Rose Anderson's Blog, page 3

Only empty breath?

This is post number 7 in my 2016 symbol series, and the last on the topic of names as the symbols they often are. Today I’m wrapping up before delving further into symbols in general. If you’re here for the first time, scroll down for some interesting takes on character names from literature. You might even discover the meaning of your own first and last name.

Every January has morning news shows discussing  the most popular baby names and those odd names associated with pop culture. Names like Lemongello and Orangello are real. So are ESPN, Cheese, and Leviathan. Poor kids. Visit to check out the downside of wild names in urban legend claims.

Celebrities sometimes pick out stunners too: North West, Moxie CrimeFighter, Moonblood, Kal-El, Camera, Audio Science, Pilot Inspektor, Moon Unit, and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Do you suppose the parents who thought up all these unusual names were making a statement of some sort? Hmm… names as statements. I found a quote about this to consider.

“One thing is certain. I have no real feeling about my first name. I can only guess why this is. It seems to me that it may be because my parents gave it to me without any particular feeling simply because they liked it…It is as though my parents had seen it in a window of a shop, walked inside and bought it. It has nothing traditional about it, no memory, no history, not even an anecdote…it was simply a passing fancy. A family name, a saint’s name, a hero’s name, a poetic name, a symbolic name – all these are good: they have grown naturally and not been bought ready-made. One should be named after somebody or something. Or else a name is really only empty breath.”

~Franz Rosenzweig (1886-1929)

This last bit is worth a ponder:

“One should be named after somebody or something. Or else a name is really only empty breath.”

Interesting. The thought fits literary names too, especially if the meaning conveys a secret.

How’s that?

Say I’ve created a character named Kenneth Ignis. I’ve made him a fireman in New Jersey. That looks simple enough at first glance, doesn’t it? Breaking it down, his first name is an Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic name Cináed which means “born of fire.” The last name Ignis just happens to be Latin for fire. That’s a fun way to make an occupational name an indirect or secret message, rather than the obvious names of Baker or Smith. But what if Kenneth isn’t a fireman? How about he throws himself into his work or his art to the exclusion of all else? In this case the fire is his drive — a burning desire. The name is now a nod to the character’s personality.

Latin roots offer lots of potential for names, as do other language roots. Great names can be found in Norse, Greek, Old French, Germanic, or Old English. For more food for thought, I’m sharing my stash of name links. Most were found many years ago and all have served me well. Sadly links don’t last forever. I’ve lost a few good ones to time. 

The best online. So many cultural options

Useful

You won’t believe how useful this site is

http://www.languageisavirus.com/

Fun magical names

Fantastic Medieval names

Interesting

Great resources for making up names

http://www.latin-dictionary.org/

http://www.greek-dictionary.org/

Check out this oldie. As a writer and info hound, I see amazing potential here. I love that title too. http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/index.html

I hope you’ve enjoyed this venture into Onomastics.

Tomorrow: my favorite take on symbols.

:D

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Words Worth Mentioning for January

“What is the most beautiful in virile men is something feminine; what is most beautiful in feminine women is something masculine.”

~Susan Sontag

 

Today is Author Gemma Juliana’s blog day

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Authors and Industry representatives all month long.

Our January is on! Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

Finding Inspiration from Life #MondayBlogs

This is post number 6 in my 2016 symbol series. Last week I mentioned origins of names and names that were deliberately chosen to convey a meaning. If you’re here for the first time, scroll down for some interesting tidbits on the meanings behind well-known character names from the imaginations of J.K.Rowling and William Shakespeare. Then keep scrolling for more!

Today I’m examining the interesting naming style of Charles Dickens. From 1836 to 1870, Dickens completed 14 novels, several novellas and assorted published pieces, and was in the middle of another novel when he died.  As with J.K. Rowling and Shakespeare, so many of Dickens’ characters possess distinct personalities and names that hint at specific traits. Names are symbols!



Symbol: an object, person, idea, etc, used to stand for or suggest something else with which it is associated either explicitly or in some more subtle way.

