The Game of the Name, by Lori Roberts Herbst

 

We recently moved from Dallas, Texas (11 letters) to Colorado Springs, Colorado (23 letters).

Prior to the move, I’d never considered the ramifications. Writing out our new city and state uses twice as much space and takes twice as long as writing our former location. I mean, I’m a busy woman, right? (No worries, though. Clever as I am, I purchased return address stickers. Now the only time spent is what it takes to affix the label to something. Oh, and the time spent searching for said labels…)

 

Speaking of cumbersome addresses, consider Rock Creek Village, Colorado, which amasses a whopping 24 letters. Now, I adore the fictional mountainside town where my protagonist Callie Cassidy and her crew make their home, but it can be a pain to include such a long name in short blurbs. I’ve sometimes thought that if I had to do it over again, I might call the village something less unwieldy.

 

But when I began pondering my new series, I settled on the fictional Seahorse Bay, Texas, as my location. At 16 letters, it is shorter than Rock Creek Village but still hefty. I fell in love with it, though, and sometimes passion eclipses practicality.

 

Towns are just one of the many elements of a story that the author, in her goddess-like wisdom, must christen. And those monikers often end up being more important than I’d imagined before I started writing. Especially when writing a series, the names pop up in book after book, so they’d better be good. And with cozy mysteries, readers expect at least a few cute and witty names thrown into the mix.

I don’t remember how the name Callahan Cassidy (Callie Cassidy Mysteries) appeared in my mind. But once it stuck, it was a natural leap that Callie’s father, Charlie Cassidy, would carry the nickname Butch. Naturally, he gave his daughter the pet name Sundance, which led to Callie naming her photo gallery Sundance Studio. Callie’s boyfriend, Sam, runs a mountain village café, Snow Plow Chow. The neighboring bookstore is A Likely Story. I called the liquor store down the street Quicker Liquor. These (hopefully) amusing titles cost me hours of contemplation. In retrospect, I probably spent more time naming fictional shops than I did considering what to put on my children’s birth certificates.

 

Then there are the all-important book titles. With the Callie series, I decided that each title would do double duty, encompassing both a photographic term as well as the crime in the book. In SUITABLE FOR FRAMING, for example, someone is framed for the murder. When I run out of photo phrases, I’ll simply have to quit writing the series. For the Seahorse Bay Mystery series, I went with alliterations involving the location of the crime and the springboard crime itself. For instance, book 1 will be LARCENY AT THE LIGHTHOUSE, and book 2 is called ARSON AT THE AQUARIUM.

 

My favorite cozy titles are the “punny” ones. I’m afraid I’ll never be talented enough with a pun to tackle that type of title, but I’m so appreciative of the people who can that I wanted to share a few of my cozy favorites by fellow Writers Who Kill bloggers.

 

Korina Moss, Cheese Shop Mysteries: GONE FOR GOUDA (book 2)

Meri Allen/Shari Randall, Ice Cream Shop Mysteries: THE ROCKY ROAD TO RUIN (book 1)

Sarah E. Burr, Glenmyre Whim Mysteries: YOU CAN’T CANDLE THE TRUTH (book 1)

Allison Brook/Marilyn Levinson, Haunted Library Mysteries: OVERDUE OR DIE (book 7)

Molly MacRae, Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries: COME SHELL OR HIGH WATER (book 1)

 

And a couple of extras, just for fun:

Leslie Budewitz, Spice Shop Mysteries: ASSAULT AND PEPPER (book 1) and GUILTY AS CINNAMON (book 2)

Maddie Day/Edith Maxwell, Country Store Mysteries: BATTER OFF DEAD (book 10)

Kate Lansing, Colorado Wine Mysteries: TILL DEATH DO US PORT (book 4)

 

What are some of the best names you’ve read (or created yourself)?

 

 

The Callie Cassidy Mystery series is available on Amazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and paperback.

 

***

 

Lori Roberts Herbst writes the Callie Cassidy Mysteries, a cozy mystery series set in Rock Creek Village, Colorado, and the soon-to-be-released Seahorse Bay Mysteries, set in a Texas cruise port town. To find out more and to sign up for her newsletter, go to www.lorirobertsherbst.com