Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Blog Tour: Thunder & Lightning (Guest Post+Giveaway)


A Rose by any other name is still Jarrett…

Over the years, people have asked me how I choose names for my characters. The truth is, I’ve never started a book without naming a main character. I decide on their name as I type the first word of my outline. The names have to sound right in my head. When I write them on paper, they have to look right to me. If they don’t, sometimes they go through several variations of the same but everything from the spelling of a name, to how it would sound rolling off the tongue of an audio book narrator is important.

Thayne is a good example. I knew part of his name would be Wolfe. I think I was watching some TV program and noticed the producer or director with that last name. I liked the way it rolled off my tongue and looked on paper. Thayne was an easy choice. I was watching one of my all-time favorite TV series on Netflix, Criminal Minds. One of the owners of a club where someone had been drugged with Ecstasy laced with MDMA was named Thayne. In the show, he was a British dude but I loved the name. It was different. I opened a blank Word doc and typed it in. My newest main character would be named Thayne Wolfe.

Jarrett Evans was born when he first appeared in The Brat. I wrote that book two and a half summers ago. I was watching Hawaii Five-O and absolutely fell in love with Alex O’Loughlin’s character Steve McGarrett. How can you not love him? He’s Special Forces (Navy SEAL), gorgeous, built, and sex-on-a-stick. He’s a lot better looking than Jack Lord, the Steve McGarrett I fell in love with in the 1960-70s TV show. But, my version, Jarrett Evans, had to be unique. I gave him a short last name (for some reason I like 4-5 letter names) because he had an elaborate first name. I picked something from my list…


Yes, I have a list. Some authors call it a name bible, or a character bible, or some version of the same. I just call it my character name list. Nothing fancy. I’ve kept it for years. There are about two hundred names on there from the most exotic—which I’ll probably never use—to the most banal. They are arranged as first names and last names. In some cases, I’ve ended up using what were meant to be last names like McBride, as first names—namely—(haha), McBride M. McCallahan. You know him as Mac Mac Mac.

Every time I start a new book, I open the character name list and take a look to see what will fit the image of the guy I have in my head. If I need something ethnic, that’s a good place to start. Where do I get them? Well, that’s easy. When I finish writing for the day, I open Netflix and sit down with movies or TV series’ that I really like. I always have the character name list open on my laptop to jot down names from the credits that appeal to me. For example, Paget Brewster, the actress who plays Emily on Criminal Minds, earned two places on that list. Brewster is a great last name. Paget is a great first name and in fact, Paget—a male in this case—is now the first name of my newest shifter character in The Tiger King.

There’s not a whole lot of science to how I name characters—now you see how it’s done for me. Mystery solved :)



Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK  | KOBO | Smashwords

Length: 107k words

Cover Design: AJ Corza @ Seeing Static

Blurb

Jarrett Evans and Thayne Wolfe have been partnered in the ATF for nearly two years and their love and commitment to each other has grown over time. Now faced with one final challenge, the boys are headed to Arizona to help Thayne’s mom, stumbling headfirst into a brand new case. When a man is shot on Dot’s sister’s ranch, their informal investigation leads to the Native American reservation bordering the property.

Juggling tricky tribal politics isn’t something Jarrett and Thayne are accustomed to but, as with most things in their lives, nothing is ever uncomplicated. When a surprise sighting shakes Thayne to his very foundation, they call out for help and their colleagues ride to the rescue along with a little help from the FBI. The mystery on the reservation only deepens when they start putting two and two together. Questionable cigarettes at the Ahtunowhiho Trading Post may be the least of their worries.

From the mean streets of Los Angeles to the vast deserts of Arizona, Thayne and Jarrett once again brave the minefields of bad guys, bigshots, and a vicious betrayal that kicks them in the ass. But one thing is certain. Thru thunder and lightning, Jarrett and Thayne are never alone. They’ll fight for each other down to the last man standing, even if it costs them their very lives.


August 1 - Bayou Book Junkie
August 5 - The Novel Approach
August 7 - Love Bytes Reviews
August 11 - Gay Book Reviews
August 14 - Making It Happen
August 16 - My Fiction Nook
August 18 - Alpha Book Club

Author Bio

International bestselling author Patricia Logan, resides in Los Angeles, California. The author of several #1 bestselling erotic romances in English, Italian, French, and Spanish lives in a small house with a large family. When she’s not writing her next thriller romance, she’s watching her grandchildren grow up way too soon, and raising kids who make her proud every day. One of her favorite tasks is coaxing nose kisses from cats who insist on flopping on her keyboard while she types. Married to a wonderful gentleman for 30 years, she counts herself lucky to be surrounded by people who love her and give her stories to tell every day.


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