Character names

Choosing character names can be a lot of fun. The hero of Spy, Interrupted: The Waiting Wife was named while I was watching the fabulous Stephen Colbert. I wanted to do “first name as last name” so I went with the last name of Henry James and named the hero “Stephen James”. I wanted the heroine’s name to be cross-cultural and innocuous. “Nina” was perfect. And, I simply had to name the spymaster “George”–homage to George Smiley. For other characters, I borrowed freely from names of my friends and colleagues.

I came across “Caleb Prescott” recently. Isn’t that a perfect name for our hero’s childhood nemesis? What do you think? Talk to me!