Most traditional stories of the fae reveal a world of mischievous, cruel — even outright harmful — creatures who like nothing more than to bedevil man.

The Bad Ass Faeries books take fae story-telling back to its roots, showing the faeries for who they are, and often in the modern world.

If you’re at all curious about the Bad Ass Faeries™ series, you need to check out the new Bad Ass Fairies Web site. There’s an associated blog as well.

Some pages are still empty, and there’s a glitch or two to work out, but the editors wanted to make the page live — and advertise it — as soon as possible.

I’ve got a story in the Bad Ass Fairies 3: In all Their Glory anthology, called Selk-Skin Deep. It takes traditional selkie mythology and stands it on its ear, putting the main character (the selkie) on a Navy ship during the Vietnam War.

If you like:

• Faeries (or fairies!)
• Military stories
• Alternate histories
• Action (Fire! Bombs! Explosions! Death! Destruction!)

… then you might like my story.

Read the first five pages here. (Warning, it ends abruptly in the middle of a scene. Sorry!)

It will even force them into a shape. And you can pick and choose colors to match your style. Here’s the tagxedo cloud for my Web site (April, was a pretty big month for me, apparently…):

I’m fascinated by how the seemingly random words fit together…and I’m curious about the algorithm used…I only did one post about Frog and Toad and yet Toad features fairly prominently in the graph. You can him in bright yellow in the upper left leaf of the clover. Frog doesn’t get half as nice the recognition.

Here’s the tag cloud for my twitter account:

It looks like I should go edit out the “Published a Blog Post” reference I have on the auto-post to twitter when I update my blog. But, I do like how my #FollowFriday friends are featured.

There seems to be a few inconsistencies in the system. Because of the date format on my blog “th” is a big hitter in the cloud (today is the 7th of September…see?) and the word “the” is very tiny in the graph. Realistically, it ought to be the focal point of the graph with everything else wrapped around it, as much as it’s used. Ideally, the program should bar it (and other oft-used words) from the pretty picture. I think that would make it more accurate.

Still, it’s a fascinating snap-shot. I think I’ll try it again in a few months to see how things change (or if they don’t)!

Miners with Their Children – at the Labor Day Celebration, Silverton, Colorado. September 1940. (Russell Lee, photographer)

Happy Labor Day!

Here in the United States, Labor Day has traditionally been the demarcation line between summer and fall…the day after which most kids return to school. (Though in recent years, schools have been opening the last week in August.) It’s always hot and sticky, and minds are rarely on curriculum.

But for the last few days, I’ve been waking to 50° (F) temperatures and days that have barely peaked at 70°. Unusual. It certainly feels like Fall.

I love this time of year!

I love crisp air in the morning, the smell of woodsmoke, and leaves crunching under my feet.

(We’ve been keeping the windows open all day, and as much as my allergies are screaming, I can’t help but enjoy it. The house smells great with the wind whisking through it, driving away the stale, conditioned air. The house feels brighter and bigger – as if it’s grown a bit. I really enjoy crawling into cool, clean sheets at the end of a work day…)

I look forward to baking bread from scratch, making stew, and for the first time in about a decade: going back to school — though my class doesn’t start until September 10, and I’ll be teaching!

To those of you celebrating Labor Day today…I hope you have a terrific day. (To those of you not celebrating – I hope you have a terrific day as well!)

I plan to get outside and enjoy the weather while it’s still mild…what are your plans for the day?

I overslept this morning.

(Well, in truth, it’s hard to oversleep on your day off. )

This was a planned day off – having worked 45 hours last week and 35 this week in order to get a “free” day.

But, in this case, a “free” day only means that I don’t have to report to my day job. I’ve packed it with other stuff that absolutely needs to get done, like:

 
•  Drive to the college in the next county over to fill out paperwork so that I can teach a class beginning next week;
 
•  Get to the library and pick up the CDs I have on hold before they put them back in the general collection;
 
•  Get my hair cut, since I’m beginning to look like Cousin Itt.
 
•  And 27 other items on my to-do list, most of them writing related.

See? There’s nothing “off” about it.

But I digress.

