Naming a Heroine, Guest Post by Jadie Jones

 

What's in a name? For most authors, naming a character goes far beyond what sounds nice. Today, author Jadie Jones, author of the Moonlit Trilogy, shares her thoughts on the process she used to discover the perfect name for her main character. 

Naming a Heroine: How Tanzy Hightower came to be

by Jadie Jones

In the first draft of “Moonlit,” my main character’s name was Erin Whitaker. It didn’t feel right, but I convinced myself it felt right enough because later in the story, Erin would learn she was once Erinnere, a soul marked with purpose to return a thousand years in the future.

Erinnere came from the German phrase: Ich erinnere mich, which translates to: I remember. “Erin” regaining her memory of her first life will change the future of two worlds, so it seemed very fitting. But I couldn’t picture “Erin.” The name sat on her like a khaki colored t-shirt. For a name pointing to “memory,” it was completely forgettable.

As I studied the first draft, trying to figure out what to call my heroine, I realized it wasn’t just her name that was falling flat. I had way more holes in Erin than I did substance. Who was not-Erin? I turned my mind away from the manuscript – a fantasy/time-traveling/adventure/romance hot mess, and focused on the character who was to carry the story across two worlds.

To get to know not-Erin better, I mentally put my would-be heroine into everyday situations and imagined what should would do. What would she do if someone was rude at the grocery store? If someone tried to steal her purse? Did she even carry a purse? What kind of driver was she? What is her favorite color? What kind of music does she listen to? Does she play an instrument? Where would she shop for clothes? Would she give money to a beggar? What is her worst memory? Her best? Would she help an old woman cross the street? Where does she feel safest? Where does she feel most stressed?

As not-Erin became more 3D, I knew more of who she was, but I still needed a name. Something unusual, edgy, feminine, and with a touch of culture. Instead of searching for sounds, however, I searched for meaning. I searched for names with “eternal” in their origins, and landed on Tansy, a Greek name meaning “eternal life.” I loved the sound of it, but the spelling seemed too soft, so I switched the “s” for a “z” and had “Tanzy.” And it fit like a pair of perfectly broken-in jeans.

For her last name, I knew I wanted a hint of alliteration, and I wanted it to be at least three syllables for flow. Also, since Tanzy is unusual, I wanted her last name to point to her simple side, something straightforward, but also with nobility in the meaning, as Tanzy would become the most important human in history, and would be presented with an opportunity to sit on an eternal throne. Thus, Tanzy Hightower was born.

Once I knew what to call her, she became fully alive on the page. Her parents’ names quickly followed – Hope and Travis Hightower, and once they gained permanent names, their characters became easier to identify as well. As these three became more defined, the plot development finally took off.

As for Tanzy, she feels as real and solid as you and me. She’s been a voice in my head for six years now. I am sad to part ways with her, as she has seen me through the beginning of my career and taught me so much. I will take these lessons with me as I meet new not-Erins.

I will always remember her.

Thank you to WOW - WOMEN ON WRITING for providing this stop on Jadie Jones blog tour. For more information on this tour, click here.

About Moonlit Triology by Jadie Jones:

Moonlit is the story of eighteen-year-old Tanzy Hightower knows horses, has grown up with them on Wildwood Farm. She also knows not to venture beyond the trees that line the pasture. Things happen out there that can't be explained. Or undone. Worse, no one but she and the horses can see what lurks in the shadows of the woods.

When a moonlit ride turns into a terrifying chase, Tanzy is left to question everything, from the freak accident that killed her father to the very blood in her veins. Broken and confused, she turns to Lucas, a scarred, beautiful stranger, and to Vanessa, a charming new friend who has everything Tanzy doesn't. But why do they seem to know more about her than she knows herself?

Tanzy's journey continues in Windswept, the second installment of the Moonlit Trilogy when Tanzy is the key in an ancient prophecy pivotal to the existence of all beings, both Seen and Unseen. Unseen who have waited a millennium for her birth are relentless in their efforts to see the prophecy fulfilled--whether for good or evil, depending on which side of the conflict one stands. Others have sworn an oath to end Tanzy's existence, permanently.

