I had such fun reading the comments to last month's favorite ice cream and/or
quotation blog, that I can't resist posing another "favorites" question (and/or
two). I was tempted to do favorite comfort food, but I got so happily and
tantalizingly hungry reading--and, yes, sampling--the ice creams, I've decided
on a no calorie category this month.
"What's in a name?" Juliet Capulet wanted to know when she was informed that a
romance with Romeo Montague was a star-crossed notion indeed. "That which we
call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
Young though she was, Juliet (and, okay, Shakespeare) voiced an impressively
grown up observation. Ah, Juliet--and William--if only I could follow it!
Every time I start a book, I pull out all the baby names books, and pay special
attention to every name that pops up before me online, on TV, in books,
magazines . . . you get the idea. I'm particularly in search of male names,
hero names, names that say to me strong, honorable, noble, kind. I
should, as Juliet suggests, be able to take any name and make it heroic
(that which we call a hero by any other name would be as strong, honorable,
noble, kind.) And, given that the names that feel heroic to me may not push the
same buttons for my readers, I have undoubtedly and unwittingly chosen names
that someone else might consider not heroic. Hopefully, by the end of
the book, I've been able to show, as Juliet would have it, that it's the man,
not the name, that makes the hero.
I'm not, however, grown up enough to begin with a name that has never
called to me and turn it, him, into a heroic one. I've tried! But I inevitably
end up doing a global find and replace in the manuscript and swapping the
uneasy, experimental name with a familiar, appealing one. I would not have been
bold enough to name Gibbs, of NCIS fame, Leroy Jethro. But, of course, because I
now know the man, the hero, the rose himself, it's great.
This month's blog giveaway is a signed copy of the new trade paperback edition
of ROOMMATES. The main hero is a gorgeous, tormented, sexy,
tormented, noble--did I mention tormented?--man named Jake.
If you'd like to enter the giveaway, please let me know one (or many--I'm
searching!) of your favorite and intrinsically hero-evoking names.
Or, and this is purely curiosity, but I'm finding I'm really enjoying the new
fall TV season and would like to know what others are enjoying (or not), please
jot down a TV hit - or miss. Except for Jake, I didn't mention any of my
favorite hero names (advisedly). But a few of my favorite shows are: you guessed
it, NCIS, Hawaii 5-0 (I've loved Alex O'Loughlin since Moonlight;
great other cast, too), Castle (I'm late to this series but am now
involved), the CSI franchise except the original (to me, it has
trended, and continues to trend, into the gratuitously gory and macabre at the
expense of character development since Grissom left), Against the Wall,
White Collar, Suits. the list, and commentary, could go on and on!
I am surprisingly hooked on X Factor and didn't expect to be.
Happy autumn, all best wishes, and, if you're in the mood, I hope you'll wander
by www.katherinestone.com.
I like the name Jonathan. Blessings, Marjorie (Marjorie Carmony 10:08am October 4, 2011)
Hello, Katherine - great questions - for the record, I LOVE NCIS, also - and Alphas, The Glades, Breakout Kings - I could go on and on and as far as unexpected hooks, I find myself engrossed in the "Real Housewives" shows - go figure!I definitely watch WAY too much television. And as far as heroic names....I start with his appearance (shallow, I know!) and then his name just seems to follow! (Felicia Ciaudelli 10:24am October 4, 2011)
The only masculine names that I can think of would be Anton, William or Will, Matt, Ned, Nathan, or Gary, which I know would be more of a neutral name. I hope that helps. As far as tv goes, I only get Canadian channels where I live, and there's not much to choose from, so I listen to the radio more. I can't help you there. Have a great day!! (Peggy Roberson 11:01am October 4, 2011)
I love hero names like James, Edward, Royce, William. Love the older names, like from my historical romances that I read. I love Hawaii 5-0 and Alex O'Laughlin-gorgeous. I also like Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, and love True Blood(even though over know). I also like some of the reality shows like Auction Hunters, Storage Wars, and Pawn Stars. (Chris Bails 11:22am October 4, 2011)
Joe is my favorite hero because that is my husband's(of nearly 55 years)name and he definitely is my hero.Other heroic names to me are Eric,Alexander & Christopher. I've forgotten the particular author, but I read of one who goes to cemeterys to look for character names.
