Trying Out a Name

So. Yesterday I was scrolling through my phone contacts and I came across the name below and I had to laugh at myself.

When I first started writing WILFAIR, and I was thinking about character names, I put a few of them in my contacts to test them out and see how they looked against the real names of people I know. Did the character names seem too wacky? Too dull? Or just right?

I keep forgetting that I left "Fair Finley" in my contacts. And whenever I see the name I'm slightly embarrassed and think about deleting it. But then I always leave it. (Coincidentally, Fair's name is right above Farmers Market, which is a real place and is in the books.)

I wonder what Fair's phone number is? She probably lists the main line for The Wilfair and saves her private info for Sutton. Oh, though did she write her digits on the Motel Fairwil call list, too, and someone over at the motel entered her number into his phone.

I realize this won't do much to dispel my somewhat quirky rep. :) Really, I'm very ho-hum, despite the fact that I include fictional characters on my real contact list.

Wilfair Secret #1

Monty and Gomery were Tommy and Thom, respectively, for the first third of Wilfair.

The names worked -- and I'm wild about the name Thomas -- but they weren't exactly what I needed. I kept my thoughts soft and went looking for something a bit more old-school Hollywood.

"Monty" rhymes with jaunty. I liked that. And I liked that the first two letters in Gomery's name form the word go. "Go" has a lot to do with the travel setting of the books.

Also, I wanted a natural nickname to be inside the name. Monty seemed like a nickname-giver to me; Gomery does not. Hence Monty calling Gomery "Mer" on occasion. The cousins have a lot of affection for each other.

Also, "F" and "G" are alphabet neighbors. Fair and Gomery are building neighbors.

There are two more secrets to do with the cousins' names; I'll share them soon. But, for now, here are a few more reasons I chose Montgomery.

Yep, it's true; I do obsess over names. I also obsess over light, colors, and where characters are standing or sitting in relation to each other in any given moment.

Wilfair secrets #2, #3, and #4, I suppose. More on those later.

What's in a Name: Fair

Meet Fair Finley, Wilfair's lead.



Fair is fair. She always wants to make the perfect, and perfectly fair, decision. Which means she sometimes postpones the decision entirely.




She's also named after Fairfax Avenue, which is next to The Wilfair. Fairfax is a real Los Angeles thoroughfare.
















The name's third inspiration? Check LA weather, pretty much any time of the year, and you'll probably see a particular word.









Yep. It's usually fair in Los Angeles. Making it, for me, the perfect name for a local heroine.

What's in a Name: Montgomery

There are two characters in the Wilfair series with the name Montgomery. (They also share the same last name, too: Overbove.)

Montgomery is quite a name. And after languishing for years, it is set to make a 2012 baby name comeback. Hooray! Send that one back up the charts, new parents.

When I chose Montgomery for my two male leads, I weighed a few things.

One, I wanted a name that was warm, masculine, and boasted lots of old-time Hollywood glamour (think Montgomery Clift).

Two, I wanted to pay homage to one of my favorite writers, Lucy Maud Montgomery.


Three. I'm sweet on San Francisco and wanted some Bay Area love in the books. Helloooo, Montgomery Street. The major throughfare will make a cameo in The Oppositery. That book is a few years away but I'm already daydreaming about the happy high jinks Fair and her next-door enemies can get up to around the Bay Area.


And four? I needed a name that could produce two good nicknames (I'm not a huge fan of cutesy pet names, but a sweet and sophisticated nickname is another story). Monty and Gomery both held a certain allure. Both shorter names kept the manly and noble qualities of the longer name, which is rare for a nickname.

Sold.

I also liked that Montgomery has "mountain" within its meaning. Not to go too deep. But Redwoodian is set in the mountains. And I'm a mountain gal at heart.

In short, hooray Montgomery! New parents, I highly recommend this name. I've been living with it for a few years now and it still has oodles of swoon, dignity, and class for me. It's a keeper.