Chet The Dog

Posts Tagged ‘What’s In A Name’

What’s In A Name?

What’s In A Name?

Ms. Publicist: Fifteenth of the month, Pete, so it’s time for What’s In A Name, where you discuss a character name from your work. Ever since I saw that Stephen King called Mrs. Plansky – the main character in Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge, coming July 25 but ahem! now available for pre-order – “a terrific character” – I’ve been wondering about her name.

Pete: Ah! You’ve opened a big subject! Her first name is Loretta, by the way, but in the text it’s always Mrs. Plansky did this or Mrs. Plansky said that. The decision behind this – really so important – was not made. It just happened. In many ways the character was born in the name. As I’ve said ad nauseam I really can’t write a character until I know the name, but that got taken up a notch with Mrs. P. As for the Plansky and Loretta parts, can we get to them next month? A delivery seems to have arrived and the dogs, Pearl and Dottie, seem to be incensed.

Ms. P: See you then, for more on Mrs. P. Plus there are other names in Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge, like the very scary Uncle Dragomir, I’d like to get to.

 

What’s In A Name?

Ms. Publicist: Fifteenth of the month, and therefore time for What’s In A Name, where Pete discusses a character name from the Chet and Bernie series. What’ll it be, Pete?

Pete: Well, since we mentioned Santa 365 this week –

Ms. Publicist: The C&B e-short! Never too soon to think about the holidays, in my opinion!

Pete: My thought exactly. So how about Elrood the Elf from Santa 365, a somewhat shifty Santa’s helper? “Elrood” sounds a bit like someone out of Tolkien, except slightly distorted in a funhouse mirror way.

Ms. Publicist: And it has “rude” in it!

Pete: You’re getting the hang of this! And “el” is Spanish for “the.” So it’s sort of “the rude one”, but let’s not push it that far. The point is, just from the name, we suspect trickiness in the offing.

Ms. Publicist: Thanks, Pete! See you next month for more of What’s In A Name.

What’s In A Name?

Mrs. Publicist: A couple of days late, but how about we do What’s In A Name, where Pete and I discuss a character name from somewhere in his work? Pete, I was wondering about Dr. Machado, the somewhat unhelpful shrink from The Right Side.

PA: Certainly unhelpful from his patient LeAnne’s point of view. Machado means ax or hatchet in Spanish and Portuguese.

Mrs. P: So – a crude kind of tool for doing delicate work?

PA: Exactly! You don’t need me anymore!

Mrs. P: See you July 15 for more of What’s In A Name!