I’m very particular about the names I choose for my characters, and I’m sometimes criticised for my choice… but usually I am trying to find a name that does not belong to a real person in real life… obviously I can’t hope to avoid it all the time, and sometimes names jump out and ambush me. For example one of the main characters in my new story,Radwinter, is Ruthie… She is a striking woman who has just become engaged to one of the Radwinter brothers, a man with four teenage sons, so she is obviously a strong and resilient character. It only occurred to me last night that my dear cousin Ruth is also called Ruthie… how did I not realise? As you can see,Ruth in the black hat with her sister, in the red hat, is very beautiful, like my character.
I hope Ruth approves of what my Ruthie gets up to!
Lois Elsden 