Ashley Hodges Bazer - Author
  • Home
  • Star Sailors
    • The Commodore >
      • Characters
    • The Princess >
      • Characters
    • The Skyjacker >
      • Characters
    • The Stowaway >
      • Characters
    • The Operative >
      • Characters
  • The Crown's Call
    • Heralds of the Crown >
      • Poison >
        • Characters
        • Deleted Scenes
      • Fusion >
        • Characters
        • Deleted Scene
      • Reconciled >
        • Characters
    • Rise of the Crown
    • Touch of the Crown >
      • Outlaw >
        • Characters
    • Champions of the Crown >
      • Asylum >
        • Characters
    • Fun Stuff >
      • The Timeline
      • The System
      • The Inhabitants >
        • Logia/Lumen/Ghosts
        • Strages/Crepusculum/Legacy
  • Time Spinners
    • In the Beginning >
      • Characters
  • Other Novels
    • Tinsel Pines Tales
    • Checkmate >
      • Characters
    • Once Upon a Heist >
      • Characters
      • Map of Paladia
      • Venefica's Curse
  • Bio
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Promo
    • Mamma Mia
  • Buy
  • Blog

The Why Behind the Who

9/9/2012

0 Comments

 
My book, Asylum, has been out for going on two weeks now. What a crazy thing it is! I have to force myself to think about other things. I have to make myself get out of the house. I could sit and stare at the sales figures online all day. Not that Asylum is sitting at number 1 on the New York Times Bestseller List, but I just enjoy the idea that someone somewhere has purchased my book!

At the end of the book, I included a glossary. I made up a few terms because Asylum and the others in the Circeae Tales series take place in a totally different universe. I wanted my readers to understand what I was talking about. I also like to make my characters' names mean something. I once heard that J.K. Rowling included puzzles and riddles in her work. I love having underlyng meaning to give another layer of depth.

One of my lead characters is Chase Leighton. I've always liked the name Chase, so I had to use it. Plus, throughout half the book, he is chasing after his wife, so there you have it. The name Leighton comes from one of my favorite artists - Edmund Blair Leighton. If you're not familiar with his work, you should look him up. His images of knights and ladies capture the romance and beauty of the era.

Trista/Krissa started out with a completely different name. I initially used Alex(andra)/Lexi, but changed early on. Alex is now the main character in Excelsior. I liked the way Trista sounded, and as explained in Asylum, Krissa came about as a near-rhyme.

The villain in Asylum is Dr. Reid Terces. His name is an anagram of "dire secret," in reference to his work with Trista/Krissa. Everyone associated with him - the Nivelis and Aftal - hinge on that same idea. Niveli is an anagram of "live in" - as in "live in secret," and Aftal is "fatal" rearranged - "fatal secret."

My favorites, though, are the doctors onboard the Straightjacket. (By the way, I chose to go with that spelling, as opposed to Straitjacket, because it's the place where the Legacy intends to "straighten" out their prisoners.) The Straightjacket is a prison ship for the criminally insane. Makes sense to me - people labeled as crazy shipped off to the far reaches of the system. In this case, however, it's done injustly. The doctors are Adam Caiman ("a mad maniac"), Caultin (lunatic), Sainne (insane), and Tuscane (nutcase). Pretty cool, huh?

The orderlies also have meanings behind their names. I won't go into all of them, but I used words from different languages with meanings such as, "dope," "mean," "cruel," "numb." And there are others. You just have to read the book!

I've done the same with the overall storyline. Asylum is just one piece of the puzzle. There is much more to the big picture. I'll explain those in a future post. This is certainly one aspect of writing I love - crafting words/names in such a way that they mean more than just the surface level impression.

I hope this intrigues you enough to read Asylum! And if you do - and you like it - I'd love to hear from you. Write a review. Send me a comment on my contact page. Find me on Facebook or Twitter. If you don't like it, I'd like to heard from you, too. I welcome constructive criticism. But just so you know - my husband, who hasn't read any of my work prior to the release of Asylum, AND is not a science-fiction fan, finished it in a day. He said he couldn't put it down. He loved the book. Perhaps he's a little biased, but I'd like to think his opinion is a testament to the story itself. And I certainly want any credit for it. Soli Deo Gloria.

Blessings to you, dear friends!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Duchess Writer

    Award-winning sci-fi author * Christ follower, wife, and mom * broadcast content producer. And yes, I am a real duchess. http://amzn.to/2eLTlH3  

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Tweets by @DuchessWriter

    Archives

    July 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    July 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Star Sailors
    • The Commodore >
      • Characters
    • The Princess >
      • Characters
    • The Skyjacker >
      • Characters
    • The Stowaway >
      • Characters
    • The Operative >
      • Characters
  • The Crown's Call
    • Heralds of the Crown >
      • Poison >
        • Characters
        • Deleted Scenes
      • Fusion >
        • Characters
        • Deleted Scene
      • Reconciled >
        • Characters
    • Rise of the Crown
    • Touch of the Crown >
      • Outlaw >
        • Characters
    • Champions of the Crown >
      • Asylum >
        • Characters
    • Fun Stuff >
      • The Timeline
      • The System
      • The Inhabitants >
        • Logia/Lumen/Ghosts
        • Strages/Crepusculum/Legacy
  • Time Spinners
    • In the Beginning >
      • Characters
  • Other Novels
    • Tinsel Pines Tales
    • Checkmate >
      • Characters
    • Once Upon a Heist >
      • Characters
      • Map of Paladia
      • Venefica's Curse
  • Bio
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Promo
    • Mamma Mia
  • Buy
  • Blog