: I asked a few friends about this and they all said that it’s completely weird and that they can’t imagine how anyone can think about Otto and Helmut as being exotic. But it could have been worse. There are even worse names out there. But I think it’s just natural. I know that many French names I find nice are also old people’s names in France.
Thanks so much Susi!
Names and characters
This is so funny. Especially that Otto Waalkes. OMG. Anyway, it’s not that easy to name characters, because, obviously, everybody has different associations with names, because they’ve known people with names like that.
I had this old writing mentor who often pointed that out. He always said, you have to make sure the names mean something on a linguistic level, and suggested that I look at baby name websites that say what the names mean, and go at names from that perspective, instead of just who I’ve randomly met with certain names.I actually did think about word roots with Justine. Obviously, Justine is related to the English word “justice” and to me, Justine is a character who really struggles with trying to be fair and do the right thing.
With Sterling Packard, l like it as a metaphor for Packard, who I see as tarnished on the outside, pure in the middle, and it polishes up pretty nicely. Just like some of the sterling silver jewelry I have. But,
But I didn’t follow that advice entirely. The name Simon, I will have to admit, comes from my favorite character in Somerset Maugham’s “Christmas Holiday.” I was using it as a placeholder, and it just stuck. And, Shelby is actually the brand name of my favorite pair of corduroy pants! Oh well.
Really wrong names
So I’m working on this paranormal romance series right now, and I had the villain named Moco. And my agent read it, and she was like, you can’t name him that! Moco means booger in Spanish! So I changed it (to Hyko! which, I know, is like the German name Heiko. What do I have with German names?) but thank goodness I found that out.
It reminds me of when Chevrolet came out with the Chevy Nova, and then they couldn’t understand why it sold so poorly in Mexico and South America, until they were informed that “nova” sort of means “does not go” in Spanish.
Hurricanes & trying to affect reality with names
One of the things that happens in Double Cross, and this isn’t a spoiler, but Otto becomes mayor, and makes this decree that serial killers can’t have cool names anymore. They can only have stupid names. And, the names will be picked like hurricane names, from a pre-established pool that goes in order.
I got that idea from hurricanes: there is this pre-set roster for hurricane names – you can find out if an upcoming hurricane will be named after you here [http://www.hurricane.com/hurricane-names.php]. Incidentally, there will be a hurricane Otto this year.
Anway, Otto chooses names like, Dork, Doofus, Dickweed. So then, these serial killers pop up in Midcity, and they end up being named “the Dorks.” Otto is really idealistic, and he hopes an uncool name will help them seem less cool.
I don’t know if that would really work in real life. Sometimes I think that the Beatles is a really stupid name, but the band “the Beatles” is hugely admired and influential and they have totally transcended the name, they made it mean strong good things, instead of the other way around.
What do you think?
So tell me, do you have favorite names?
Or, what names that would TOTALLY ruin a character for you?
What is the most UNSEXY or otherwise terrible name for a hero or heroine you can think of?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~*~*~Giveaway~*~*~
~*~*~Giveaway~*~*~
Thanks to Carolyn we have a wonderful giveaway. You can win your own copy of Mind Games or Double Cross- your choice.
You just have to comment with an answer to one of the above questions for a chance to win a book!
The Giveaway is open to everyone! International entries are very welcome!
Please leave us a way to contact you (Email addy in blogger profile or a twitter is fine. No contact- no win).
The contest ends on Saturday October 9th and we will announce the winner on Sunday.
Good Luck!
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The name of my sister's boyfriend or anyone related to me (John, Jason and Gabriel respectively) alas would turn me off a book, unless like with Gabriel (my 1 yr old little brother) I can still read the ones I read before he was born. These days I have to be really intrigued by a book and it has to have good reviews for me to pick up a book with a hero name Gabriel! (It's a common romance novel hero name too -___-)
Bob is a turn off, so is Barry, Greg- cause I had a horrible manager named Greg, he was such an a**hole (though I can forgive Gregory). I'm sure there's more but these are all I can recall atm.
@Envyious on twitter
Funny!
I recently read a book where heroine's name is Mila – in Croatian it means something like ‘sweet’. This was tough heroine and her name was just wrong, wrong, wrong. It distracted me so much that I decided to call her Mia (without L) so that her name doesn't mean anything in Croatian 🙂
Hehe, that is an interesting question.