In adition to the mystery shows previously mentioned, I watch Blue Bloods. (Linda Howell 11:34am October 4, 2011)
I love Irish/Scottish names- Roarke, Trevor. Your book sounds great Katherine. Congrats. (Christine Arcidiacono 11:52am October 4, 2011)
I like what I consider old family names. John, William, James, Edward and Clifton are among my favorite names. (Anna Speed 1:12pm October 4, 2011)
I've always been partial to Ian and Simon...Alexander.. (Cate Sparks 1:24pm October 4, 2011)
Damain, Dominic, Alex, Shane, Tom, Jack, and Malcolm are fav. Currently, I am watching mostly comedy on tv. I like the show, The New Girl. (Phyllis Lamken 1:26pm October 4, 2011)
Jake, Devlin, Mac, etc... are some of the names I like... (Colleen Conklin 1:42pm October 4, 2011)
I've always liked the names Matthew and Zachary. (G S Moch 2:00pm October 4, 2011)
Hi Katherine!
I like the names Robert, James, Michael, Steven or Stephen, Sean or Shawn, William, Christopher, Aiden, Alexander, Matthew, Clark, and Cary. (Cathy Phillips 2:04pm October 4, 2011)
I like Ethan, Adrian and Oliver... I'll name my boy one of these names if I ever have a boy... (May Pau 2:42pm October 4, 2011)
I like these names Ian, Julian & Adrian. The show I like as crazy as it may seem, it Criminal Minds. It is way out there, but it makes you think and it does end with the bad guy killed or prison. It is not the same old stuff. Best wishs on the book and all that follows. (Cynthia Plaza-Harney 2:59pm October 4, 2011)
Personally, I'm partial to the Celtic names, whether it's Scots, Irish, Cornish, Welsh, or Breton doesn't matter. They just resonate well with me.
And since I don't watch TV, I can't help out with any of those!
I'm a sucker for the older names. Edward, Henry, Jonathon, David... I've really gotten into Falling Skies w/ Noah Wylie and the Walking Dead. I like how differnt they each were.
Have a wonderful day! (Erin Fender 4:03pm October 4, 2011)
MY FAVORITE SCRIPTED SHOW ON TV PRIME TIME IS, "THE GOOD WIFE." ONE OF MY FAVORITE HERO NAMES IS ARCHIE GOODWIN, FROM THE NERO WOLFE SERIES BY REX STOUT (Silvana Moscato 4:03pm October 4, 2011)
I really like the name Logan, it just sounds manly. (MaryEllen Hanneman 4:59pm October 4, 2011)
micheal is my favorite name (Ann Unger 5:01pm October 4, 2011)
I love the names Ian, Michael, Anthony, Jamie, and Justin. But having just returned from Romanticon my new alpha male names include Angelo, Alex, Cole, Nick, Giorgio, and a few more. If you doubt the name Angelo go look on you tube for Romanticon 2011 cavemen dance. He is the hunkalishous one that starts the whole thing. YUM!!! (Patti Paonessa 5:19pm October 4, 2011)
Robert (funny how 'Bob' completely changes the picture, doesn't it?); Emerson; Saul; Emory; Raul; oh my - some names just have connections based on whom one might have known in grade school! (Beth Fuller 5:30pm October 4, 2011)
Love NCIS! I've also been enjoying A Gifted Man - it's about a surgron who starts seeing his ex-wife's ghost. (Mary C 5:32pm October 4, 2011)
I really like Against the Wall and also just started watching Prime Suspect. I don't like the commercials for it at all and they are misleading because Jane is not some hothead cop like I thought. (Maureen Emmons 5:37pm October 4, 2011)
I really like the names Steele, Xander, Chandler, Brevan, Rory, and Landon (just a few of my favorite male names)! I love, love, love Hawaii 5-0, also, and the reality shows--Storage Wars, Auction Hunters, American Pickers, Picker Sisters, Operation Repo and any of the Real Housewives. I hate commercials (such a waste of time) so I read books during them, especially since they seem to be lasting longer all the time and so many are repeated. I can get some good reading in. Thanks for the contest and hope you find more names to choose from. (Linda Luinstra 6:23pm October 4, 2011)
