What's in a name?

 As Mr. Shakespeare had Juliet say in that tragic play, 

“What's in a name? That which we call a rose 

By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Well, that might hold true for roses and your doomed lover’s surname. Thanks family feud! But when it comes to naming a character? I beg to differ. 

Here’s my story.

A couple years ago, I submitted the bones of a story to my publisher who was launching a series based in a small town. We were given a map of the town along with key details about a historic inn which had to feature in our stories. I had my characters, their goals, their wounds, their basic personalities, and their names. I signed a contract and was off to the races. Yippee. 

No, wait. 

Someone else was already using the heroine’s name in their story and they signed a contract first. My heroine’s name would have to change.

Horrors!

Calamity!

Much gnashing of teeth!

How could I give this fully formed woman who baked delicious cupcakes a new name?

What choice did I have?

So … I renamed her and the earth continued to orbit the sun. (Though it still rankles as you can probably tell.)

Now we come to my current book. 

My hero was Stan* from his first breath on the page. I spoke to Stan. I dreamed of Stan. My heroine, Jinny, fell in love with Stan. 

Stan survived the first draft, the self-edits, the cruel-to-be-kind comments from my editor. 

Until I heard from a good friend that her marriage was ending. Her husband, Stan, evidently forgot a wedding vow, the one about being faithful. Stan broke my friend’s heart.

Stan was dead to me.

The Stan in my story? He had to go. The name Stan was forever tainted. Stan would never be a hero. Were I to write a gruesome thriller, Stan would suffer. He’d suffer so much that masters of Medieval torture would avert their gaze and consider switching careers.

I had to find a new name for my hero.

It took some deep thinking and soul searching. I had to forget Stan ever existed. Wipe all molecules of the other Stan from my memory and remove any hint of a connection to the hero of my book. 

And so, Ben was born.

Holy moley, golly gee, it wasn’t easy. 

I’ll be nervous about naming my characters now. Maybe I should borrow from history, or other cultures. Or be inventive. How does Lozamda9 sound?

*name changed to protect my friend’s privacy

Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. She spends her days writing contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and historical romance. When not torturing her characters, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious. She lives in Nova Scotia with her patient husband and five hens.

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Much ado about November 1

Today is the day when ...

The Celtic winter goddess Cailleach (kal-yach, koll-yak) (hag, witch, wise crone), arrives at Samhain, from the evening of October 31 thru the evening of November 1, and reigns over winter until spring arrives at Imbolc.

The start of National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, or more simply NaNo. The entire month is devoted to writing the first draft of a novel, or at least 50,000 words. 

All Saints' Day in the Christian calendar on which all saints are celebrated, particularly those without their own special feast day. 

In Mexico, today is The Day of the Dead (Dio De Los Muertos), celebrated over two days. On November 1, the spirits of deceased children come down from heaven to reunite with their families for one day, and November 2 is reserved for honouring deceased adults.

Today is National Author’s Day, first celebrated in 1928. The best way to celebrate, in my opinion, is to buy a book!

On this day in 1896, the first bare-breasted females (Zulu tribe) appeared in the National Geographic magazine. Coincidentally, on another November 1, this time in 1914, The Bra was patented.

the Globe Theatre

The first performance of William Shakespeare’s Othello was at Whitehall Palace in London in 1604.

Now excuse me while I eat leftover Hallowe’en candy.

P.S. While researching the remarkable highlights and lowlights about this day, I discovered that apples float because over 25% of their volume is air. And now that we’re talking about apples, and because apples are in abundance this time of year (in my neck of the woods), here’s the link to the most delicious apple cake EVER.

Apple cake recipe from Smitten Kitchen

P.P.S. I used two 9x5 loaf pans – worked great.

P.P.P.S.  My holiday novella is available for pre-order! Only $1.99 for a limited time. Launch day is November 8.

A blizzard … Krista Rhodes has seen a few in her lifetime. 

Snowed in for days … once, when she was a kid. 

Trapped in a house with Dr. Dreamboat … never saw that one coming. Not only cute, he’s also funny and kind and strong and how can she resist? 

Eric Monroe has it all mapped out – drive cross-country to a new job with a brief stop to celebrate a buddy’s engagement. A giant detour with a beautiful, witty, no-nonsense woman makes the journey more fun than he ever thought possible. And bonus – he’s moving to her town.

Except she’s got something she has to do. Maybe. And he can’t ask her to change her plans. Can he?  

Pre-order now!

Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. She spends her days writing contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and historical romance. When not torturing her characters, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious. She lives in Nova Scotia with her patient husband and five hens. 

Website ~ Bookbub ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads ~Amazon Author Page

A rose by any other name... by Sarah Raplee

The symbolism of flowers goes well beyond their pleasing appearance. Does the phrase 'as soft as rose petals' ring a bell? 

