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| C.Kevin Thompson |
Ever wonder how authors come up with names for their
characters? I’m not sure if they are unique or not, but I’ve used several
methods. For example, surname lists on the internet for foreign characters can
be very helpful to pick that perfect name to match the character’s persona.
First name lists, organized by which name was the most popular in whatever year
your character was born, is another helpful way to locate that correct name and
spelling. Probably weren’t that many Gertrude’s born in 1975. Nor were many
Heathers or Brittanys born in 1776.
Sometimes, I just look to the shelf. Often, names of authors
or names used within some of those books can be useful. I found the perfect
name for a Russian scientist in a book about Vladimir Putin. Name mining, I
call it. Makes it very real.
However, my favorite way has been to pull a page out of
Thomas Kinkade’s “book,” so to speak. Many of you may already know this, but
when Kinkade painted, he would embed the initials of his wife, or her name,
into his paintings. It became a sort of trademark. People would obsess with
trying to find that “N” for Nanette. It’s been reported that he put 156 “N’s”
in his Golden Gate Bridge painting.
As you read my first book, The Serpent’s Grasp, you find some important names, to me, that is.
Since I dedicated the book to my wife, I felt using her name in the story would
be melodramatic, so, instead, you’ll find the married names of my two oldest
daughters. They are introduced in the order in which they got married: middle
daughter’s married name appears first, then my oldest daughter’s married name
appears later. They’re not major characters. But that’s just it. I needed names
for some role players…and this method was just kind of born out of necessity.
(And no, I’m not going to tell you what they are…that’s part of the fun. I’m
sure the information will come out eventually when I do my Entertainment Tonight interview…a guy’s got to dream, right?)
In my second book, 30
Days Hath Revenge (A Blake Meyer Thriller – Book 1), you’ll find I utilized
my namesake grandson, but I used it in a bit of a more creative way by making
his first name the last name of the character. When he gets older (he’s five),
I’ll show him, explain it all, and it will be something we two can cherish
together.
In the manuscript of Book 2 to the Blake Meyer Series,
you’ll find my granddaughter’s first and middle name used, again, in a creative
way. And in the manuscript for Book 3, you’ll find my oldest and youngest
grandsons’ names. With one, I used just his first name because it’s a little
unique. The other, I used his first and middle name in the same fashion as the
granddaughter. I plan to use my third oldest grandson in Book 4, and eventually
use my daughter’s first names in the remainder of the series, if they work out.
If not, they pop up eventually.
The point is this: You need names, so why not use ones that
have meaning? It’ll make for a great coffee table discussion when the fan
club’s book group tries to figure out where the “N’s” are. But more
importantly, it uses the people you love, within the craft you love, with the
everlasting power of the written word, to create a legacy you all can treasure.
A
Clandestine Mission.
A
Cryptic Message.
A
Chaste Promise.
Blake
Meyer dreamed of a peaceful end to a dutiful career with the FBI. Married now,
his life was taking him in a new direction—a desk job. He would be an analyst.
Ride it out until retirement. Be safe so he could enjoy his grandchildren some
day.
But when
a notable member of the IRA is murdered in a London flat, Blake’s secretive
past propels him into the middle of a vindictive, international scheme so
hellish and horrific, it will take everything Blake possesses—all of it—to save
the United States from the most diabolical terrorist attack to date.
C. KEVIN THOMPSON is an ordained minister with
a B.A. In Bible (Houghton College, Houghton, NY), an M.A. in Christian Studies
(Wesley Biblical Seminary, Jackson, MS), and an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership
(National-Louis University, Wheeling, IL). He presently works as an assistant
principal in a middle school. He also has several years experience as an
administrator at the high school level.
A former
Language Arts teacher, Kevin decided to put his money where his mouth was and
write, fiction mostly. Now, years later, Kevin is a member of the Christian
Authors Network (CAN), American Christian Fictions Writers (ACFW), and Word
Weavers International. He is the Chapter President of Word Weavers-Lake County
(FL), and his published works include two award-winning novels, The Serpent’s Grasp (Winner of the 2013
Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference Selah Award for First Fiction)
and 30 Days Hath Revenge - A Blake Meyer
Thriller: Book 1, as well as articles in The Wesleyan Advocate, The
Preacher, Vista, The Des Moines Register and The Ocala Star-Banner.
Kevin is a
huge fan of the TV series 24, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, and Criminal
Minds, loves anything to do with Star
Trek, and is a Sherlock Holmes fanatic, too.
Facebook: C.
Kevin Thompson – Author Fan Page
Twitter: @CKevinThompson
Goodreads: C.
Kevin Thompson