 

Dickens went to work at age twelve because he had to. The rest of his family was locked away in debtor’s prison. As a result of his personal experience, the man had quite a knack for describing imbalances in society.  A Christmas Carol  and Oliver Twist  are two novels that so defined society of his time, today we use the word Dickensian to describe either a jovial Christmas or squalid poverty.

He also had a keen knack for satire and this is obvious in the names he chose. How could Mr. M’Choakumchild not be a schoolteacher?  Or Captain Cuttle not have a hook instead of a hand? Even Miss Rosa Bud’s name suggests she’s delicate and lovely. And Uriah Heep sure draws an image in one’s mind.

It’s said Dickens knew a miser who was landlord to two tradesmen lodgers  by the names Goodge and Marney. Dickens scholars believe the real Goodge and Marney lent their names to Scrooge and and his partner Marley. Of course this borrowing from life ruffled a lot of feathers as some took exception to their obvious, and often unfavorable, presence in his story. Dickens often borrowed character traits from friends, relatives, and people possessing some trait or attribute he wanted to see in his characters.  Disapproval didn’t stop him. He just made slight alterations.



Example:

Turning the name Smith into Billsmethie.  

As a writer, I like how he played with words to help paint pictures in the minds of his readers. If you look closely, you can see a lot of symbolism and metaphor.



Examples:

The overly thin servant in Domby and Son is named Withers.

The gnarly and twisted old bottle shop owner in Bleak House is named Mr. Krook.

The wiry detective is named Sergeant Straw.

Mat Jowl the gambler from The Old Curiosity Shop has “broad cheeks, a coarse wide mouth, and bull neck”.

Mr. Fezziwig from A Christmas Carol is a jovial man wearing a powdered wig forever askew.

His names are memorable, I think, more for the appearance, quality, and personality of the character they belong to, than the actual name itself. The name Nickleby is said to have come from his own name. The alteration was so slight that Dickens’ own mother missed the fact the loquacious Mrs. Nickleby was based upon her talkative self.

According to the Dictionary of British Literary Characters, Dickens created 989 characters during his career as a writer. Wiki has a long list. How many suggest habits, appearance, or occupation to you?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dickensian_characters

Tomorrow~ More!

:D

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Words Worth Mentioning for January

“Opportunities do not come with their values stamped upon them.” ~Maltbie Babcock

 

Today’s guest is Author Ciara Gold

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Authors and Industry representatives all month long.

Our January is on! Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

Double Entendres to Play on Names

This is post number 5 in my 2016 symbol series. So far, my series has talked about about proper names as the symbols they are. What is a symbol exactly?

Symbol: an object, person, idea, etc, used to stand for or suggest something else with which it is associated either explicitly or in some more subtle way.

Earlier this week I mentioned literary names with staying power the likes of Darcy and Heathcliff. Today I’m focusing on more distinctive monikers.

My daughter and I share a love of J.K.Rowling’s Harry Potter and her unique wizarding world.  If you haven’t read them, the first two books in the series have a younger feel, but that soon changes and you discover they’re not for children alone. It’s the classic hero’s quest done in brilliant storytelling. We’ve read the books to the point where the paperbacks have loose pages.

I mention J.K.Rowling’s creation because she had some pretty interesting names for her characters and they weren’t just plucked from a hat. Mention a name and potterphiles draw a ready image of a character via the books and companion movies. People who know and understand words or those who have a moderate knowledge of historical facts and mythology will find it easy to recognize the mechanics behind the names for people and things in that fantasy world.

For example: There’s a school custodian in the story who is always watching the students in anticipation of being the one who’ll catch them in the act of doing something they shouldn’t be doing, something like stealing. His name is Argus Filch. Filch is slang for stealing. Argus, servant to the goddess Hera, was the giant in Greek mythology whose  body was covered in watchful eyes. (side note: After Argus’ demise, Hera put his eyes into the tail of a peacock.)

So there you have the watchful Argus Filch, his character built upon a metaphor for watchful and a slang word for stealing. His name hints at his personality and occupation. Many of J.K.Rowling’s character names hint at occupations but also personalities.

Take Albus Dumbledoor for example. He’s the headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rowling once said in an interview that she pictured the school headmaster always humming to himself. It just so happens that the Old English name for bumble bee is dumbledoor. Cute metaphor, huh?