I got up early, made a pot of coffee, drank the entire pot of coffee, made some breakfast, checked my email…

…and before I knew it, I was later than I wanted to be. Now, I’ll be racing through the day like a mad-woman trying to get all these things done. (Who wants to be burdened with a ‘to-do’ list over the weekend… I plan to have fun!)

Here’s Your Prompt: Look at your current work in progress (or start a new one) and put your main character in a situation which makes him or her late. (If your story’s been plodding along, this should add some tension. Bonus!) How does the lateness affect the story? What goes wrong? How does your character deal with it? Is she cool under pressure? Pragmatic? Does he turn into a basket case? How is the situation resolved?

If you journal, think of a time when you were really late for something. What did you do to try to alleviate the problem…drive 90 miles an hour on the interstate? Call ahead and try to gain more time? What happened? How did you feel? How many folks did you tick off? How was the problem resolved?

Matt Marotta, the programmer of The Name Stooge software program, happened to wander by my blog as I was discussing character names. He offered me a free copy of his program – no strings attached.

Well, of course I couldn’t pass that up. And of course I’m going to tell you all about it. But the best part is: Matt’s going to give away some extra copies to readers of this blog!

We haven’t worked out the details yet…but keep your eyes here over the next week or two for the details. It’ll be something easy, like leaving a comment about characters, or maybe linking to mine or Matt’s blog.

Name Stooge is intended to help you choose the perfect name for your character. You enter a few bits of data:

• Your character’s age and gender
• When the story takes place
• How common the name should be

…and it spits out the possibilities.

I like the idea that you can determine how common (or uncommon) the name is. And knowing when the story takes place helps to weed out names that weren’t used in a particular time period. (How many Brittany’s or Aiden’s were walking around in 1920?)

I’ve already installed the program (very easy to do) but it’s begging me to register before I take it for a test drive. And you know my litany: I’ve got some writing to do…

So, look for a review of the Name Stooge software sometime in the next week or so…at which time you’ll get your opportunity to score your own copy.

As my good friend Trish (who nominated me) says, this is really just a cute little meme disguised as a blog award, but it seems like fun so…

I’m supposed to tell you seven things about myself that you don’t already know – and then pass this award on to some other folks. Here goes:

1. I play the tenor saxophone (…and several other wind instruments. But the tenor is my favorite.)
    
2. I’ve marched with three different marching bands: my high school band (Go Hawks!), The Mighty Sound of Maryland (University of Maryland Marching Band) and the Baltimore Ravens Marching Band.
    
3. I’ve broken only one bone (in my body. Ahem.)…and if I’m reading this chart correctly…it was the tiny little bone above the distal phalanges joint (the distal phalanges bone?) on the middle finger of my left hand.
    
4. The broken bone was a direct result of a marching band incident.
    
   (I can hear you now: “Enough with the marching band stuff!”
    
   
   Okay. )
    
5. I never eat Italian out.
    
6. I believe hot dogs are a gourmet food.
    
7. I have visited “the oldest recorded sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, ” founded September 03, 301. (San Marino. I made it the setting of my story, The Dragon’s Clause.)

The award requires that I nominate some other blogs for the same honor…but all the blogs that immediately come to mind have already been nominated! Seriously.

=/

I promise I’ll give it some thought and come up with list another time. I know there are some I’m not thinking of immediately…but it’s it’s getting late, and I want to go write!

Thanks, Trish!

I first met Cate through the Eternal Press author boards. Friendly, always willing to answer a question, Cate was the first of many at EP who took the time to show me the ropes. Her writing is fabulous, proven by the sheer number of books she’s published. Please welcome Cate.

 

Who is Cate Masters?
Hm, interesting question. Married for 33 years to her best friend, Cate Masters is one lucky woman. She loves great stories, music and all forms of art. A lifelong writer, she’s continually evolving, always reaching for the next level. Ms. Masters is the author of twenty-seven published works of fiction, ranging from fantasy/dark fantasy, historical, contemporary and speculative, from flash to novel length. Reviewers have described her work as “so compelling, I did not want to put it down,” “such romantic tales that really touch your soul,” “filled with action scenes which made it a riveting story,” and “the author weaves a great tale with a creative way of using words that makes the story refreshing to read.” She has finally come into her own, I think.

