Welcome Special Guest Author Lauren Hawkeye AND GIVEAWAY!

Please join me in welcoming special guest author, Lauren Hawkeye. Lauren joins us as part of her promotional tour with Bewitching Book Tours to share a bit about her new release, TAKE ME DOWN.

Welcome, Lauren!


Thanks for having me Jae Lynne!


Incidentally, “Jae” is one of my favourite names. This made me think of how I go about naming my characters. It’s a process not entirely unlike trying to name a child—except that I don’t have to get my husband’s approval! Nevertheless, the name has to be just as perfect. It affects how the reader will view your character. It might even affect how the character develops. And it has to fit the story, or expect to be asked to change it.

For example, in Take Me Down, I went through quite a long list of names for my heroine. I knew who she was, mostly, at the beginning of the story, and so the name had to fit someone who already existed (in my mind, at least!) This heroine was unsure of herself, she lacked confidence, and she was reeling from yet another perfect event in her perfect sister’s life. She was grumpy because of the heat and because she’d been forced to turn her home into a hostel for the wedding weekend. I wanted a name that suggested someone who had definite ideas and opinions, but who wasn’t too strong emotionally—not an “alpha” female, per say. I went through a few—Leah (made me think of Star Wars), Sarah (not quirky enough), Jennifer (my husband’s sister’s cousin’s mother’s brother’s daughter’s BFF was a Jennifer and apparently was quite a brat... or something like that). The name I kept coming back to was Evelyn, but to me Evelyn made me think of my great-grandma Evie, who according to family lore ruled with an iron fist. But... Evie, the shortened version, seemed to fit quite nicely. And so it stuck.

There are different ways that I find character names. I keep a running list of ones that I hear and like, and if nothing on that list works, I hit up babynames.com. If I‘m writing paranormal, or even just trying to add some symbolism to a character, I’ll often try to find a name with a specific meaning. But sometimes the characters just name themselves. I wrote a manuscript a couple of years ago that had three main characters. Two of them had names that started with J, and it was suggested that I change one. I couldn’t do it. The character was so firmly entrenched in my mind with that name that I wound up writing the entire book with her name as it was, then doing a search and replace with a new name... one that just never really fit for me.

All this talk about naming characters makes me wonder...

What is the most memorable character name that you have ever read? Why did it stay with you?

TAKE ME DOWN

By Lauren Hawkeye

Pub date: September 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-1-426-87894-7

Evie may feel like she doesn’t measure up to

her prettier, younger sister, but she still knows

what she wants—Lucas, her cousin’s sexy

roommate. She’s dreamed about being with him

for a long time, and on the sweltering night of her sister’s wedding, it’s clear he shares her lust. Now Evie is determined to take what she desires—even if it’s just for one night….

Book One of Lauren Hawkeye’s Erotic Me series.

Coming soon in the series:

TIE ME UP (Book 2)

By Lauren Hawkeye

Pub date: October 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-1-426-88547-1

LEAD ME ON (Book 3)

By Lauren Hawkeye

Publish Date November 1, 2011

 

About the author:

Lauren Hawkeye is a writer, theatre enthusiast, knitting aficionado and animal lover who lives in the shadows of the great Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada.

She’s older than she looks—really—and younger than she feels—most of the time—and she loves to explore the journeys that take women through life in her stories.

For more information, visit Lauren's website:

http://www.laurenhawkeye.com

***Lauren is giving away an eBook copy of TAKE ME DOWN! Answer Lauren's question from this post and leave your email address to be entered to win!