This long-established fan site has a list of all the names. See if you can break them down.

J.K.Rowling wasn’t the only author to make up character names with hidden meanings. William Shakespeare intentionally chose names for his characters based upon their purpose in the story. They seem rather subtle now, but steeped in their old language and reference of their day, I’ll bet his name play was the inside joke.

For example: In the play As You Like It, the character Rosalind wears a disguise as Ganymede to trick Orlando into falling in love with her. The name Ganymede is in reference to Ganymede the cup bearer of Zeus who was said to be a beautiful effeminate boy. Of course Rosalind is effeminate for a reason. She’s female.

In Romeo and Juliet, the Romeo’s friend and cousin Benvolio is as full of good will as his name implies. Conversely, friend Mercutio is very temperamental, as his name implies. (He’s the one who cursed the houses of Capulet and Montague and set in motion a tragic outcome for the young lovers.). Many of Shakespeare’s plays are laced with double-meanings and hidden references of this sort.

I’ve mentioned before that I do this sort of thing in my stories. I find double-meanings and hidden references fun. What about those wild character names in literature?

I’ll save that for Monday.

:D

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Words Worth Mentioning for January

“Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain. ”

~Author Unknown

 

Come see who’s there today

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Authors and Industry representatives all month long.

Our January contest starts soon! Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

Standing in

This is post number 4 in my 2016 symbol series.

Symbol: an object, person, idea, etc, used to stand for or suggest something else with which it is associated either explicitly or in some more subtle way

I love symbolic representation. You have to put some mental effort in to first reduce an abstract concept then make an emblem to identify it. As mentioned earlier, my interest originates with a rancher’s cattle brand book given to me when I was about 8 or 9 years old. Today I’m a novelist who plays with symbolism in every story I write.  Strange the things that influence us.
:D

So far,  my series has talked about about names as the symbols they are.  I hope to give you an idea how those names we encounter each day came about. This week I just touched upon the thousands of occupational names found all over the world.  Then I examined the geographical aspect of place names. To wrap up the location end of things,  I offer a few dwelling names to think about.

Proximity Place Names

Being someone from somewhere was a very common way to get a name for yourself. Names like London, Winchester, and Stirling are obviously place names taken right from the city or town. Names such as Sexton, Abbey, and Bristol are proximity place names too. They have to do with living near the graveyard, church, or bridge. Sometimes, if you know the old names of things, it’s easy to figure out where the surnames originated. At least in English. International deciphering takes a little more work. Italian is easiest, in my opinion. Lots of place name surnames in Italy. Greco for example, is a name for an Italian who either looked Greek or came from Greece. Calabrese came from Calabria. Lombardi came from Lombardy. Just add a vowel to the end of any Italian town and you’re good!

What’s next?

Descriptive names

We don’t have to go far to understand how Fairchild, Young, Black or Armstrong might have been chosen or given as a surname. They speak for themselves. Others like Lovejoy, Wise, Moody, and Merry are obvious too, though rather subjective. Sullivan, Franklin, and Wynn take a little more thought. They mean “One-Eye”, free man, and friend, respectively.

In this very small list that follows, many show up as both  given names and surnames:

Campbell = crooked mouth

Drew = skillful

Tate = cheerful

Todd = fox

Truman = true man

Wendell = Wend (twisted)

Wynne = friend

Blake = pale or dark

Brady = broad eyes

Cade = round

Chance = lucky

Dunn = brown

Crispin = hairy/curly

Cole = dark

Doyle = dark

Curtis = courteous

Russo and Rossi = redheaded

Boyd = blond

Brown = brown skin or hair

Cameron = crooked nose

Ricci and Rizzo = curly

Cody = helpful

Darcy = dark one

Vaughan = little

Grady = noble

Kelley or Kelly = slender

Kennedy = ugly head

Authors stopping by my blog today, do you see what I’m getting at? When we pick character names for our stories, we already have a personality image in mind for that person. Why not have fun with it? It doesn’t have to be obvious like Mr. Moody has a mercurial disposition or Mrs. Lovejoy is always laughing. It could be Mr. Grady is a principled man or Ms. Kelley teaches ballet. Many years ago I chose the name Doyle for the main villain in my magnum opus (my BIG work referenced in previous posts) because the name has dark associations. I enjoyed that innuendo so much, this sort of thing is a habit of mine now.