I would have to say that there are a few names that are really a turn-off for me.
Names like Bob, Donald, Stu,Glenn or Zeke (I really hate Zeke and I don't know why) lol
As for women… Hmm, i don't like Cleo, Samantha, Mary or some of the unisex names like Presley or Donovan.
Enter me please if it is international! XD
Kelly / yvantis@hotmail.com
I personally don't really like the very common names like John, George etc or others like Stuart, Gilbert, Bob…
vicky.vak8(at)gmail.com
I'm from the Netherlands which is right next to Germany and must say Helmut and Otto do not sound 'old' to me, but I must confess that Otto is a family name (my brother has Otto as a middle name.)
As for names that throw me out of a story: that would be names of people who I know, but luckily I know mostly dutch people so the only names that turn up from time to time are Leo and Eric.
Unsexy names:
Sylvia and Wilma
I associate (sp) both with unsexy persons I know, so anyone called Sylvia or Wilma please don't hit me, it's nothing personal except for those two people :-p
Thanks again for coming over Carolyn.
So I just thought about the question this morning and I have a few I can't stand at all too:
Sören, Malte and Torben for the men and something on the line of Cassidy-Cheyenne for a woman. Perhaps you have to watch German tv to understand that one. *shudders* So bad.
Can't wait to read all your answers.
I think we've all got names we associate with people we don't like, or ex's. I won't name any because I don't want to hurt any feelings. I do like Aidan, Michael, Dawson, Payton and Lily.
seriousreader at live dot com
i hate the names hugo, frank, freddie, bob, dick, robbie, ricky, jeff, pat, paul…
k_anon[at]hotmail[dot]co[dot]uk
Hi Carolyn and Susi!
The only names I have any real trouble with are heroes with the same names as my kids, lol, I always imagine another name when I run into a hero with one of their names. After all, what's the chance that their name is never going to be used?
LOL
Thanks for a great mini-interview and an excellent post!
Dottie 🙂
Hello good interview
I think a bad name for me would be Garfunkel.. Bleh!!
Lol
Kuuipo228@gmail.com
It's funny you'd talk about names because fiance and I were talking about possible names for our kids this week end lol and we don't have the same taste at all! We settled for Joshua, Gabriel and Angela though. YAY!
Now for names that would kill a character, well I'm french Canadian and I can think of TONS of old french names. Here are some exemples: Pierrette (female, french version of Peter), Gertrude, Gaetan (My great uncle name), Philomene (My great-grandma name), Anatole. Yeah we have some "special name" out there haha.
Thanks for the giveaway =) I'd love to win Double Cross, I really loved Mind Games!
TyngaUF(a)gmail.com
It's funny, I personally don't like the name Harry but 2 of my most favorite heroes are named Harry (Harry Pye from Hoyt's, The Leopard Prince & Harry Braxton from Brockway's, As You Desire).
I really do not like heroes named William because that is my brother's name. Just too weird & icky.
I like Eve, Ava, Mina for heroines. For heroes I like Luke, Reece, Gabriel.
Twitter name: (@scorpio1m)
I always liked the name Giovanna, and I happened to have married an Italian, so when I found out I was having a girl, it fit. But I wanted to pay a little homage to my late grandfather, George, and avoid hearing my Long Island in-laws pronounce the end with a short 'a' (like Anna), so Geovana Phoenix was born.
And I think "Do it to me, Milton/Marvin," would be uber-silly.
b(dot)cardone(at)hotmail
Hey everybody! Thanks for dropping by. Oh, first I should say,
this giveaway *** IS INTERNATIONAL. **
Because, hey! Book Lovers Inc is such an international blog.
Also, my own name fail? A heroine named Mildred. I think Boris would be a bad hero name. For me. Or, Manly.
Oh…this year I've been encountering really cool hero's names, and you guys know what? I realized the other day that my favorite 3 have something in common, just listen: Valek (my absolute favorite eheh), Marak, and Kartik. They all end up with a “k”, go figure! I just love how these names sound like, and don't ask me why, because I don't know.
jen7waters(at)gmail(dot)com
I have always liked the name dimitri, i remember the character in the disney's Anastasia movie had it and it always stuck. I also like the name Kane or Alexander. I don't like the name Aidan, peter, john, bob…etc haha.
thanks for the contest!
