By Caroline Clemmons
Change is a constant. So many areas of our lives change rapidly. What's changing in your life? Do the changes bother you or do you accept them and move on?
CHANGES, CHANGES
Let me tell you about a change that impacts my writing: names of individuals. Our youngest daughter and a friend have a tongue-in-cheek contest going for whose family has the weirdest family names. I think our daughter is way ahead with the number of oddly-named ancestors.
When writing a historical novel I choose a name for a hero or heroine by checking our family history for that time—I usually set historical books from 1870-1885. In this way, I know the name was appropriate for the time. No Buffy or Bambi in that time period. Of course, Biblical names are always appropriate whether historical or contemporary. For contemporary names, I take the year the character would have been born and look online for popular names for that year.
What we have in our ancestry are some doozies. I use them for secondary characters, not the main ones. Some examples for unusual women’s names are Teletha, Parmelia (oops, I used that one in LONG WAY HOME), Venice, Theodosia, Tranquilla, Tetrine, and Vitura. For men, we have Guice, Hillyer, Vestal, Ovid, Lambeth, Montfort, and Versa. No, not Versa the car—this was a man. Our family uses normal names, too, but they’re not as much fun to discuss, are they?
One thing I’ve noticed is that some of the older names are being revived. Names like Aidan, Liam, Maeve, Nula, and other Scottish and Irish names. Since I love history, I'm pleased these are being preserved.
QUESTIONABLE CHANGE
An area of change that disturbs me is in English grammar and punctuation. (By the way, I refuse to give up the Oxford comma.) I saw an article on the trend toward no punctuation or capitalization. What? Why?
then my sentence would be like this and you wouldn’t know when the new one begins do you like this idea i don’t i think it is confusing and can result in misunderstandings you might even give up would you read an entire book in this form
Like the dismissal of cursive from schools and then it being reinstated, I suspect the lack of punctuation and capitals will be replaced by sanity and clarity. But that’s just me.
By the way, I have a new release. I know you aren't shocked that I want to tell you about a new book. Keep in mind this is hard for us introverted authors. Growing up we were told NOT to call attention to ourselves or brag about accomplishments. I ask you--how else can we sell our books?
Widowed Charlotte Dunn struggles to save her ranch from a vicious neighbor.
CHARLOTTE’S CHALLENGE is a sweet western historical that is part of the diverse The Golden Legacy Series. Please allow me to be immodest and admit I love this story for several reasons. One is that I’ve never before written an amnesia story. I enjoy including children and this has three. The way the hero and heroine act toward children gives a great deal of insight into his or her character. I had fun with a secondary character called Moose. I picture him looking like Sam Elliott, one of my favorite actors. One of my beta readers say him as Festus on "Gunsmoke". Ken Curtis, who played Festus, has a beautiful singing voice but who has a more mesmerizing speaking voice than Sam Elliott? Sigh. But I digress...
You can find CHARLOTTE’S CHALLENGE at the Universal Amazon link https://mybook.to/Bret (hint, hint)
CHARLOTTE’S CHALLENGE is available in e-book and in print. Also, it is in Kindle Unlimited.
Here's the blurb:
A widow determined to save the
family ranch…
A man who inherited cursed
pirate gold…
They must combine efforts to
defeat an evil man.
Bret Craig is a descendant of one of the crew of The Golden Fleece. Over a century ago the merchant ship had prevailed against pirates carrying a treasure of cursed Inca gold. The legacy promises retribution against anyone who misuses the treasure. Bret has heard the story all his life but he believes the tale is a myth and that he’s in no danger if he spends the money selfishly. Ignoring his sister’s warning, he sets out for a grand adventure heading west.
Widowed former mail-order bride Charlotte Dunn is in danger of losing the family ranch. She lost her husband to a rustler’s bullet when half the cattle were stolen and both ranch hands were killed. When she and her stepsons rescue a man who fell from his horse, they learn the man has amnesia. From his saddlebags, they determine his name is Bret Craig. Charlotte nurses Bret, manages the ranch, and cares for her three stepchildren she loves. No sooner does Bret regain his memory than they discover the remainder of the ranch’s herd has been rustled.
Bret re-evaluates his priorities in order to embrace the love blossoming between Charlotte and him. How will they save the ranch and recover the stolen cattle?
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One of my biggest surprises/changes when I went to public schools was that my classmates still printed. I went to a parochial school were the only kids printing were first and beginning second graders. We were into cursive and fountain pens. Congrats on your book. How exciting to see the book you love out in the world.
ReplyDeleteOur largest change as a family was when we uprooted and moved west, leaving behind my large family. A grand adventure it was until we came to rest and had a few years of struggles. But it was a good decision overall and we’re glad we made it. But life is change and most of it is good. Congrats on the new book! It sounds as charming as all your others, Caroline!
ReplyDeleteI was shocked when I realized my grandkids didn't know how to write in cursive! My daughter was too -- and she set out to teach them. They resisted but now they can write/read it. Yes, change is inevitable--and lots of times it is very good for us -- but I often still cling to the same-old, same-old, for some things. Great post for making me think, Caroline!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say I often embrace change, but I've definitely learned to swallow hard and keep on keeping on. A nice post!
ReplyDeleteI loved hearing about some of those crazy family names. New book looks great.
ReplyDeleteI took a workshop by a successful author who said to name your characters according to who their parents were. Yup, because they'd be the one naming the child!! Makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that names that were considered old fashioned are back in vogue. Stella, Hannah, Bronwyn, Priscilla are back. Everything is cyclical. The more things change the more they remain the same.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing harder for me than picking names is picking titles! As for change...I've had enough of it for this year, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI love it when names match the time era of a book. You've certainly got an amazing assortment of names in your family. What an awesome resource.
ReplyDelete