Guest Blog: Vicki Batman: Hi! I’m... Uh... What is your hero’s name?

Soon my romantic mystery, Temporarily Employed, will be released and will it be rockin’. I was thinking back to the days when I first was “prompted” to write and then remembered how I struggled to find my hero’s name. Eventually, I named him Allan Charles Wellborn. It suggested stability and formality to me, and I especially liked the two “L” s in the first and last name.

So how did I get his name? OMG, I nearly pulled my hair out. Nothing spoke to me. Struggling to go forward, I named my guy XXX.

I began writing at the computer in the family room. Also in the same room was the television which served mostly as background noise for me. At that time, the chatter didn’t bother me. Besides, something had to break the day of part time jobs, housework, laundry, cooking, gardening... You get the drift.

So there I was struggling over what to name my hero. I continued to bang away on the story all the while the television blared in the background. Then I heard “Allan.” I checked the TV to find a commercial for a sitcom featuring a character named “Allan.” I liked the sound of that and quickly subbed in the name for the XXX placeholder.

Fine and dandy, but I knew at some point, I’d have to give my guy a last name. Again, I was in the family room working away, the television going on in the background. The word “Wellborn” caught my ear. I stared at a commercial for a door company named “Wellborn.” I put my combo together and said it over and over. I liked.

The name “Allan” means in Celtic: harmony, stone, or noble. Also fair, handsome. Originally a saint's name, it was reintroduced to Britain during the Norman Conquest, remained popular throughout the Middle Ages, and was revived in the 19th century.

The name “Wellborn” means in German: stream. A habitational name from any of several places so named in Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein.

Was it the best choice?

So my hero is handsome (:-)) and although his last name means stream, I think just saying “well” and “born” gives a different meaning of born well, like to a manor born. And that fits my guy. He’s pretty much always perfect all his life-or is he?

That by far was the hardest name I worked on. Others have come much easier as my fingers fly across the keyboard.

What is your favorite guy name?

BIO:
Like some of her characters, award-winning author, Vicki Batman has worked a wide variety of jobs including lifeguard, ride attendant at an amusement park; a hardware store, department store, book store, antique store clerk; administrative assistant in an international real estate firm; and a general “do anything gal” at a financial services firm--the list is endless.

Writing for several years, she has completed three manuscripts, written essays, and sold many short stories to TRUE LOVE, TRUE ROMANCE, TRUE CONFESSIONS, NOBLE ROMANCE PUBLISHING, LONG AND SHORT REVIEWS, MUSEITUP PUBLISHING, and THE WILD ROSE PRESS. She is a member of RWA and several writing groups and chapters. In 2004, she joined DARA and has served in many capacities, including 2009 President. DARA awarded her the Robin Teer Memorial Service Award in 2010.

Most days begin with her hands set to the keyboard and thinking "What if?"

BLURB: Temporarily Employed, a romantic mystery coming soon:
Hattie Cook's dream job is down the toilet and her new SUV violated. Desperate for cash to cover the basic necessities of rent and food, she takes a temporary job where she uncovers an embezzling scam tied to the death of a former employee--the very one she replaced.

Allan Wellborn has determined there's more to the death of a former Buy Rite employee. Overly dedicated, always perfect, he puts his job first, even if doing so ultimately hurts the one he loves.

Can the killer be found before time is up?