What’s in a name?
May 3, 2012
I’ve finally come down (a little) from being able to announce the news about Miranda’s Mount. The e book’s out on October 1st and I’ve now sent off the ‘tweaked’ manuscript to my new ed. There wasn’t much to do, happily, and I really enjoyed making the changes so fingers crossed.
I don’t have a blurb or cover yet and it’s going to be fun to see how the Piatkus Entice marketing department present the book.
I don’t think it’s too much to reveal that it has a heroine called Miranda (quel surprise) and a hero called Jago St Merryn.
I love choosing names for characters, and I have to get the name right or I can’t seem to carry on with the story. The name defines the character and I spend quite a while finding the right one. Some slip into your mind instantly, others can take a few chapters. You know when you’ve found the perfect name.
Now, I admit Jago is a pretty exotic choice for a hero but the book is set in Cornwall and he needed a very Cornish name that was distinctive and slightly .. odd. I searched baby names on the web for quite a while and checked out maps for the surname. I came across Jago and it seemed right – unusual, old-fashioned, with a tiny hint of sinister (reminds me of the villainous Iago from Othello.) I was totally hooked when I found that Jago can also mean : usurper, because that’s so perfect for his character.
Miranda came to me instantly as she is the driving force of the book, which is set on an island castle that gets cut off by the sea at high tide. I love the name, it reminds me of the fabulous Miranda Hart and of course, of the Miranda from The Tempest.
However, before Miranda’s Mount, I have two books coming out in the first week of June:
Just Say Yes will be available in print and e book in the USA.
And a print edition of Fever Cure is going to be published and available worldwide from some stores and Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble etc
There’ll be much more on those in a week or so.
Posted by Phillipa @ 7:48 am | Leave a Comment
Jane Lovering Says:
I love the name Jago! Looking forward to the book…
Phillipa Says:
Thank you, Jane. I have Don’t Stop the Music waiting on my Kindle. 🙂
Jan Brigden Says:
Jago definitely does it for me as a name, Phillipa ;)I love the whole process of naming characters. For my heroine, I had three choices, first name and surname, and conducted a poll amongst twelve of my closest female friends and family to see which one they’d choose. Happily, ten out of the twelve agreed with me, so that was easy. I think, depending on their dominant personality traits, characters sometimes name themselves.For instance, and it’s just my humble old opinion, I’d no more name a loud-mouthed,slovenly, tactless oaf, Adam, than I’d name a timid introvert, Tallulah. Then again, there are always exceptions to the rule, hence the joy of writing fiction 🙂 Great post, Phillipa x
Phillipa Says:
Jan – I’ve asked writer friedns for their opinions on character names but ever done such an in-dpeth poll – what a great idea and interesting that they selected the sane name as you did so it must have been the right choice. I suppose you *could* have a Tallulah who was shy and retiring and under constant pressure to live up her flamboyant name; that could be fun. I love the name, Adam, that’s one of Liz Hanbury’s sons’ names.
Amy - NB Lucky Duck Says:
Jago is the perfect name for a Cornish hero! I have a second cousin called Jago who lives in Cornwall. He’s a surfer, an artist, has a gorgeous wife and a little baby girl.
Congrats on the new book deal – looking forwards to it!
Phillipa Says:
Really, Amy? That’s fantastic – I now feel justified in choosing Jago and guess what? He’s a surfer too … as for the rest, I’ll have to send you a copy of the book. 🙂
agenoria Says:
There is something in a name. My Cornish ancestors ran a grocer’s shop in Bodmin and had names such as Samuel and William.
In one of Mary Stewart’s books she names an arrogant man Godfrey and then another character can say of him that he thinks God is short for Godfrey! I just can’t imagine a Godfrey as a hero. Jago is definitely a more heroic name 😉
Phillipa Says:
Hi Agenoria – well, another Cornish friend has now told me she knows two surfers called Jago so the name has obviously made a revival, if it ever went away. Love the Godfrey reference. 🙂
Stevie Carroll Says:
I’m very fond of Cornwall-set novels, so I’ll be particularly looking forward to that one.
Diane McIlmoyle Says:
That’s good news – and great names. It’s good to see these regional favourites making a comeback.
I find it strange that it’s almost impossible in fiction to use names that were current at the time one’s hero(ine) might have been born. Somehow fashion forces its way in and we have to use names that might be given to babies now… although possibly stopping short of Tallulah!
Phillipa Says:
Hi Diane, yup, Jago is definitely the most unusual name I’ve used but having heard of three Cornish surfers called Jago in RL now I guess it is contemporary with his age. I’ce gone with classic English names in the past – Tom, Will, Matt, Jack and Josh. To help me make sure they’re the right fit for the age of my heroes (30-35), I usually check the names of rugby teams… it works and also they happen to be timeless names.
Phillipa Says:
Hi Stevie – think this is my third set in Cornwall… hmm, will have to do some more ‘research’ trips. 🙂