What's in a name?

Good evening, gentle readers.  Pardon the lateness of this blog entry, but I've had a busy day.
I have been thinking of names.
Names? You ask. 
Yes. Names.
Specifically, the name of a new character.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the most critical decisions that you can make as a writer.  Particularly if you are writing genre fiction.
Names have power.
They define things.
They define us.
Think about it.  How could a character with a name like 'Snidely Whiplash' be anything other than a villain? 
Margaret and Gertrude are dated names, seldom used and tend to bring to mind images of plain, heavy girls with thick ankles wearing drab, ill-fitted dresses. 
You probably wouldn't find the ingenue of the latest paranormal romance named Gertrude. Would you?
No.  They're more likely to be named something vaguely exotic or unusual. Annabelle, perhaps, or Sylvia.
I think male characters are easier to name.  John and Mark bring to mind average looking guys and there's enough generational saturation of the names so that they aren't period specific. Neither are they associated with any particular trade.  At least, not in my mind.
There's a lot that goes into picking a name, as any parent can tell you.  You don't just slap a label on your child and be done with it.  If that was the case we'd let the hospitals do it.  They'd probably have a big book of names in the maternity wards and tick off gender-appropriate names as they were used.
No. Parents usually wind up giving their children names that they hope they'll grow into.
In that respect, at least, character-naming is easier.  My own characters tend to spring, fully formed, out of thin air. I know what they're about. Nine times out of ten, I know what they're going to be called. They practically name themselves.
But there's always the problem child. Always the character that's so mercurial, so alive in your head, that pinning them down with a name is a problem. 
So, you make lists. You consult baby name sites. Books of famous historical figures.  Maybe a list of gemstones or poisonous flowers.
All to find the perfect name for this one character.
And, at the end of the day, if you still haven't found the perfect name?
What do you do?
You wind up writing a blog entry about it, and hoping that tomorrow you have more luck.

Labor Day Promotion!

Hello, gentle readers!
Since it's Labor Day I've decided to give away free copies of my short story, Hellbound on the Sugar Train!

Available via my Amazon Author Page!
Hope everyone is having a happy holiday!

A Hell of Timbers

I dreamed of a house,
lurking in the deepest woods,
a ghost of timbers.

Its windows gleaming,
shining with the awful truth,
that this place was hell.

Dark souls did dark deeds,
the timber floors were stained red.
Redder still their hands.

Cruel hands and black hearts,
souls like pitch, so thick and dark,
devoid of kindness.

Hands wielding sharp blades,
that cut and stab, rending flesh,
freeing soul from bones.

And the house feasted,
eating up these new-shorn souls,
trapping them in hell.

A hell of wood walls,
of burning, glass window-eyes,
of red stained floorboards.

Locked away forever,
trapped by old splinters and sins,
gray shingles and vice.

And when the wind blows,
the trapped spirits moan and cry.
They get no mercy.

I dreamed of a house,
lurking in the deepest woods,
hungry for us all.

Even More Noise

Good morning, gentle readers!
I'm pleased to announce that you can now purchase a physical copy of Random Noise, my latest collection of short stories, from Amazon.  The link to my Amazon Author Page is at the top of the blog.
Thank you for all of your support!
Happy reading!

Rat Queens

Good afternoon, gentle readers!
Today, I want to talk about Rat Queens, a fantasy comic from Image Comics produced by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch.  The book follows the exploits of a group of female adventurers: Betty, Dee, Hannah and Violet.  It was nominated for a 2014 Eisner Award for Best New Series and may soon be adapted as an animated television series.
I've heard of Rat Queens, but never read it until last night. I was wandering through my local bookshop when I came across a copy of the trade paperback and bought it on a whim.
The book is very much an adult fantasy with a breezy narrative and uncomplicated characters. That, I think, is its strength and its weakness.
On the one hand, it would be very easy for new readers to jump aboard.  However, there isn't a lot of substance to the series, either, and I can't honestly say that I feel any strong desire to continue reading it. If I did, it would be solely as trade paperbacks and not as a monthly title.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give Rat Queens a 4.  I wouldn't add it to my subscription at my local comic shop, but might glance at the occasional issue on the stand.