Chet The Dog

Posts Tagged ‘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!

 

What’s In A Name?

Mrs. Publicist: Not the fifteenth of the month, when we discuss names, but let’s play catch up. You’ve mentioned, Pete, how important names are to you, and that you actually can’t write the character until you have the right name. How about this month we talk about Iggy, Chet’s best pal, who plays – what would you call it? – a supporting role in Bark To The Future, the next Chet and Bernie novel. Coming August 9 but available for pre-order? As the publicist may I say I encourage preorders?

Pete: Ah, Iggy. A writer you has to be careful with characters like Iggy. They like the spotlight and would take over the whole book unless restrained. As for his name, I’m not the first artist (for want of a better word) to fall for its appeal. In that I stand on the shoulders of Jim Osterberg, Jr. And may I recommend in passing Jim’s duet with Francoise Hardy on I’ll Be Seeing You.

Mrs. P: And what is the appeal of the name Iggy?

Pete: For me, the appeal was that the character came fully formed as soon as the name popped into my mind. Iggy’s all about id, lack of restraint, totally unselfconscious goofiness and yearning.

Mrs. P: And then to have him pretty much shut inside the Parsons’s house for the whole series, watching Chet through the window?

Pete: Makes the odd moment when they do get together –

Mrs. P: Like the bathroom scene in The Dog Who Knew Too Much?

Pete: – all the more explosive.

Mrs. P: Thanks, Pete. Iggy appears by the way in the digital short story below.

What’s In A Name?

Mrs. Publicist: Fifteenth of the month, when Pete and I discuss a character name from the Chet and Bernie series. Hi, Pete. Bike ride this morning?

Pete: A little wet out there. I’ll hit the gym instead.

Mrs P: And get even stronger?

Pete: Can you imagine?

Mrs. P: I was thinking today we could do the name of a non-human character. There are so many in the series.

Pete: And naming them is always fun. The name says something about the namer, of course. Take Capitol Hill, the racehorse in Tender Is The Bite. Thoroughbred names – a fascinating subject on its own. Man O’War! Red Rum! Anyway, Capitol Hill is owned by Caroline Wray, wife of Senator Wray, up for reelection, whose ambitions are important to the plot. The senator’s ambitions, but Caroline turns out to be the brains, and more. The name of the horse is all about entitlement and power – and so are the Wrays. But it turns out Capitol Hill isn’t quite measuring up on the track. And in the eyes of Caroline, neither is the Senator.

Mrs. P: Meanwhile Chet had his own take, horses to him being prima donnas, every one.

Pete: He always does.

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

 

What’s In A Name?

Mrs. Publicist: Middle of the month and time for what’s in a name, where Pete and I discuss a character name from his Chet and Bernie series. How about Torquemada the tortoise? Although he doesn’t appear in real time in the upcoming Bark To The Future – pub date 8/9 and preorderable now under the Constitution – Chet does refer to him more than once,  a bad memory it seems.

Pete: Yes, the Torquemada case was one of their worst. The whole thing came to me at once, in a sort of tangled ball that I only sorted out after the fact. Tortoises are not creatures you’d think of as scary, but Torquemada, leader of the Spanish Inquisition at its worst, was very scary. So there was that. Plus they both start with the same three letters. I love that kind of thing! There’s fun to be had in this business. And then there’s the matter of the case itself, where –

Mrs. P: Whoa! Let’s stop right there. Folks will have to read the book to find out. That’s Publicity 101. See you next month for more of What’s In A Name!