Naming Conventions

[sakon76]

Finished filling in all the terminology holes I'd noted in Field of Stars, and decided to just go the easy route for names. Prince Placeholder is now named Prince Justin. His brother, with whom he is contending over the throne of their recently deceased murdered father, is Prince Malcolm. Anyone who can tell which one I'm rooting for based on the names alone gets a cookie.

Their names are, admittedly, somewhat more pedestrian than the major characters in the first book, but I have Max and Owen and Lily and Kitty (real name Melinda) and a few far more background characters with real-world names too in Queen's Choice, so maybe it works. And Karje is the next kingdom over, anyway. (Of the other Karjeans, Arion and William Tanner are complex chains of punnish associations that amuse me; Pemberley gets his name from Pride and Prejudice [as, incidentally, do most of Kitty's sisters], Flora is named for her alchemy hobby, Stasia and Tasha are truncated real-world names, and Jessalind... well, anyone who guesses who I derived her name from gets not a cookie, but a whole cake.)

Comments

[whitefirebird.livejournal.com]

Jessalind... sounds like a cross between Jessica and Rosalind. Or Jessamine and Rosalind. Or Lindsey (which actually sounds like it originated from a diminutive of Rosalind, then developed into a gender-neutral name.) -_-' Looks like I have Rosalind on the brain. Dang addictive Mercedes Lackey books, and my own interest in legends/myth/folktales... "Fairy Godmother" mentioned a rather depressing one, which I think comes from Wales - it's certainly Celtic in origin. "Tale of Fair Rosalind/Rosalinda" - Philandering King, Jealous Queen. Harp made from dead girl's hair and or bones, minstrel/bard goes to court and only song harp will play is: 'The Queen hath murdered me.' cue massive angst. -_- sorry, got sidetracked.

How's Deus coming along? Very much looking forward to reading next chapter, whenever it's posted. And I have my own next chapter to finish and post...

[sakon76.livejournal.com]

Not quite on the name. I actually derived Jessalind's name from the singer Jenny Lind, known as "the Swedish Nightingale," who was likely the inspiration for Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Nightingale." Jessalind being also a singer, I wanted a name that evoked her skill.

Deus... is still on hold. I'm doing frantic running-in-circles prep for the three classes I'm teaching in less than three weeks. Once those are done, my commitments for the year are all finished and I'll be free to write again.