Tomorrow ~ more

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Words Worth Mentioning for January

“If you cannot be a poet, be the poem.”

~David Carradine

 

Today’s guest ~ Kat Martin

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Authors and Industry representatives all month long.

Our January contest starts soon! Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

Make a name for yourself

It’s post number 3 in my 2016 symbol series. This week I’m discussing names as the symbols they are.

When you hear the names Darcy and Heathcliff, an immediate association often comes to mind. Romance readers are likely to draw a line from those names to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813) and to Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (1845).

All fiction writers, romance authors especially, dream their characters will stand the test of time as well as those two heroes have. I’m a reader with an author’s perspective on this and I have to say it’s no small feat to inspire an instant association between the character’s name and the literature they’re found in. It shows that not only is a memorable storyline necessary, our character names matter too. I have to wonder if those two heroes would be as memorable 103 and 171 years later if they’d simply been named Dan and Steve? I don’t think so.

In the realm of literature, what other names inspire immediate connotation in your mind? Here I’ve made a list of memorable character names. Test yourself. What do you see?

Ahab, Ashley, Atticus, Moll, Uriah, Americus, Ichabod, JeanValjean, Kunta Kinte, Cosette, Hermione, Daisy, Rhett, Nancy, Scarlett, Scout, Katniss, Antonia, Fletcher, Sethe, Sherlock, Tristan, Frodo, Holden, Porthos, Lara, Toby, Holly, Luna, Fern, Anastasia, Aragorn, Harry, Celie, Novalee, Hester, Stella, Lemuel, Yuri, Jo, Juliette, Hannibal, Tristam, Heidi, Augie, Dorian, Elinor, Emma, Blanche, Watson, Humbert, Lysander, Kizzy, Ebenezer, Huckleberry, Desdemona, Tess, Algernon, Robinson, Filtch,

Galadriel, Natty, Pippi, Inigo, Ishmael, Caspian, Horatio, Pollyanna, Roxanne

See what I mean? My mind makes an association to each literary work when I see those names. Here’s the funny thing. I’m more an informational reader than fiction reader. A few of those works I know of but have never read. Talk about memorable! Those authors still managed to write their characters into my mind despite my not opening their books. Bravo!

Tomorrow ~ More!



♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Words Worth Mentioning for January

“Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty — they merely move it from their faces into their hearts.”

~Martin Buxbaum

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Today is Author Tina Donahue’s blog day.

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Authors and Industry representatives all month long.

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The January contest starts soon. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

Symbol Series 2: Place Names

As you read in yesterday’s post, the historical past for many names began as meaningful words for occupations. Joe the Baker became Joe Baker. His son Joe Jr. might have been called Joe Bakerson. The Bakers throughout Europe became Bakker, Bager, Pagar, Boulange, Besitzer, Panettiere, Rzecz, Padeiro, Mierii, Panadero, and Pobydd. Interesting, huh? I really never gave it much thought until my husband developed his genealogy hobby. Hobbyists like him hunt down clues as they relate to their family’s past. It’s amazing, all he’s uncovered.

Onomastics ~ What’s in a name?

When you examine names you delve into a field of study called Onomastics. The onomast is devoted to the origin, use, and history of names for people, places, and things– essentially  all the  nouns of language. Peeking under the large umbrella of Onomastics, we see other fields of study associated with it. Quite a few actually.

Anthropologists, archaeologists, and sociologists study names to learn about human societies, past civilizations, or to look for evidence of social change, while historians also study names for evidence of settlement areas and migration patterns. There’s even a branch of name study called philology that looks to names for clues regarding lost or early languages. Lexicographers also study names for the words and word meanings they are comprised of. Geographers comb names for evidence of early landscapes.