Van
Littopandaxpress(at)yahoo(Dot)com
Lol, Susi, I totally get the grandpa names. Always when there is some Swede or something in a movie they are called Gunnar, Sven, or a woman, Inga. yeah grandpa names! My grandpa is over 80 and he is the youngest Sven I know. There was a Gunnar in the village too, but he is dead now, and do not now anyone young with that name.
Fave names, oh yes, Isabella (though Twilight is kind of ruining it for me 🙁 Adrian, Connor, Ariana
Well, grandpa names from my part of the world
…unsexy, hm, Hugo, why, dunno
blodeuedd1 at gmail dot com
I didn't forget you Carolyn *waves frantically* I promise to read your book, soon, it's on my xmas wishlist that I have told people about, lol.
Great discussion on names! I admit, Otto does not bring to mind dark and sexy to me 🙂 But, the worst name I can think of right now is Boris – all I can think of is the cartoon and that's just not sexy!
Sarah M
smaccall@comcast.net
Yay Carolyn!
The name Otto makes me snicker. The name definitely impedes on my ability to think of Otto as sexy. That, and the beret, which I think is cool, but not sexy. lol. Sterling is an odd one, but I dated a guy whose middle name was Sterling, so I've been exposed to it and find it interesting. I love the name Justine. Fantastico!
My favorite boy name is Tristan, all thanks to the movie Legends of the Fall. 🙂 Also, the name Jace is SOOOO sexy. It exudes sex, to me. Yum-o.
Thanks Susi and Carolyn!
SmashAttackReads at gmail dot com
This is SUCH a great post! I really laughed a lot. Names are very interesting.
We discussed this , Susi and I, and we have names that really ruin it for us.
Me? I have French names that really really disgust me. Many French characters in books are named 'Jean-Claude (*cough Anita Blake*cough*), Jean-Paul, Jean-Marie….Eeeewwwwwww
Ok those are old people names. Really it's like Susi and Otto lol.
It ruins the hotness of a character for me. =P
I love your post. I always wonder how authors come up with character names.
I do have favorite names: Wraith, Selena, Torin to name a few. The one name I don't like is Dana. I think it's because I went to school with a boy named Dana and now it's used more for girls. He was really unattractive so I think I project that onto female characters :(.
I tweeted: http://twitter.com/Jovial_1/status/25709879593
I can't think of any horrible names right now, but there are some that bother me, at least until I get used to them.
Otto is definitely unsexy name for me, too. It's relatively common name here in Finland but it is also the text that appears on all the ATMs (I'm not sure that is the word, I mean cash machines). So most of the time it just brings to mind an orange-white sign that tells you where to get cash. 😉
musmekipi at gmail dot com
I like the names Erik, Lars, Conall, Neal, Owen, Michael, Sebastian, Quinn or Dougal.
The names I don't like for characters are Percy, Nigel, Claude, Oscar, Alfred, or Bruce.
Elmer is the most terrible name for a hero I can think of and
Bertha is the worst for a woman.
Actually, I like Otto and Helmut. I guess whatever country you live in have their favorite and least favorite names.
Any name that is from my family is just too weird for a hero or heroine. Can't really think of them as sexy….yuck!!!
heatwave96(at)hotmail.com
Somehow the names that end in "ld" are not sexy: Ronald, Donald, and Harold. Blech.
Some of the older names are bad, too, like Lemuel or Ignatius.
Another icky one is Milt (which is also what fish sperm is called – ew).
ironss[at]gmail.com
I love unique but easy to say names. Names with word play is always fun.
Names like Ole, Leena, Butch, Olga, Ruth, Gertrude… those would all ruin a character for me.
I would love to win Double Cross!
robin [at] intensewhisper [dot] com
For me, i think the worst names would be that of a really bad ex boyfriend. I don't think I could read about a hero with the same name. Thanks for the contest!
inthehammockblog at gmail dot com
Love the names Joshua and Jacob but wouldn't like for them to be heroes in romance novels cause I Used the for my sons lol
This sounds like a great series. And I'd love to win the first one.
scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com
I love uncommon names but not so uncommon that they are weird. I just think names like Alex, John, Mary, or Stephanie are rather plain and overused. Something like Apple would be a weird name in my opinion. So anything that is in the middle between those. 🙂
These books sound great and I would love to win the second book because I have the first one on my shelves.
apk1princess@live.com
I don't know which was more fun to read–the post discussion or all these comments!! I giggled through both!
