Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Would it Smell as Sweet?

Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet?
Say, if roses were humperdinks instead, would we like them as much?
I still love hydrangeas, although I'm not a fan of their name. I think it makes them sound deranged. I prefer them when I think of them as snowball-bushes.
I'm in the midst of a character (re)naming.
It's the middle of the night, (1.54 to be precise) and I'm finally getting some editing done after a holiday hiatus... and... I keep seeing one name and stopping. It's just not right.
My character is small and sharp, vivid and mercurial. A barista (with a degree in International Relations her mum nagged her into getting) she's the eldest and mama wolf of five sisters who re-discover the magical world of their childhood. And I need the perfect name for her.
She's a secondary character in the book I'm editing, but she'll be a primary in a book I write later in the year. (Overly Caffeinated Werewolves Are Not Pretty - yay for a great excuse to drink A LOT of coffee and do some intensive pinteresting!)
And she started off (years ago) as Chardie. I know. I don't know what I was thinking either. I must have been momentarily deranged. And not in a nice hydrangea-y way. In a totally flipped way.
I moved on to Bella. But realised that a certain vampire series makes that name a bit used. Passe. Old hat. Which is a shame, as I loved it until the whole Twilight thing was pointed out to me and I deflated.
I moved on to Belle. But then realised as the main character is called Nell... that's not quite where I want to go. Nell-Belle, Pell-Mell. Sigh.
So now I'm searching for a name. The name. The one that sings.
Midnight inspiration... please strike soon.
Something short (a diminutive of a longer, elegant name preferably), something sharp. Something that makes you think of an edgy, no-nonsense, latently were-wolf, coffee snob? Preferably ending in something other than L, O, A or Y.
Not that I'm picky or anything.
Midnight inspiration please strike soon... soon... soon... Sigh.
Looks like I'll be hitting the name books tomorrow.


5 comments:

  1. Catriona, with Cat for short? Eleanor/Nora?

    I met a bartender who was INCREDIBLE...her name was LZ (rather than Elsie), for Elizabeth. She was spunky, imaginative, a little snobby...and a fantastic creator of high-end cocktails. :-)

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  2. I love Cat - but I'm using the name for another book this year! I'll think about the others... A creator of high-end cocktails sounds excellent... let me ponder...

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  3. How about Lys, Angie (Angharad) , Leah, Jenet, Mel or Sine (Melusine)

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  4. I'm thinking of Mia at the moment (short for Mariama) or possible Tash short for Tatiana. I looked for wolf names but wasn't sure of Lupe or Lupita..Although Lu short for Lupita might work...

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  5. Or maybe Liv.. short for Olivia... but then thee's the Olivia show on tv about the little pig... I'd always hear the theme!

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