Geography and lexicography is what I’m using today to delve into place names, also known as toponyms. Two obvious surnames for people who lived by water are Brookes and Rivers. Below are toponyms for four key geographic features. I’m only giving a short list of place names for each as I can’t possibly list them all without spending days to do it. Too many prefixes of Ab, Di, Du, O’, Fitz and suffixes such as son, sen, dze and ski. Many surnames have both.

Water

Arroyo, Hooker, Horne, Beeks, Bach, Bachmeier, Burnes, Beverly, Bachmann, Puro, Head, Ruisseau, Patak, Crawford, Ford, Ewart, Daugherty, Rzecz, Marsh, Sanka, Moeras, Marais, Marécage, Sumpflander, Sands, Sandford, Seymore, DiPalude, Beck, Brooke, Pantano, Acquitrino, Lavlanderson Baader, Lago, Ware, Dalgalar, Walton, Blackburn, Poole, Meer, Newport, Lamar, Eau Claire, Rush, Llyn, Vance, Witmore

Valley

Dyffryn, Valle, Vale, Dale, Dolina, Wied, Slėnis, Valatti, Gleann, Glen, Glenn, Ebene, Laakso, Dahl, Craft, Bently, Combs, Coombs, Dean, Harden, Harley, Marsden, Ogden, Stainthorpe, Westley, Summerfield, Winterbottom

Mountains and hilly ground

Fjell, Hora, Bjerg, Brandon, Berg, Berger, Mägi, Vuori, Montagne, Monceau, Montana, Montagna, Monte, Haight, Bray, Hull, Huff, Brent, Hyland, Hill, Radcliffe, Hills, Kulle, Colline, Colina, Wzgórze, Helling, Haug, Heuvel, Attenberg, Cantrell, Downs, Downer, Harlow, Underhill, Salita, Winslow

Forest, woodlands, and fields

Houtman, Ash, Greene, Hollins, Holt, Ashe, Holly, Beasley, Boyce, DuBois, Buckley, Delaney, Fay, Shiel, Forrester, Haywood, Lockewood, Woods, Wood, Hurst, Garland, Gore, Hayward, Hays, Hayland, Rhodes, Roscoe, Selby, Shaw, Stroud, Timberlake, Vernon, Timberlane, Wooton, Woodward, York

That’s just a drop in the ocean of names. If you’d like to see what your own surname means, try Your name just may be a toponym too.

Tomorrow ~ More!



♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Words Worth Mentioning for January

“There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you…. In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself.”

~Ruth Stout

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Today is Author Paris Brandon’s blog day.

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Authors and Industry representatives all month long.

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The January contest starts soon. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

That Name Game #MondayBlogs

It’s the 4th of the month and my blog day at Romance Books ‘4’ Us. Today’s post is about Twelfth Night. Come see!

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/2016/01/rose-anderson-pondering-lifes-big.html

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I was a creative kid. When I was growing up, my mother harbored a wish that I’d become an artist of note. Because of that, I had early access to clay, colored pencils, sketch books, and how-to books. Once she brought home a book all about carving ship’s figureheads and I started carving bars of soap and blocks of paraffin. As for the how-to sketch books, I didn’t see the point in the step-by-step instructions of most of them. If you roughed out a sketch first with all the lines they suggested, you’d have to erase. And every kid knew erasing ruined pictures and sometimes even put a hole in the paper. But I digress…

One day she brought home a how-to-draw book all about cowboy and rancher brands of the old west. These brands were symbols used to keep cattle and property separate at a glance on the vast prairies. There were names and meanings hidden in the simple lines and I was enthralled by them all. More than 50 years have since passed but I still recall the Rocking R Ranch showed an R with rocking chair rockers across the bottom. The Lazy K had the letter K lying face down. The Lucky M had three M’s turned in such a way they formed a clover leaf.

That weird how-to book set me up for a life-long appreciation of symbols. I love symbolic representation. That’s why I’m always tucking symbols into my stories. I get such a kick when readers catch them and write to tell me. But even if my word plays are never discovered, I know they’re there.
:D

What’s in a name?

A lot.

