Someone asked how I came up with names for my characters, and that's a great question!

When I'm first beginning a story, I pick the names out of a hat - actually, two hats (one for first names and one for last names) - but the names usually change before the end of the first draft because by then the characters have become real people to me and their original names no longer fit. (For example, a woman who lives in a small town in 2045 and drops F-Bombs like a sailor wouldn't be named 'Prudence' or 'Chastity' unless I want that character to be a deliberate contradiction of her name.)

I also use websites that list boys' and girls' first names by ethnicity and popularity dates, and last names by locations. I've got several tiny books of baby names I use often to mix and match, and one large one I really like that’s called 'What To Name Your Baby' by Maxwell Nurnberg and Morris Rosenblum. (I bought that book about 30 years ago, left it out on the kitchen table without thinking, and nearly scared my husband to death!)

In 2024, The Wild Rose Press published my novel, TIP THE PIANO MAN, that I actually began writing back in the 1980’s. Over the evolution of all that time, every single character in this book ended up with a new name, a new physical description, and even a new personality...

But I think my favorite story about naming a character comes from WHISPERS THROUGH TIME. A young male Lakota activist was very important to the story, but I just couldn’t come up with the right name.

Finally, while driving through the Texas Hill Country one afternoon, I passed a property named 'The Winterhawk Ranch.' I thought, What a great name for my Indigenous family! Then, not five minutes later, a terrific old rock song from the 1970’s called 'Eli's Coming' blasted through the radio - and Eli Winterhawk was born.

From the moment he had a name – the right name – he became like a muse to me and took over the story. I could see him as clear as my own face. I heard him talk, watched him move, understood him completely.

That's the fun of writing!