Already, Tanzy's body has been compromised by her enemies, her veins now home to the blood of a wild horse whose instincts are becoming impossible to control. While Tanzy's Unseen enemies work to draw her out of a remote safe house, her friends beg her to stay in hiding. Tanzy is torn, wanting to reunite with Lucas, who has loved her since her first incarnation, yet unsure whether fulfilling the ancient prophecy will protect those she loves or destroy them.

In Wildwood, the third book of the Moonlit Trilogy, Tanzy's journey races toward a final battle within the Unseen.

Tanzy Hightower has crossed the veil and entered the Unseen world to fulfill the destiny she has at last embraced, to either seal or destroy the veil between the Seen and Unseen worlds. She is the only mortal in a land teeming with creatures who want her dead. To stay alive long enough to stop Asher, the most powerful of the Unseen, Tanzy accepts his marriage proposal and seeks refuge inside his palace.

On the Seen side of the veil, Tanzy's allies are fragmented and lost, without leadership. They must gather forces and train an army of candidates to defend their world against unfathomable predators poised to strike should the veil holding them at bay dissolve.

While Tanzy has accepted her own inevitable death in fulfilling her destiny, her closest friends refuse to stop searching for the impossible: a way to save Tanzy's life.

Genre: YA fantasy

Publisher: WiDo Publishing

Publication Date: April 16, 2013/July 8, 2014/September 22, 2015

Paperback: 310 pages/289 pages/312 Pages (also available as ebook)


About the Author:

Jadie Jones wrote her first book in seventh grade, filling one hundred and four pages of a black and white Mead notebook. Back then she lived for two things: horses and R.L. Stine books. Fast forward nearly twenty years, and she still work with horses. Its amazing how much changes... and how much stays the same.

​The dream of publishing a novel has hitch-hiked with Jadie down every other path she‘s taken (and there have been many). Waitress, farm manager, road manager, bank teller, speech writer, retail, and more. But that need to bring pen to paper refused to quiet. Finally, in 2009, she sat down, pulled out a brand new notebook, and once again let the pictures in my head become words on paper.

​Confession time: Jadie Jones is a pen name created to honor two fantastic women who didn't get the chance to live out their professional dreams. First, Jadie’s grandmother - a mother of four during post World War II America, who wanted to be a journalist so bad that even now when she talks about it, her blue eyes mist and she lifts her chin in silent speculation. And second, a dear friend's mother who left this world entirely too soon. To Judy Dawn and Shirley Jones, Jadie Jones is for you. It's been a pleasure getting to know her.

​Author's Websites:

Jadie Jones’s website:

www.jadiejones.com

Jadie Jones blog:

www.jadiejones.blogspot.com

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/jadiejones1

Twitter: jadiejones1

For more information about blog hostess, Audry Fryer, please visit www.audryfryer.com 

Welcome Elizabeth Naranjo and a Guest Post on Lucid Dreaming

                  

 


Have you ever woken up inside your dream? You know you're still in bed, yet your dream keeps playing. I can say this phenomena known as lucid dreaming has happened to me on a few occasions ... and it's really cool when it does! Unfortunately for me, just when I try to do something crazy in my dream like fly over mountains or breathe underwater, I wake up. But, what if I didn't wake up right away? This is the premise for today's featured author's new book, The Fourth Wall.

Lucid Dreaming

by Elizabeth Maria Naranjo

In The Fourth Wall the protagonist, Marin, is a skilled lucid dreamer, and this plays a big role in her story. But what exactly is lucid dreaming? How do people do it? And why?

WHAT

Lucid dreaming is simply knowing when you’re dreaming. It’s that sense of being in a dream and suddenly realizing that it IS a dream. This happens accidentally sometimes, and it usually causes the startled dreamer to wake up. But some people train themselves to achieve this heightened awareness in sleep, and there are several reasons why they do it.

WHY

Entertainment: Once you realize you’re dreaming, you can learn to control parts of the dream. This includes your actions, and those actions are not subject to the laws of physics. Thus, you can learn to fly, walk through walls, or teleport yourself to other locations like Marin does in The Fourth Wall. Some lucid dreamers can create their own imagery or manipulate and change the setting of their dreams. With practice, it’s pretty extraordinary what you can accomplish. And it sounds like fun, right?

