July 13, 2013

Character Name Needed

It's commonplace for me to work on more than one project at a time...whenever I get a strong picture for a scene in a book on the drawing board I drop everything and write it down!  As I work on Secrets and Sins, which will be my first indie published women's fiction and will kick off my  fictitious town of Eighty-Eight, Mississippi, I find my excitement growing about the series I (and possibly other authors) will be writing with that setting.  I've long since summarized (if not outlined) the plot of the first book set in my little town; an idea that occurred to me after a shocking, untimely event four years ago now. I don't mean to sound overly secretive--this is a book, not espionage--but it's best I not say too much about the plot until the book is about to be published.

One thing I've never been able to do is name my characters, particularly my heroine.  I held a character-naming contest last year for another project, and after the winners had been chosen, I realized that I wanted to replace one of the winning names with one I thought would work even better (it's my contest and my book, and I can do what I want).  I am going to use that previous winning character name--Jordan Thomas--for either the hero or his brother; I haven't decided.  All I have to do with that is come up with a first name for the other unnamed brother that goes with the surname Thomas.

But my heroine is another matter.  I haven't the faintest idea what to call her.  That's where you come in!

A little about her:  She's in her early 30s and African-American.  An only child whose parents abandoned her, she was raised by her late grandmother in the Mississippi Delta town of Eighty-Eight (population less than 2000), outside of the college town of Cleveland, Mississippi.  She works as an RN at the medical center in Cleveland.  When her grandmother became ill about eight years earlier she asked to be put on the third shift, a circumstance that continues to this day, as she found she likes it.

Caring for her grandmother at home all day and working all night left her with little time to sleep, and while running on fumes she is stunned to be approached by the family member of one of her patients with an offer that will make life a lot easier for her. She gratefully accepts, not knowing that it will come back and haunt her years later...

If you'd like to provide a first and last name for this character, please email it to me at contests@bettyegriffin.com .  Contest closes Sunday, July 21st, at 11:59PM Central Time.  The winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to the online eBook retailer of their choice, and also a complimentary download of the Bunderful Books title of their choice (excluding my three-book bundle).  Winner will be announced on my blog and Facebook pages (both the Bettye Griffin and Bunderful Books pages) by Tuesday, July 23rd.  One entry per person.

Let the naming begin!