Crewel Blog Tour & Giveaway

Hey, everyone. Today I'm hosting Gennifer Albin, author of the wonderfully original Crewel, and she's going to write about the importance of names.

What’s in a name?

One of the hardest things about writing for me is coming up with character names.  They have to be perfect, and I often can’t begin writing until I’ve found the name that fits each character.  As I write if a new character pops in, I often have to stop and give him/her a name.  The polite ones show up already named, but the polite ones are few and far between.

Since Crewel is set in another world, I wanted to give the characters names that felt different without being off-putting.  I can’t stand when I pick up a book and the characters have names you can’t pronounce.  I used baby naming websites and then set up a variety of search perimeters based on ethnic origin.  Most of the names came from names rooted in the Breton language, a Celtic language based in Brittany, France, and brought over from the Britons back in the day.  Other names were inspired by creating new names or using existing names based on similar sounds.

I also liked to play with meanings associated with names.

For instance, Adelice means “noble kind.”  Kinda perfect, right?  Whereas Maela, despite being a girl’s name, means “prince,” but since I failed to read the pronunciation guide, in my head I heard “May-la.”  It reminded me of “malo,” the Spanish word for “bad,” so it stuck.  Jost, which I pronounce “J-ah-st,” means “experienced in battle.”  Enora means “honour.”  Amie is a French name, which means “loved.”  Other names like Cormac, Erik, and Loricel just popped into my head.

Some of the names - Benn, Meria, Pryana - I made up based on the other names I’d chosen.  I was surprised to learn Benn is a Latin name that means “blessed.”  One character, poor Erik, had three different names!  I’m always worried I’ll accidentally slip and call him by the name he was in the original manuscript I queried.  It took me and my writing partners a while to get used to the change.

It takes a lot of work to find the perfect name, but when I do, the whole character comes to life for me.

Thanks Gennifer! What a wonderful new way of looking at the characters. And courtesy of the publisher, I now have a hardcover copy and a Crewel bracelet for giveaway to one lucky US/CA reader.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check out the other participating blogs!

Crewel Blog Tour Schedule

Monday 10/15                   http://www.lushbudgetproduction.com/

Tuesday 10/16                   http://birthofanewwitch.wordpress.com/

Wednesday 10/17           http://hobbitsies.net/

Thursday 10/18                 http://cuddlebuggery.com/

Friday 10/19                       http://www.startingthenextchapter.com/

Saturday 10/20                  http://www.bookswithbite.net/

Monday 10/22                   http://fireandicephoto.blogspot.com/

Tuesday 10/23                   http://bookalicious.org/

Wednesday 10/24           http://www.emilysreadingroom.com/

Thursday 10/25                 http://bewitchedbookworms.com/

Friday 10/26                       http://christinareadsya.blogspot.com/

Saturday 10/27                  http://www.twochicksonbooks.com/

Sunday 10/28                     http://www.ibbookblogging.com/

If you'd like more information on Crewel, check Goodreads or Amazon.

Some relevant links/info:

• Gennifer Albin is part of the Fall 2012 Fierce Reads campaign: https://www.facebook.com/FierceReads
• Watch the Crewel Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQT1k69a_io
• Become a fan of Crewel and the series on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrewelWorld
• Read the short story prequel, entitled “The Department of Alterations”: http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/09/the-department-of-alterations
• Download a chapter sampler of Crewel for free onto your e-reader!
• Follow Gennifer Albin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GenniferAlbin
• Check out Gennifer Albin’s Website: http://genniferalbin.com/

More about Crewel:

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.

Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.

More about Gennifer Albin:

I like coffee. A lot. Writing gives me time to go get a cup without my kids. I like books as much as I like coffee, but it is easier to read with children hanging on you than drink coffee due to the threat of third degree burns. That's why coffee gets top billing in my intro: its unattainability.

I hold a Masters in English with a specialization in 18th century women's studies. While this is a highly marketable area of expertise, I stay home with my kids, which means my 3 year-old son uses correct grammar and doesn't burn down the house.

I have a ridiculously supportive husband who dreams of being included on a book jacket: "The author lives in Kansas with her husband, two children, and a Tuesday cat."