My bad guy's initial name was very mundane: Samuel Darnell. But that started to sound too farmer-ish, and Darnell just didn't roll right. So then I tried for Parnell, but that didn't work either. I found myself shortening Samuel to Sam, and it just fell apart. Sam Darnell. Meh.
I had great reasons for choosing Samuel. I was going to have his signature change slightly as he aged, and have his name turn into Samael (just the closing of the "u" in his name), who was the Angel of Death in Jewish lore. I had written great lines about this, but it was not meant to be.
So then I asked my Facebook followers to help with a name. But, just like you do when you try to name your unborn child, I found I had strong associations with many names. A friend, Stephen, suggested using two last names, and I liked that idea. For awhile Hector Jackson was looking promising. But the Hector just did't work. I liked it, but it didn't work.
Out of the blue, I decided on Declan for the last name. After all the false alarms, I didn't tell anyone, but I changed it in my manuscript and IT WORKED. Today my friend Mary emailed me and said, "How about Sawyer?" I like how it looks AND sounds. I'll plug it into my manuscript and see how it flies.
Hey wow -- I just noticed that his initials are back to what they were at the outset: S.D.
My thanks to all the contributors! Marci wins the prize for most suggestions! :-)
I had great reasons for choosing Samuel. I was going to have his signature change slightly as he aged, and have his name turn into Samael (just the closing of the "u" in his name), who was the Angel of Death in Jewish lore. I had written great lines about this, but it was not meant to be.
So then I asked my Facebook followers to help with a name. But, just like you do when you try to name your unborn child, I found I had strong associations with many names. A friend, Stephen, suggested using two last names, and I liked that idea. For awhile Hector Jackson was looking promising. But the Hector just did't work. I liked it, but it didn't work.
Out of the blue, I decided on Declan for the last name. After all the false alarms, I didn't tell anyone, but I changed it in my manuscript and IT WORKED. Today my friend Mary emailed me and said, "How about Sawyer?" I like how it looks AND sounds. I'll plug it into my manuscript and see how it flies.
Hey wow -- I just noticed that his initials are back to what they were at the outset: S.D.
My thanks to all the contributors! Marci wins the prize for most suggestions! :-)