I'm of German descent and have to admit that the name Otto through me for a loop for a wee bit in Mind Games because I had a very kind and jovial Uncle Otto and I couldn't help but picture him in my head whenever I read about Otto Sanchez. Fortunately, though, I was able to shake the image pretty quickly.
I have name issues mostly if the hero has my husband's name or the heroine has my name.
Tynga!! You freaked me out with your name choices for your kids! My best friend's name is Angela and two of her three children's names are Joshua and a Gabriel! It was weird–but fun weird– to see you list those three names together! ; )
The worst name I come across in books is Richard. Why? Because the nickname for Richard is Dick. And as soon as I see Richard I immediately assume he is a dick and won't see anything redeeming in his character. Ever.
(I am one of those people who insist Dumbledore was evil all along).
I used to think Kyle was the sexist name ever…..but now I have a roommate names Kyle and it has become weirdly unsexy for me.
cass at feministdracona dot net
Usually, I just try to go with whatever names are in the story and not let them distract me. The one thing that drives me crazy though are unisex names. They pull me out of the story every time because they just sound wrong. For example, Rowan – male? female? I've seen it both ways and I hate it.
jen at delux dot com
I'm really not a fan of the more common names. I love unique names and I think it makes the character stand out more and makes them more unique. I don't think there really is a name that I really frowned upon…YET 🙂 I did come across a character in a book once with a name of a friend of my husbands, and the character was a 7 year old boy. That threw me off a little because every time the boy was mentioned a picture of my husbands friend flashed in my head. Sometimes with the unique names I'm always concerned if I am prounouncing them right, I never know. I would love to have someone use my last name in a book as a last name for a character, I have fun with my married name, it makes life interesting 🙂 I think a character in a book could have fun with it too 🙂
june111@att.net
I generally don't like names that are over-used, sometimes somewhat unique names can be very refreshing, so long as they don't go over the top and just sound silly.
I'm Austrian and I would have a hard time enjoying reading a book with a heroine named Gretchen for example.
Also terrible would be a name like Willibert for a hero, because it would sound silly (to my ears).
But the worst choice I can think of right now, for a man would be Dieter.
I have similiar feelings regarding the names Otto and Helmut.
I had a great-great-uncle named Otto and I think it's a name that hasn't been used much in a long time, but Ottmar would be worse in a way…XD
Anyway thanks a lot for the great giveaway, I'm happy that it's open for international-readers♥
The interview was fun to read too.
It would be awesome if I could win either Mind Games or Double Cross.
eveningreen (at) gmail (dot) com
I loved Otto's name, but I think it's because for me in the UK, it is quite exotic!
I think if a character is called something along the lines of Draken, Duke, Sylvester, names like that would put me off.
josielefay(@)yahoo.co.uk
My Mum was a grade school teacher and she came to the conclusion that
Jason = bad boy
Martin = naughty but nice
It is amazing how accurate this analysis is!
eva.s.black[@]gmail[.]com
I love the names
Garbriel or Micheal for angels
Jace or Christian for good hot guys
I hate simple names like Tom or Bill
Billy is not bad for a bad boy.
chaarmedone1512@aol.com
Favorite Names:
Jade
Lily
Rose
Names that would ruin a character for me:
Tiana
Misha
Unsexy and terrible names for a hero:
Frank
chidoryx AT hotmail DOT com
I like my heroines to have simple names, but don't care for it in my hero names… I prefer names like Drako, Curran, Quinn, Doyle, and other nicknames…Franks, Gregs, Bobs don't do it for me.
ladyrogue(at)ymail(dot)com
I'm soooo sorry, but I had to laugh while reading the post – I saw Otto Waalkes just yesterday live at a show and now I can't imagine to read a book with an Otto *gg*
therefore 'Otto' is at the top of my no-go list of names!
greetings, Ina
I'm always a fan of characters whose name means something to them or to the author. As for names that turn me off are name that I can't pronounce. Some books have it so that they'll have a phonetic spelling. Overall, it depends on the character. I agree certain name are "type casted" but if it fits with the character then I can't complain.
spettolij AT gmail DOT com
Names are a tricky business when it comes to fiction. I think much of the names of the character. Most of the times I grew to love the name because of the character.
okibi_insanity[at]yahoo[dot]com
Sure, I have fave names.
usually classic and common names but with a modern twist ,
e.g 'Faith' becomes 'Faythe' or 'Elissa' becomes 'Alyssa'
regards,
maidenhealer@hotmail.com
I love the questions posed. I feel like I actually need to do research or something to answer them fully.
