Kopp Sisters Literary Society--Want to Name a Character?

Kopp Sisters Literary Society

Bookmail is the best mail!

The books have landed!

Thanks so much for posting pictures of your packages! It's super fun to see all of you (and your adorable pets) digging in. I hope you like the book. I hope the chocolate was good. I wish I could've sent you a real smore, but probably half of you are in the lightly-toasted camp and the other half are over with me in the burn-it-to-a-crisp camp, and how would we have ever sorted that out?

Anyway, it's nerve-wracking to have a new book out in the world, no matter how many times you've done it before, and your pictures are just the uplifting nerve tonic I need, so thank you.

Hey, does anybody want to name a character?

By any chance, would it be fun for you to name a character in Book 7? That's right, I said 7--which will be out (god willin' and the creek don't rise, as my grandmother used to say) in fall of 2021.

So you know--there's a LONG PAYOFF on this one!

But I am starting to outline this book now as I wait for my editor to send me her notes on Book 6, due out in fall 2020. It's taking her a LOOOOONG time to get back to me, but she assures me the book is great, she's just super-busy.

So while I wait, I outline. I've been waiting a bit too long. The outline is now 25,000 words. That is insane. This will be the most over-outlined novel in history.

I cannot stand to not be working on SOMETHING--as a self-employed person, it is terrifying to not do some sort of work every day. So the other day, just to keep myself busy, I made a list of all the characters in Book 7 I will need names for. They are:

A guy getting a divorce who is genuinely nice guy.

A guy getting a divorce who is NOT a nice guy and tries to put a move on Fleurette.

A possibly creepy man (depending on who you ask) applying to rent a room in a boardinghouse

A not very well-known actress in a Broadway play

An arrogant banker who thinks women shouldn't bother themselves with money questions.

The banker's (female) secretary who thinks her boss is full of shit

A lawyer who's the innocent victim of a con game

That lawyer's helpful secretary

A nice young man being hired to drive a truck

If you like the idea of a name of your choosing turning up in a book, I'd love to hear your ideas! You can nominate your own name, your grandmother's name, or just some random weird name you've always loved. The only criteria is that it has to make sense for the 1920s, and it can't be too similar to the name of another person in the book (which you would have no way of knowing, that's my problem)

Also, keep in mind that some of these people might only be called Mr. Whatever, depending on the social situation, so the first name might not get used at all. For instance, we probably won't learn the banker's first name.

So if this sounds like fun to you, please go here and share your thoughts! If I use your character name, I'll be sure to thank you in the acknowledgements. 

And please do feel free to be in touch with me anytime, about anything. You'll hear from me again in September, when the book comes out, if not before....

Enjoy your summer!

Cheers,

Amy