I love your books. I am currently reading Roommates. (Robin McKay 6:46pm October 4, 2011)
I kind of like the name Joseph! (Gail Hurt 7:56pm October 4, 2011)
I like Irish names, Rafe, Liam, Connor- very masculine. (Brenda Jann 8:48pm October 4, 2011)
ditto on all of your TV choices & so many of the others mentioned by other commentors. Names: Andrew, Alexander (Diane Sallans 9:51pm October 4, 2011)
James, Matthew, Luke, Zachary...I do like the classics! (Jennifer Beyer 10:13pm October 4, 2011)
Drake , William, Zachary (Patricia Kasner 10:20pm October 4, 2011)
I like the name Brock,a good strong name. (Sheila True 10:20pm October 4, 2011)
Cameron (Cam), Garth, Jules, Jack, Karl, Liam, Patrick, Rob.....but these names are only as good as the character and appearance of the owners. (Carla Schuller 10:24pm October 4, 2011)
I have always loved the name Duncan. (Deb Pelletier 10:38pm October 4, 2011)
MARK is an extremely strong and to the point name...... (Susan Coster 11:17pm October 4, 2011)
For names: Sebastian, Jack (Jake), Geoff.
TV shows: Unforgettable, Amazing Race, Glee, The Closer, Covert Affairs, Inspector Lewis Mysteries (PBS). (Sue Peterson 12:25pm October 5, 2011)
How about Luke, Nate or Ben? Short and to the point (Sandra Spilecki 11:55am October 5, 2011)
I am totally surprised that both my husband and I are enjoying Terra Nova and Pan Am---we inititally thought they would not be good at all. For names--how about Benton? (Sue Farrell 3:42pm October 5, 2011)
I like the first name Broderick and Merrit, but Merrit could be one of those names that's either female or male. (Alyson Widen 3:45pm October 5, 2011)
I love names like Joseph, William, Charles, Anthony, and Michael but there is that part that wistfully glances at Giovanni and Vincezzo (even Montgomery) - names that create an image that I picture irrestible, versus putting a name to the image. Naming your characters is like a little of both, I suppose - kind of like naming your real children, afterall they will be stuck with it. (Carla Carlson 5:52pm October 5, 2011)
Heath is my favorite family name but I like earthy names, Stone, Steel, Brick and for tv shows I like a lot of new ones. Terra Nova, Revenge, Ringer, The Gifted Man, and Falling Skies are among my favorites. (Christina Harrison 7:59pm October 5, 2011)
I love the classic names: Charles, Thomas, Edward, George etc. (Mary Preston 8:17pm October 5, 2011)
My favorite name has to be Lucien for the rake/bad boy/rascal hero. For the charmer/nice guy/strong silent guys, I like Scottish names--Ian is my fav there. (Dolores Feagin 8:28pm October 5, 2011)
Hey Katherine, I'm hooked on anything paranormal, like Ghost Hunters, and Paranormal Witness, but I also like things like Auction Hunters, and Storage Wars. When I was little I played with a little boy called Rex, I always thought that was kind of a cool name. I've always like the name Aaron as well. :^) (Heidi Durham 3:54am October 6, 2011)
Thank you all so much for the terrific names (many of which I have never used -- and now will, thanks to you!). I also loved reading what everyone's watching, most of I love, too, but didn't mention on my already long list, and the rest of which I am now going to try (like last month's favorite ice creams suggestions!). There weren't ANY that I've already tried and aren't my cup of tea. Aren't we a compatible group??? Fun and thank you!
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