The Perfect Fit: Guest L.K. Below

Jul 8, 2011

Another guest post, this time from an author who writes under two names. L.K. Below writes romance and speculative fiction, and her young adult work appears under the name Lindsay Below. You can find both selections at her website. From an early age, L. K. Below knew that she wanted to craft new worlds. A self-proclaimed nerd and bookworm, she spent many a recess, break, or class with her nose in a book. Or, as time wore on, plying her pen to paper. She began to write at the age of thirteen, and by age sixteen was penning whole novels. But her career didn’t start to fly until early 2010, when she received her first acceptance. With that victory bolstering her confidence, she began to send out more and more submissions. If she hadn’t known it before, now she is absolutely certain that writing is the only career for her.

To that end, she often sequesters herself in her “office” (currently the kitchen table), neck-deep in the pursuit of drafting her next biggest hit, anything from a steamy romance to a gripping new fantasy. Occasionally, she surfaces for air, to check her email, and to spend time with her supportive boyfriend. She’s always ecstatic to hear from readers, and invites you to email her at lbelow (at) lbelow.net.

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The Perfect Fit
By L.K. Below

As an author, I’m either blessed or cursed. I can’t decide which. See, I get to try out names in each of my books. But after using them in my novels, I can’t name my children after my characters, can I? I may only be twenty-one, but these are things I think about.

I’ve changed the names of my future children about a dozen times already. Names have to fit a person just right, so by the time I actually have these kids, I’ll probably have changed them again.

Most of the time, my characters are the opposite. Their names pop into my head and generally speaking, stick. I have a much harder time finding the right surname than I do a first name.

Have you ever guessed someone’s name based on their appearance? This is a game I used to play with friends when out shopping. See, when I think of a first name, a face comes to mind. It works the other way around too. I can find the perfect name to fit a person, in my opinion. So by the time I settle on a name for my main character, it’s set in stone.

I have some mishaps, of course. I find I have quite a few “go-to” names for side characters, especially guys. Jake and Rob are two which tend to pop up. I’ve had to modify the name of the hero in a work in progress because a side character with the same name demanded a story of his own. I want to make things as straightforward and not confusing as possible.

Then there are characters like the heroine in my newest release, Never a Princess, Always a Frog. When I started writing it, her name was Chelsea. But before I even reached the end of the first page, I knew that was the wrong name. I needed to find a different one. Eventually, I hit on Colleen instead.

As for my poor future kids, they’ll be stuck with the names I love too much to use. Which at the moment includes Lenore, Augustine, and Valentine.

Do you/did you have a list of precise names for your kids? How many did you cross off before you settled on “the one”?

Authors, how do you choose your character names?

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Here’s the blurb for Never a Princess, Always a Frog:

Has this frog finally found her prince?

From the moment Colleen confesses her deepest desire — to experience the same passion she’s read about in books — she is swept away on the most daring escapade she’s ever experienced. Dressed in nothing but green paint, she attends a Halloween party searching for the man of her dreams. She finds him, but then fears she won’t be able to give him up.

Since the death of his wife five years ago, Dan’s life has been on auto-pilot. But from the moment he meets Colleen, he starts to feel alive again. And he knows he can’t let this would-be princess stride out of his life…

Buy the book or learn more at http://bit.ly/NeverAPrincess.

Want to win this book? Be sure to visit L.K. Below’s blog for her Week-After-Release Party on Monday, July 11th 2011. One lucky commenter will win this book! Visit http://lbelow.blogspot.com and leave a comment on her party post on Monday to enter.

L.K. Below writes romance and speculative fiction. Under her full name, Lindsay Below, she pens young adult novels. Visit her online at www.lbelow.net.