What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. ~William Shakespeare
Are you ready for a new contest to maybe win a book or two? I wanted to try something different this time. Don’t worry. We’ll do that Mystery Picture one when my new book, River to Redemption, comes out this summer. Got to have some mystery pictures for a new book. But it’s time to give away a few books now here on my blog.
So what’s the game? How about name the puppy? Or maybe on a different post, name the cat? Or the dog? Or who knows what animal?
It’s fun to name things. That’s something a fiction writer has to do a lot. Just think about all the characters in the books you read. If the book is fiction, the author had to come up with those names. I’ve published thirty some novels and have written even more than that. So I’ve done my share of naming people, places and animals too.
When it comes to naming characters, I use this baby name book I’ve had since I started writing novels. It’s falling apart. I’ve bought other name the baby books, but they don’t have the same creative triggers. Once I begin paging through my name book looking for the right names, my characters start coming to life. Sometimes the name I first go with is wrong and I have to find a new name. In the book I’m working on right now my character’s name is Darcy. Or is it Darcie? I’m still wobbling back and forth on whether the name is spelled with a “y” or an “ie.” I started with Darcie and switched to Darcy, but I’m about ready to switch back to Darcie. Maybe I should rename her Jane. 🙂
But it’s not only my main characters I have to name. There are secondary characters who need good names and then there are incidental characters who might only pop up in one scene but even those people have names. I used to keep a list of the names I used for my main characters, but I’ve let that slide lately. Now I just keep character lists for each individual book.
Plus I tend to drop a few animals down in my stories. If you have a pet, you know those dogs, cats, guinea pigs or whatever have to have the right names. That’s true if your fictional characters have animals in a novel too. I’ve named a llama (Cleopatra), many dogs (Maybe, Sarge, Poe, Asher, Zebedee, to mention a few), several cats (Miss Marble, Two Bits, Grimalkin, Sugar also known as Jezebel), a hen (Silky) and who knows what other animals. There were a few horses and maybe a cow or two. (Maybe I should have had a contest match the animal to the book.)
So let’s have some fun with names. I’ll post a picture of an animal, maybe a dog or cat, maybe something else, and you can suggest the name you think fits. There are no right or wrong answers. It’s all in fun. Each time you leave a comment on a new post with a picture of a new animal, you’ll get an entry in a drawing for a couple of books. I’ll pick three winners. The prizes will be the winners’ choice of one of my books and a grab bag book by a different author. My shelves are spilling over with many great books by other Christian authors. Deadline to enter is May 12, 2018 at midnight EST. I’ll announce the winners on my blog either May 13th or May 16th. Mother’s Day might be busy. You must be at least 18 years old to enter, but feel free to get advice on those names from the kids. The most important rule of all is have fun coming up with just the right names. No purchase or sign up is necessary, but if you want to sign up for my newsletter, that would be great.
So what would you name the puppy in the picture?
Thanks for reading, and remember:
“Names have power.” ~Rick Riordan (The Lightning Thief)
Comments 44
Author
I’m with you, Nyla. I thought his eyes looked green on my computer too, but I wasn’t going to doubt everybody else was seeing blue.
Connie, Charlie is a good name for a cat. Wasn’t that Travels with Charley about a cat? I may be mixed up about that. Sadie is a good name too.
On my screen the eyes look green. So….maybe with blue eyes he should be named Paul or Newman. I still like Boone though.
He looks like “Charlie” to me…but if it’s a ‘she’ then I go along with ‘Sadie’, too. :o)
Author
Emily, I guess S’mores would work for boy or girl, but this puppy was a little girl.
Ann, I like the name Baxter for a dog. Maybe I should rename Frankie Baxter. That sounds more serious. Might calm him down. 🙂
Kathy, I like your thinking behind the name Blossom. Not a bad idea. The pup did have nice blue eyes.
Nancy, Blu/Blue has been the most popular suggestion, but I like Tiny too.
Ola, Sugar is a name that fits a lot of sweet pets. I let Aunt Love name her white cat Sugar in my Hollyhill books, but you may remember that Jocie didn’t think there was anything sweet about that cat and called her Jezebel.
Susan, you are ready boy or girl with Oliver and Olivia.
Karen, the pup was mine for a while.
From the moment I saw his cute little face, the name Baxter came to mind. He is destined for great things!
Hey Ann,
I think I would name the puppy “S’mores” because he or she’s coloring reminds me of a s’more when the chocolate and marshmallow are melted together! 🙂
Is the puppy a boy or a girl?
🐶 Isaiah 9:6-7🐶
I’m going with Blu or Tiny …such an adorable puppy !
Sugar because it looks SO sweet!
Oliver or Olivia. Wasn’t sure if it’s male or female.
Author
You all are coming up with great names. Blu/Blue/Blue Bell are the most popular so far, but Brownie has a couple of votes. I’m really surprised that you’ve come up with so many different names so far. The only other double suggestion is Sadie. That is a good dog name. Some of the interesting ones is Zorro from Pat and Shakespeare from L. Of course, there is Elizabeth with her fixation on chocolate suggesting Ovaltine. That might be hard to yell. “Here, Ovaltine.” But could be shortened to Tina or Tiny. My brother-in-law had a little beagle he named Tiny once. Nila Kay suggested Boone because he looked like an explorer. I’ll have to follow up on that on Sunday. Meanwhile, we’ll see what other great names readers will suggest. Oh, so far nobody has suggested the name I really gave this pup. 🙂
Is the pup yours??? 😊 Or is that a fictitious name you gave him/her? 😊
Her beautiful blue eyes are so expressive. They remind me of blue skies, springtime and all the wonderful flowers coming to life. Blossom. When I look into her eyes, I see her name as Blossom. She’s adorable.
Blossom, I like that. 😊
He looks like a “Sarge” to me so I would name him Sarge!
Looks like a Sparkle to me! Such a cutie.
Banjo, I heard on the radio this morning that is the DJ’s dog’s name and I think the name fits the brown in this puppy.
Brownie. I think that is the cutest puppy…
Roscoe for a boy dog or Prissy for a girl dog
I would say Maisie for a girl and Blu for a boy because those blue eyes are beautiful!
Boone because he looks like an explorer to me.
I’d name her “Ovaltine” given his or her fur of white chocolate and milk chocolate because you know I SEE all things in chocolate! Can’t help myself. Lol. Hugs😘😘👏🏻👏🏻📚📚
Blue Bell. I love those eyes!!
Sadie. 😊 The minute I saw her I thought she looks so sad. Now I don’t know if the puppy is male or female, but I think Sadie would be a great name for a little girl puppy. 😊