What’s in a Name?
For certain characters, we agonize over picking just the right name. Maybe it has to have a certain sound. Perhaps, a certain meaning. Maybe it’s as simple as starting (or not starting) with a particular letter so that multiple characters don’t get mixed up (either by ourselves when writing them or by our readers when reading them).
When creating my fictional world, the names of some places and things were simply made up. For instance, two of the countries are Falsin and Andria, purely random names. Others were intentional, such as Ceynes (playing on a certain misguided economist) and Agoran (a stateless society, so it has a free market). The home of the magi, Jadu’n, as well as the names of the magi ranks are all inspired by Hindi words, while words for things in the country of Falsin are inspired by Turkish words.
As for characters, sometimes I have to give a character a name with a particular meaning even if the reader never catches on to it. Maybe I need someone’s name to mean brave or truth, because it reflects the character. Perhaps a character is strong or a good friend, and needs to be named accordingly. Sometimes, when I get stuck, I just look at my customer list or at the author names in my library and pick a random one that sounds cool (Shain Ahren from Second Drafts was a combination of those).
For the Treble and the Lost Boys trilogy, the character names were very precisely chosen. Since the three stories play on opposites, I needed the MCs names to reflect that in some way.
In Ice on Fire, there is Zac Cinder (firey, energetic, can’t sit still, and his nickname is even Blaze) versus Adrian Frost (controlled, methodical, precise, contained). Book 2, Heavens Aground, features Ryley Skye (laid-back, whimsical, can’t take anything seriously) paired with Asher Arden (earthy, hardened, and serious). And in book 3, Illumined Shadows, we have Victor Lucius (the man who brings injustices to light) who rescues Colby (a boy who only feels safe in the dark).
Zac, Ryley, and Vic are all part of a band, Treble. That name sounds deliberate (musical implications, as well as implying something in threes), but it came about purely by accident. I threw the name into my WIP as a placeholder only to realize that it was too fitting to change. Sometimes I get lucky that way.
Zac Cinder is on the verge of making his dream come true. His punk rock band, Inferno, might have a shot at an audition for a record deal. Fame and fortune would mean he could finally help his parents. They’d raised eight kids in a loving household while barely scraping by, so Zac is determined to give back in any way he can.
Keeping Inferno together, though, means keeping his biggest secret. His bigoted bandmates would drop him in an instant if they found out Zac was gay.
Then he meets Adrian Frost, and Zac can’t resist the shy man. Adrian gives up everything to be with Zac, but Zac can’t bring himself to do the same. He doesn’t want to lose Adrian, but he can’t give up Inferno, either. Not when he’s so close to realizing his dream.
When one cruel decision rips Adrian from his life, Zac will have to decide if ambition is worth the price of the greatest happiness he’s ever known.
(Note: This story takes place in a fictional world, the same as in the Shifting Isles Series. There are multiple gods, different names for the days of the week, etc. A glossary is included.)
WARNING: Contains scenes of self-harm that may be disturbing for some readers.
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While daylighting as office manager for the family auto repair business, G.R. Lyons can often be found working on one of multiple manuscripts or desperately trying to keep up with the TBR pile.
Anarcho-capitalist, quietly ‘out’ trans guy, former belly dancer, coffee guzzler, highly-sensitive introvert, CrossFit enthusiast, and lover of m/m romantic fiction.
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