Tell us your latest news?
It’s been another busy year! Last month, Freya’s Bower released a historical adventure romance set in 1850s Key West titled Angels, Sinners and Madmen, and Eternal Press released Winning, a short with magical realism elements. This month, EP released Follow the Stars Home, a historical centered on the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Also this month, Whiskey Creek Press released Surfacing, a contemporary fantasy about an indie rocker and a mermaid, and WCP will later release a contemporary mainstream, The Bridge Between. I recently signed a contract with Lyrical Press for Rock Bottom, another contemporary novel.
When and why did you begin writing? Because I have a very vivid imagination, I began to set images on paper through poems at the tender age of ten. My friends were all artists or poets, and I still have some of the poems we collaborated on. In my twenties, I experimented with short stories, some of which appeared in various literary or web zines. Ideas tend to pile up in my head, and if I don’t write, there’s a serious risk of explosion.

What inspired you to write this book?
Another author mentioned she hadn’t seen a mermaid story in awhile, so I trolled the Internet for mermaid lore. I’m a research addict, so can get lost in it, especially when fascinating legends abound. When I came across a video of the mermaid show in Weeki Wachee Springs, it seemed the perfect place for an authentic mermaid to surface without too much notice. Mermaids love handsome guys with great voices, so AJ Dillon was born.

Here’s the blurb for Surfacing:
AJ Dillon is trouble. The former lead singer of an indie band has no home, no money and no future. His grandfather is the only relative willing to take another chance on him. AJ arrives in Weeki Wachee, Florida, with his guitar, a few clothes and a bad attitude. The only good thing about Weeki Wachee is the ocean — the one place AJ feels at home. Grandpa lines up a job for AJ at Weeki Wachee Springs, where beautiful women perform as mermaids. Grandpa says real mermaids exist, but AJ doesn’t believe – until he meets Cassiopeia, and his passion for music resurfaces. But then greedy Chaz finds out, and threatens to kill them if AJ doesn’t go along with his plan to make a fortune with a real mermaid show. Can AJ save Cassie, even if it means losing her?

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Most of my stories have an underlying theme of encouragement to follow your bliss. I’m always in awe of women who write when their kids were young, plus hold down a job. I only wrote sporadically while my kids were little. Now they’re grown, and I am following my own advice, and it’s the best time of my life.

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
(Has anyone ever realized it?) No, I’m too big a believer in karma to use real experiences or people. Though I do sometimes use names of people I love. For instance, the editor in Picture. This is named for my sister Claudia. In Angels Sinners and Madmen, Annette and Julian are dolls, but in real life, they’re my sister and brother-in-law. The hero in Rock Bottom is Jerry Trently, a dear friend who was an inspiration to everyone he met.
What books have most influenced your life most? Tolkien’s Rings trilogy made a huge impression on me when I was 13, and I couldn’t get enough Ray Bradbury or HP Lovecraft after that. Authors such as Margaret Atwood, TC Boyle, Alice Hoffman and Michael Chabon showed me writers could incorporate fantasy in a realistic setting, in a literary style. I’m in awe of them all.

What book are you reading now? What do you like, or not, about it?

I have a stack of books waiting to be read! The most current is Gena Showalter’s The Darkest Night. I have a feeling I’ll be sending for the next two in the trilogy. I love urban fantasies, and this novel is a gripping, fast-paced read.

Do you ever have problems with writers block?
If so how do you get through it? My biggest problem is lack of time. I have so many more ideas than I can possibly follow through on. I find that working on several projects at once lends greater perspective, so if I run into a wall on one, I pick up on another and eventually the problem comes clear on the other.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Stopping. I love these characters.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I’d love to hear from you!

My web site’s http://www.catemasters.com
blog: http://catemasters.blogspot.com
Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cate-Masters/89969413736?ref=ts
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CateMasters

What’s the number-one news story today ?

(It was a big deal to get this question right: the professor worked at a large radio station and always had lots of swag to give away. The person who responded correctly would receive a coffee mug.)

I don’t remember the various answers that were called out. But I do remember the hunky guy across the aisle asking if it were about rain.

He almost got the mug.

The answer: the weather.