In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, his heroine says, "What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." The scent of roses has been associated with romantic love and seduction since long before the Bard's time. When you use flowers as symbols or telling details in your descriptions, don't forget their scent, their feel, even their taste - for those that are edible.

Early in my soon-to-be-released paranormal romantic suspense novel, BLINDSIGHT, this scene takes place at night in an unlit rose garden (which turns the tables on the sighted hero.) Neither character can see the flowers. I layered in the blossoms' potent symbolism by referencing their scent.

[Note: Undercover FBI agent Hector and wedding singer Melisenda have just met and danced one dance together, ending on a patio outside the drug lord's mansion. Hector must protect her from being kidnapped - without blowing his cover. Melisenda want's to try to control her psychic power while kissing Hector. Every other man she's ever kissed has passed out.]

Night air perfumed with blooming jasmine cooled Hector’s face. After a moment the music ended. Relaxing his hold, he hooked Melisenda’s arm through his and scanned the area. The potheads were gone, but several couples milled about on the patio. He needed privacy.

Melisenda squeezed his arm and leaned into him. The soft swell of her breast pressing against his biceps stirred his pulse. She tilted her head and the rhinestones in her dark glasses sparked in the lantern light. “I adore the rose garden in back of the mansion.” Her tone turned wistful. “Did you know each type of rose has a unique scent?”

The unlit rose garden was an ideal location for a private conversation. “I’ll take you there,” Hector said. “You can educate me.”

He led Melisenda onto the white gravel path he’d taken earlier. They crunched around the corner of the mansion and the pale ribbon ahead faded into shadow. His footsteps slowed.

“What’s wrong?” Melisenda said.

“It’s dark as hell.” Shit. Had he offended her?

She laughed and tugged on his arm. “Can’t you smell the roses? Just follow your nose.”

Her scent filled his nostrils. Vanilla and—? He shook his head in frustration and let her lead him through the darkness, her familiar territory.

After he convinced her she was in danger, he had to find her a ride out of here. “How did you get to this place?”

“I rode with the Mariachis from Portland. Mr. Mendoza hired a limo. We’ll ride home in the morning.”

He didn’t carry enough cash to bribe the musicians and the limo driver. But, judging by the way the mariachis treated Melisenda, they’d agree to leave tonight if she faked an illness. The tricky part would be hiding their departure from Killingsworth until after the fact.

He recognized the outline of the stone gazebo silhouetted against the starry sky. The mezmerizing, honeyed scent of roses teased him. Mendoza's staff used the small, open-air building as a preferred hook-up spot. 

Melisenda let go of him and tapped up the stone steps as if she’d done it a hundred times before. “There’s something I want to do with you in the gazebo.”

In spite of the desire heating his blood, he tasted bitter disappointment. If she meant what he thought she meant, she wasn’t as innocent as she appeared. He followed her inside, his pulse spiking into the danger zone. Could Killingsworth have recruited her? Had he misread the situation totally, been disarmed by her blindness?

He followed her into a deep, smoky shadow between two square openings that let in the glow of the stars. Her wholesome perfume mixed with the seductive scent of roses. Disappointment morphed into anger. And lust. Definitely lust, damn her.

Copyright 2015 Sarah Raplee McDermed ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Thank you for reading my post. I hope you enjoyed the excerpt. To be informed when BLINDSIGHT is available, please sign up for the Windtree Press Newsletter here .

Or visit my Author Page at Windtree Press!

True Love Runs Smooth?

by Diana McCollum

The course of true love never did run smooth ~ William Shakespeare

This statement by William Shakespeare is so true. In songs, especially country western, in theater, in movies, on T.V. and in books, love never runs smoothly. And would we want it to?

Copyright : Vladimir Salman 

I think not. If it ran smoothly, boy would meet girl, and it would be a straight shot to boy and girl live happily ever after. There would be no journey, nothing to root for, we’d probably turn off the TV, walk out of the theater (because it would be a really short play), or throw the book at the wall.

Why would we want to read, listen or watch something like that? We wouldn’t. The more conflict and obstacles our hero and heroine have to overcome the sweeter the reward of their happily ever after for the audience.

Shakespeare in his wisdom new this inherently and used it wisely in his works.

Now if you’re talking REAL life, we probably do want our relationships to run smoothly. But they don’t always, and we learn from each experience, disagreement or argument. I think there would be something WRONG with a relationship where there was no conflict at all. The give and take in a relationship is how we learn to compromise, and gains respect toward our partners.

http://www.123rf.com/profile_kiuikson

Can you think of a movie, TV show or book where the romance was obstacle free?

I love “Sleepless in Seattle”, “Fifty 1^st dates”, “When Harry Met Sally”, and “Enough Said” just to name a few. All these movies had conflict or obstacles to overcome.

What is your favorite love story: movie or book?

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!