Lee Child, Michael Connelly, and more authors open up about naming their iconic characters.
Or opened a novel by Michael Connelly and vaguely recalled hearing Hieronymus Bosch at some point during college?
Shes very small, and Im tall, so Im good for that kind of thing.
Credit: Karen Ballard; Patrick McElhenney/FOX; EVERETT COLLECTION
Would you reach me that box?
And I thought, That is a really good name.
Ive met at least two babies who have been named Jack Reacher Whatever by their fathers.
Karen Ballard; Penguin Random House
Its always the father, and the mother is kind of hanging back a little bit, embarrassed.
A student on that voyage was called Tempe.
Liking the name, I stored it in some remote corner of my brain.
Patrick McElhenney/FOX;Simon & Schuster
Given that, the name Tempe had to be formalized to an appropriately baptismal version.
Maybe I should read on.
To me, to use a bad cliche, it was a win-win situation.
AMAZON; LITTLE BROWN & COMPANY
Alexander McCall Smith on Precious Ramotswe, played by Jill Scott on the HBO showThe No.
Anyway, when it came time to name my character, I thought of this little baby.
And theres a village in Botswana called Ramotswa, which is where her last name came from.
HBO; PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE
When I wrote the first one, I was a graduate student doing a Ph.D. Its not a Scottish surname.
This guys real name is Joe.
And his address is Rankin Drive!
ACORN; MACMILLAN
How bizarre is that?
Rawlins just sounded good.
But I cant say that I planned that.
EVERETT COLLECTION; SIMON & SCHUSTER
Maybe my unconscious was talking and saying, Walter, you know, I have an idea.'
