Ever wonder how authors pick the names for their characters? I do. They create a hero and heroine from their imaginations – giving them eye color, weight, nose structure and most importantly a name. Some literary romantic couples have names that will forever be emblazoned in our minds. Couples like Romeo and Juliet, Prince Charming and Cinderella, Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy, Eve and Roark. These names are so perfect that we can’t imagine them being called anything else.
So in honor of the power of names of romantic couples – We’re having a contest. Create the names of a hero and heroine that would star in your romance novel. We’ll pick the top three and they will win a book.
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Jan
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 9:12 am:
That’s easy!
William and Clarice.
My favorite real life hero and heroine–my grandparents!
shoua
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 9:49 am:
I have a short romance story that I wrote a long time ago for school that was not so good, but I still love the names of my hero and heroine.
Tobias “Bias” Knight and Nerrisa Vox
I Heart Book Gossip
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 10:04 am:
Dominik Christian and Audrina Paige.
Please count me in. What a fun game this is!
Polly Hargrove
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 10:11 am:
In honor of my Mom and Dad Peggy and Ned. Common and Sound.
Sue
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 10:13 am:
Emily Rose Sutton & Chase Tucker
I just like the sound of them together.
BadBarb
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 10:23 am:
Edmund and Marissa
Alicia
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 10:24 am:
Emmaline Ruby and Michael after a character I created that has a way of making it into everything I write.
Jody F.
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 10:39 am:
Inara (after a character in the tv show Firefly) Devereaux and Sebastian Wilcox.
WendyK
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 10:46 am:
well I have a story started with a hero named Jake and a heroine name Callie.
and one with a hero named Gavin and heroine name Mara.
Great post and contest.
hugs,
WendyK
highlandlovesong at yahoo dot com
Linda
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 10:56 am:
I love to use sci-fi-ish and fantasy names. Different, but not hard to figure out or pronounce.
I created Coryn and Valisa.
PJ
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 11:19 am:
Great names! I don’t know how you’re going to choose, Maria.
Jan and Polly, I love that your names honor your grandparents and parents.
Dee
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 11:33 am:
When I would write stories in high school, the heroine was usually a variation of my first name, Diana, or my middle name, Karen.
However, if I was to create two random names right now:
Melyssa Samuels and Brendan Montgomery
Just Jinny
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 11:56 am:
In the book I just started (my first one, oh my gosh..what am I doing? lol) the names I am using are Allison Reeves and Ian Black.
The book is loosly based on my sister and my Mom told me that when she was born she wanted to name her Allison.
And I don’t know anyone named Ian personally. But I wanted something just a little bit exotic. Not your standard John or Sam or Nathan…although those names are great too.
Maria Lokken
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 12:10 pm:
I know I can’t win anything, after all I’m the one giving the contest. But I think two names that work belong to my husband and I — Maria & Rainer. Although years ago we got on a jag of calling each other Sunny and Lucky.
Suzanne Blanchard
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 12:57 pm:
I’m working on 2 ‘paranormal’ stories. Rachel Raines and Kyle Madison are my couple in the New England story. Jody Rancier and Matt Patterson are my western couple with an additional main characer named Trent Dayne.
LisaK
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 1:18 pm:
In the story I’m writing there are several couples (or couples-to-be), but my favourite and most important one is Lukas and Nina (I’m not sure if that name exists in English – it’s pronounced “Neena”).
Both are names not everyone is called but still common enough not to be laughed about.
Teresa
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 1:45 pm:
I alway’s like Stormy Rain for the female and Racer for the male. If I ever have kids Stormy Rain will be the name of a girl, but my sister got dibs on Racer for a boy.
cyclops8
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 3:28 pm:
Keir Matthews and Sheridan Davis
Jill James
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 4:08 pm:
My favorite is always whatever story I’m working on right now, so…Logan and Melissa
cheryl c.
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 7:17 pm:
I love solid manly names, so my first thought for guys was Adam or Matt. But, those are my sons’ names, and no way could I write a sex scene for them!
OK, if it was historical, I would use the names Cullen and Gillian. Contemporary would be Luke and Danielle “Dani.”
Maria Lokken
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 7:55 pm:
And we have THREE winners. Actually, you’re all winners, because the names you came up with were terrific. Thanks everyone for sharing with us today.
The three that were chosen are:
Peg & Ned – submitted by Polly
Coryn & Valisa – submitted by Linda
Melyssa Samuels & Brendan Montgomery – submitted by Dee.
Please send your snail mail address to alphamail@romancenovel.tv and also give me an idea of what sub-genre you’d enjoy reading – and we’ll try to accommodate your specific request.
Dee
on Aug 9th, 2009
@ 8:48 pm:
My email is on it’s way
Laura
on Aug 10th, 2009
@ 10:31 am:
Maggie & Devon
Keira
on Aug 10th, 2009
@ 1:29 pm:
In the fantasy story that I’m writing my characters are:
Evie (short for Evangeline) and Merrick (possible nickname Emory/Emerson)
Evie went through many changes. I had settled on Angelica and Angie but decided it sounded too harsh and went back and switched it all out.
Merrick because it’s hot and fit the male lead to a ‘T’. Of course I drew a little inspiration from Gerard Butler’s character in Timeline also named Merrick. I wouldn’t have kept it though if the research behind the name hadn’t worked out so well. I love how Merrick and the possible nicknames talk about being great rulers.
So that’s how I came up with my names.
Erin Thompson
on Aug 11th, 2009
@ 11:56 am:
In the romance I am tinkering with my hero is an ex-NFL player who goes back to his home town to be a sports reporter at the local news station. My heroine expects the job to be hers at the station when her mentor retires. Sparks fly….
Hero: Chazz Crawford
Heroine: Presley Leighton
I thought Chazz was a good sexy name for a buff QB.
Presley came about because my dad was always a HUGE Elvis fan and I thought it made for an interesting name for a female!
Thanks
Wendy
on Aug 12th, 2009
@ 12:24 am:
This is such a fun idea for a game- I just wanted to add a name or too but please don’t pick my name to win since I just won a prize recently.
Sage Delancy and Sebastian ‘Bastian’ Pryde
Dee
on Aug 21st, 2009
@ 6:17 am:
I had heard so much about Joey W Hill…can’t wait to read Beloved Vampire!