Weather is all the rage. It’s the first thing people want to know when they get up in the morning. It’s what they wait for on the evening news each night. Some folks get email alerts or install browser plugins so that they’ll always know what to expect. It’s imperative to know whether or not to carry an umbrella tomorrow, or if they should stay in for lunch. Vacations are planned around it.

(I myself have driven as many as six hours in pursuit of sunshine.)

We no longer think of weather as a gift (or scourge) of the gods, yet the elements are still credited with significance in our lives. On the eve of my wedding, during the rehearsal and dinner afterward, the skies opened up and rain came down so hard and fast that the streets of Baltimore were flooded. Water rose atop the curbs and gushed over the sidewalks.

Worried. I was worried about the morning. Okay, I was a little excited about the storm, I admit, but I certainly didn’t want a torrential downpour on the day of my wedding. What would that signify? I thought. Who wants to begin a life of marital bliss with that kind of omen?

Here’s Your Prompt: Think of a time when the weather — or the elements in general — played a major role in your life. You don’t have to choose a significant event, like a wedding, but any situation in which the weather was pivotal.

Be creative. Discard the first three events that come to mind (I’ll bet they’ll be similar to my own weak example: it rained when I was looking for sunshine). Maybe you got snowed in at a friend’s house. What happened? Maybe February has been 27 days of bleak, watery daylight and sleet, but the 28th dawned bright and clear and seventy-two degrees. How did you take advantage of it? Maybe that flash-flood washed away the pick-up, but it saved the crops.

If you’ve never been affected in your life (really?) by the weather, make something up:

• Pretend you’re in high school serving detention with someone you despise and a freak storm blows the electricity. The teacher goes off to find some flashlights and you’re stuck with that person, in the dark, and it’s getting stuffy in the classroom without any airflow. Write the conversation you might have.
   
• Pretend it’s October and you’re walking outside in a crisp autumn night. Is there a moon in the sky, or cloud cover? What do you hear and smell? Are leaves burning? Does the wind rustle the leaves? Are you scared? Or, does the cool air invigorate you? What goes through your mind as you experience the elements?
   
• It’s snowing: tiny flurries spiraling down out of the sky, blanketing the ground and lessening visibility. Three feet or more has been predicted, and you can’t help yourself, you’re as giddy as a kid. With that kind of weather, you know that secondary roads will be blocked: you won’t have to go to work. But you wake up in the morning and there’s only a dusting. You’re groggy and disappointed, and you have to head off to work. Write all about it.
   
• Etc.

A Few Special Rules for Writers of Fantasy and Science Fiction

There are a few special rules pertaining to writers of fantasy and science fiction that authors should consider before settling on a name. These are:

1. Choose a Name that Readers Can Pronounce
   This goes for both genre and non-genre characters, but I’m cataloging it here because I think authors often shoot for inventive, alien-sounding names for characters when they’re building their stories from the ground up. If you’re creating an entire world or planet, surely you’ll be creating names, too, eh?

   So, if you make it up, please, make certain it’s pronounceable.

   Even if you don’t make it up, it pays to choose wisely. If your story is set, for example, in Italy or Ireland (or a locale that resembles Italy or Ireland), it’s too easy to pick an “exotic” sounding name (ahem, like Salvagia or Theodicar) which may bother some readers.

   (An aside: even run-of-the-mill names can become unpronounceable after a while. Try reading Benjamin or Kristiana over and over again. It becomes tiresome. Your readers may nickname your characters Ben and Kris – completely negating what you had in mind.)

2. Nix the Apostrophes
   Why ‘do some fantasy writers in’ject so many ap’ostro’phes in their char’acter n’ames? Author James Clemen’s Banished and Banned series begins with Wi’tch Fire. In Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series, the wise wizard is named Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander.

   The problem is not with the apostrophe, per se, but 1) where they’re placed in the word (Wi’tch, really ?) and 2) the frequency in which they’re used…not to mention they’re just one more stumbling block for the reader. Why make it hard?

   (Another aside: a few years ago the Evil Overlady decreed that all apostrophes in the middle of fantasy names are to be pronounced, “boing.” Thus James Clemen’s book becomes Wi-boing-tch and Goodkin’s wizard becomes Zu-boing-l Zorander. I find this endlessly hilarious. You should, too.)