I don't have any favorite names, I think the character (of a character) is more important. Sometimes names will feel off in comparison to actual character. I think a name should fit but it doesn't have to be radically unique. Like naming your heroine Radish, "Rad" for short, just to be different would be horrible. And I think unsexy names can be fun, it can be an interesting contrast if the character is supposed to be sexy but her/his name completely isn't. It reminds me of Vaughn's Kitty the werewolf. I think it depends really if you want a character's name to play a big role or a smaller one.
patronus89013 at yahoo dot com
I don't know that I have favorite names but I hate when the main character's name is something I can't pronounce and end up having to give him a nickname. I also have when two or more characters have names that are similar (as I tend to mix them up and can't remember who did what).
I follow on GFC.
(\___/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")
alterlisa AT yahoo DOT com
http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.blogspot.com
No need to enter me in the contest, I have both books. 🙂
Just had to stop by and say I enjoyed this interview! 🙂 Great to have it reversed a little and the names thing. Oh Susi, sorry the names have such a different feel. ;D Great comments!
I don't really have name preferences, but now that you've asked… I like the name Zarek… maybe because he is a favourite character? 😉
Re-posted your contest at: http://contests-freebies.blogspot.com/2010/10/win-mind-games-or-double-cross-at-book.html
Twitted: http://twitter.com/#!/cherrymischivus/status/26110339643
Cherry Mischievous
cherrymischif-warrior [at] yahoo [dot] com
Okay – I'm totally a name NERD. I love names… I think picking names for my children someday is going to be super hard since I tend to overthink, lol.
So tell me, do you have favorite names?
I have general favorite name "rules" (told you I was a name nerd!) – For girls: I love names that start with "A" or "I" and end in "y" and are at least 2 syllables so you can make cute nicknames. : ) For boys: I'm a sucker for names that start with "T", "Th" or "J"… I'm not sure why, though. : )
What names that would TOTALLY ruin a character for you? What is the most UNSEXY or otherwise terrible name for a hero or heroine you can think of?
The name Clarence makes my skin crawl a little… at least for a character (I try to avoid judging actual people based on something their parents gave them). : ) Also, there are some names that I have unsavory connotations for simply based on people that I've known over the years & didn't get along with … but I suspect everyone has those, lol.
Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
ambience.of.rain {at} gmail.com
I think names that are too common, or even names of people I know, they seem weird in stories.
juliecookies(at)gmail.com
i've always loved the name aurora for a girl – i think it's a beautiful name! don't know if i have any favorite guy names….but i do like the name david, as it's my fiance's name!
bernie, ronald, donnie, stanley, herbert – names like that do not make me think sexy! in fact, i have trouble keeping a straight face just thinking about them! can't think of any horrible heroine names – guess i'll just know it when i hear it!
k_sunshine1977 at yahoo dot com
I don't think names will totally put me of a book but I would prefer that the characters not have ordinary names like Mary or John. After all we want a little escapism. 🙂
Please enter me as well.
~Chrizette
baychriz at gmail dot com
I hate it, when the heroine's name can be either male or female, because it takes me out of the story a little in the beginning. The name, that the hero really doesn't need is Jethro. That name makes me think of the Beverly Hillbillies.
marlenebreakfield(at)yahoo(dot)com
Some names I wouldn't like for a hero/heroine:
Eustace
Bob
Barbara
…that's all I can think of right now.
throuthehaze at gmail dot com
I do not like generic names. I like the characters to have names that are at least a little bit uncommon. I don't even mind outlandish names. I just hate when a name is common because I associate each name with its character. I hate to read a book with the same character name as another series I've read because its just confusing and frustrating because you have already associated that name with someone else.
kclapsadl at gmail dot com
I hate shortened version of names when it sounds very wannabe. I also dislike names like Bob . I love the name Alessandra !
mishamary@gmail.com
I get very annoyed at random vowel changes in an attempt to make a name "cool" – like when Jordan becomes Jordyn, things like that.
& Gertrude is definitely an un-sexy name!
katiealtman(at)hotmail(dot)com