Conquering Fears: Because you can pretty much do anything in a dream, some lucid dreamers use their skills to conquer fears. Maybe you’re afraid of confronting a bully, giving a presentation, or flying in an airplane. You can use your dream world to create these scenarios and play them out, building your confidence.

What about nightmares? Achieving lucidity in dreams means knowing when a nightmare is really just a nightmare. The knowledge that what you’re facing came from within your own mind and is subject to your rules can be empowering. You can change what’s scary into something mundane, or even funny. You can defeat it, or simply make it disappear. If our nightmares are representations of what causes us fear and anxiety, imagine facing those fears and anxieties in sleep and stripping them of their power.

Creative Pursuits: We’ve all heard artists claim they were inspired by dreams. Painters, musicians, writers, filmmakers—dreams are a breeding ground for inspiration. Becoming more aware of your dreams won’t diminish their wonderful strangeness; they’ll still have that floaty, hallucinatory quality and will remain largely unpredictable. But increased awareness means you can better tap into your dreams’ creative potential.

HOW

So, how do you become a lucid dreamer?

The first step is dream recall. The more you remember your dreams, the greater chance you have of recognizing a dream when you’re in it. Like Marin, you can keep a dream journal—a notebook where you write and/or illustrate everything you remember from your dreams as soon as you wake up. In the beginning you may need to set your alarm early to interrupt the dream.

Another key to recognizing dreams is giving yourself reality checks during the day. For example, every time you pass by a mirror, consciously think about how clear your image is. If a mirror appears in your dream, you’ll recognize the fact that your image is not there, or that it’s blurry, or that you’re looking at an image of your child instead. You may realize then that you’re in a dream, and decide to step through the mirror onto a nice, sunny beach.

Once you’ve achieved dream awareness, you can start playing with dream control. Again, there’s only so much you can control. But instead of passively watching the dream play out in your mind, you can learn to take an active role and play along. You can turn that monstrous spider into a mewling kitten. You can breathe underwater. Maybe you can even learn to fly.

The Fourth Wall is a fabulously written first novel. When Marin was little and monsters chased her through nightmares, she learned to weave her own dreams. Her mother called the lucid dreaming a gift, and when an accident takes her mother and leaves her baby brother an empty shell, Marin uses this gift to spin a new reality for herself. One without time or sorrow. A world without memory.

But just when Marin thinks she’s safe in her make-believe fantasy world, the monsters come back and her dream turns to a nightmare. Something in the dream doesn’t want Marin to wake up. In order to heal herself and her family, Marin must face the truth she’s forgotten and conquer what lies behind the fourth wall.

Paperback: 237Pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction
Publisher: WiDo Publishing (June 10, 2014)
ISBN: 978-1-937178-51-2


Twitter hashtag: #FourthWall

The Fourth Wall is available as an e-book and paperback at Amazon.

Book Giveaway Contest:
Comment here on on my Facebook page to win a copy of The Fourth Wall !

About the Author: Elizabeth grew up writing short stories and bad poetry before escaping the cold winters of Wyoming and settling in the Sonoran Desert. She lives in Tempe, Arizona with her husband and two children, Abigail (12) and Gabriel (7). She still loves to write, but fortunately gave up on poetry. The Fourth Wall is her first novel.

Elizabeth’s creative nonfiction has appeared in Brain, Child, Phoenix New Times, Literary Mama and Babble.com, and is forthcoming in Brevity. Elizabeth is also an award-winning fiction writer; her short stories have been published in The Portland Review, Hospital Drive, SLAB Literary Magazine, and Bartleby Snopes. 

Links to her work and information on classes/critiques can be found at http://www.elizabethmarianaranjo.com/.

Website: http://www.elizabethmarianaranjo.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/elizabethmarianaranjo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.m.naranjo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/emarianaranjo

 Thank you to Crystal Otto at Wow! Women on Writing for providing this stop on Elizabeth's blog tour. Keep up with blog stops and giveaways in real time by following on Twitter @WOWBlogTour.