NANP: Naming Ia

Today’s guest on Names: A New Perspective is an author I’ve recently discovered and have become a huge fan of, Jean Johnson. A Soldier’s Duty, a military space opera novel featuring a kickass female protagonist, is the first of her books I’ve read, and I can’t wait to get stuck into the sequel, An Officer’s Duty. Jean has also written a number of successful novels in the fantasy and romance genres, and has been featured in a few anthologies as well. In A Soldier’s Duty, the protagonist’s name is central to her identity, and the image that she wants to cultivate within the Marines. Over the course of the novel, it turns into one of the most fascinating elements of the narrative, and here’s what Jean has to say on the subject.

NANP: Nomenclature and Subsconscious

Today’s guest on Names: A New Perspective is Eric Brown, who has penned a number of works in the SF and Children’s Fiction genres. I’ve been eyeing his Bengal Station and Helix novels from Solaris for a while now, having heard some great praise about them in recent months. And then I got an email from Solaris that he has a new Helix novel, The Serene Invasion, coming out, which is great news and finally the impetus to get me reading his books, which I shall be doing next month. In the meantime, here’s what Eric has to say on the topic of names and their meanings and significances.

NANP: Other People’s Names

Today is a special bonus post on Names: A New Perspective as I take part in Erin M. Evans’ blog tour for the promotion of her latest novel, Brimstone Angels: Lesser Evils, released last week from Wizards of the Coast. Having read Brimstone Angels (Review), I can honestly say that Lesser Evils is going to be spectacular. The Tieflings are my new favourite fantasy race, with Havilar and Farideh taking top spot (for the moment) on my favourite female fantasy characters list. Here’s what Erin had to say about her naming process.

NANP: A Name By Any Other Name

Another Thursday, another Names: A New Perspective post, this time with author Jeff Salyards, who debuted this year with his first Bloodsounder’s Arc novel, Scourge of the Betrayer (my review). As I said in my review, the novel is a very different sort of fantasy book that breaks with tradition and delves far more into the characters than many others; its a character study at its core. The novel also continues the seeming tradition of Nightshade Books to publish authors who are out to challenge the mainstream perception and tastes, and I think it succeeds on that level. When I invited Jeff to talk about how and why he names his characters (and places) as he does, this is what he came back to me with.

NANP: The Naming of Things

Today’s guest on the blog is author Lou Morgan who had her debut novel Blood and Feathers published a few short weeks ago by Solaris Books (my review). Blood and Feathers is similar to The Collector novels by Chris F. Holm in content, being about angels and demons, but it has a much different perspective on them, and the protagonist is a well-and-truly-alive woman rather a man dead for like the last 50 years or so. Lots of possibilities and exciting things that make Blood and Feathers an awesome novel to read and Lou Morgan a name to watch out for in urban fantasy fiction. Most of Lou’s characters have really fun names and here’s what she had to say about them.

NANP: Building Fantasy Worlds One Name At A Time

Joining me on the blog today is Courtney Schafer, author of the adventure fantasy novels The Whitefire Crossing and The Tainted City, both of them a part of her The Shattered Sigil series for Nightshade Books. I read The Whitefire Crossing last month and I was utterly blown away by it (my review). It is easily one of my best reads this year, even made my September Reading Awards list. If you are looking for a different type of fantasy novel to read, one that is serious and covers some new ground in terms of its magic system and characters and its scope, then The Whitefire Crossing is what you want. This is what Courtney had to say about her world-building in the the two novels.