3. Don’t Mix Exotic with Prosaic
   Using the Goodkind example again: he’s named the wizard Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander, and a witch Shota, but the wielder of the sword is named plain ol’ Richard. In worldbuilding, the author should look at the whole…which isn’t to say that the names can’t be different. In my novella, Blood Soup, the Omarans have Italian-sounding names, the Borgunds are all Germanic. They’re different, but the rules of my world allow for that.

As I said last time, just because I refer to these as “rules,” it’s not necessary to adhere to anyone of them – but keeping them in mind while naming characters can only be helpful to the process, and perhaps prevent a few embarrassing names.

Next Time: Naming Resources

I love logic puzzles.

They’re are often written tongue-in-cheek and rely heavily on puns, but I guffawed over the moniker, “Dick Filthey” in this puzzle I worked recently about bad reporters writing for the Daily Muckraker. It led me to thinking about naming the characters in my stories and novels.

Character names are vital. A good one becomes part of the character’s entire persona, lending credibility, resonating with readers, even adding subtly to the subtext or theme of the story. A bad name will toss a reader out of the story and have them laughing, or cringing, each time it’s read. It may even turn your book into a wallbanger.

Names should be accepted  by the reader, not analyzed or dissected for meaning. They should enhance without being obvious.

Here are some things I try to keep in mind when choosing names:

1. Choose a name that reflects the character.
   If your hero is (for example) strong and charismatic, name him something that sounds, or can be perceived as, strong or charismatic. Of course there’s a bit of a judgment call here, but Robert or James beats Biff any day of the week in my book.

   This logic applies to the heroine in the book as well. If she totes a gun or drives a starship, you probably don’t want to name her Sissy.
    

2. Choose a name that reflects the time period.
   Do your research. If you write steampunk, for example, you’ll want to choose Victorian-age names such as Liza or Benedict and refrain from using modern appellations such as Aiden or Britney. (Here’s a fun Steampunk Name Generator.)
    
3. Choose a name that reflects the region or ethnicity of your story.
   This should go without saying, but if your story is set in Italy (for example) you’ll want your character’s names to reflect the region (unless they are simply visiting  Italy). Name your character Paulo instead of Paul or Lucia instead of Lucy.
    
4. Don’t name your characters with similar sounding names.
   This is especially terrible if you have more than a few characters. Similar sounding names can cause confusion, making it difficult to keep them separate (not to mention that it gets hard on the ears) to read only about, John, Jacob and Jessica.
    
   
5. Don’t worry about the hidden meanings of names.
   Many baby name lists also supply an origin or meaning of a name…but limiting yourself to choosing a name that means “strong” or “pretty” or “wise” can lead to bad choices. Keep in mind: how many people actually know the hidden meanings of names?
    
   

Minor Rules
These rules are less important (in my opinion) than those above, but still valid.

1. Don’t use names ending in “s.”
   Names ending in “s” can be difficult when using the possessive form. (Do you use ’s or s’?)
    
2. Don’t use the name of someone famous.
   It’s not a bad idea to check out the name you’ve chosen in a good internet search engine. You may have picked a famous (or infamous!) name without realizing it. Maybe the reason your name sounds “so perfect” is because you’ve heard it before.
    

3. Avoid “Cute” Spellings.
   It’s trendy to find an alternate spelling for common names these days, but why make the reader figure out that “Chehllie” is pronounced “Kelly”?
    

4. Avoid Gender Neutral Names
   Who’s the male lead, Chris or Pat or Sam? Maybe it’s Terry? This list grows yearly as names such as Taylor and McKenzie are added to the mix. Androgynous names really only pose a problem at the beginning of the story, until the reader sorts out who is who…but again, why make it hard for the reader?
    

Although I’ve called these “the rules,” it’s not necessary to abide by any of them. In fact, I’ve broken more than one or two of these in many of the stories I’ve written. It’s when more than a few of them are broken in the same story that trouble starts to happen. It pays to be cognizant of the overall picture when you’re naming your characters.

Next Time: Genre Writing and Names

Resources:
Writing-World.com – A long list of name resources on the internet.