Each January the press has a go at baby names. I read once such article the other day in a online UK newspaper. It actually said the name Khaleesi, an appellation for a character in Author George R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, was a hot name for a baby girl in 2016. Really?? That’s like naming a boy Sarumon. The article went on about which names were going out of style and which were rapidly gaining popularity. It got me thinking about how I use names when I write. A lot of thought goes into naming my characters, and to that end I have a collection of baby name websites and books. All will tell you names have meaning.

As a lover of symbolic representation, names as symbols are great fun to work with, but I don’t always rely on the actual meaning behind the name. Take the name Elizabeth. says her name means God is my oath. Unless I have a need for that particular meaning to convey a point, I wouldn’t use it as a symbol. Instead I’d use it to convey a sense of familiarity.

How’s that?

Friends, family, coworkers,  and Elizabeth’s love interest might use nicknames depending on how well they know Elizabeth. As a writer, I find this familiarity not only adds depth, it also adds a touch of realism to this fictitious person. A quick search revealed these options to convey that angle:

Elle, Lise, Elise, Elisa, Bette, Ellis, Ellie, Betty, Betsy, Bette, Bee, Liz, Lizzie, Beth, Libby, Lily, Liza, Eliza, Lisa, Bess, Bessie, Leeza, Bettina, Tibby, Izzy, Elsie, Liddy, Ilsa, Ilse, Babette, Lisette.

Several of those nicknames for Elizabeth feel a little stodgy for the levels of intimacy I’m imagining, but I can certainly see myself with an Elizabeth called Liz by her best friend, Lizzie by her older brother, and Betsy by grandpa.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Elizabeth needs a last name.

Occupational surnames

I’d never given last names much thought until I encountered occupational surnames. My maiden name is actually one of these (It means axe man or woodcutter). Occupational surnames tied the occupation to the person. They told of a job designation centuries ago, but today they’re common names without ties to the work.

Here are a few examples:

Chandler = a candle maker

Fleischer = butter maker

Baker = literally a baker

Potter= literally a pot maker

Draper = cloth worker

Faulkner = falconer

Kowalski = blacksmith

Cartwright = cart builder

Fuhrmann = a cartwright

Barber = literally a barber

Fischer = fisherman

Baumgartner = an orchard keeper

Garson = servant

Knight = literally a soldier

Hoffman = farmer

Kellogg = hog butcher

Schindler = a roof shingler

Thatcher = literally a roof thatcher

Mason = literally a mason

Palmer = pilgrim

Sawyer = a cutter of wood planks

Sherman = a sheep shearer

You get the idea. What fun to tuck those symbolic nuggets into our stories. Miss Fleischer can be buttering a slice of toast. Mr. Sherman can be wearing a cable knit wool sweater. Mrs. Kellogg can be eating bacon and eggs for breakfast. I do things like this all the time. Read my novels and see how many symbols of all sorts you can find. I think you’ll be surprised.

Today’s topic has me thinking about symbols again. Time to do another symbols series!

Tomorrow~ more.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Words Worth Mentioning for January

“In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in an clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

 

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Authors and Industry representatives all month long and me today!

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The January contest starts soon! Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

A new year with prosperity of all kinds

As mentioned earlier, my husband and I are building a vintage postcard scrapbook one postcard at a time. The album spans 100 years from 1860 to 1960 and many slots are yet to be filled.

This is my last postcard. Monday I’ll be blogging and writing as usual. Come December next, I’ll roll out the postcards again. If I’m lucky, the summer hunting will turn up some fun ones to share.

Happy New Year, one and all. May the next bring you health and happiness, joy and friendship, and prosperity of all kinds.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Words Worth Mentioning for January

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language

And next year’s words await another voice.

And to make an end is to make a beginning.”

~T.S. Eliot

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Authors and Industry representatives all month long.

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

Play our monthly contests. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

Time Stamped

As mentioned earlier, my husband and I are building a vintage postcard scrapbook ~ one postcard at a time. The album spans 100 years from 1860 to 1960 and many slots are yet to be filled. From here on out they’re all New Years themed. Scroll down to see previous postcards.

This is my only photo postcard. It’s undated but does give a few clues to work with. First off, it’s not a cabinet card or carte de visite — both popular photo keepsakes of the mid-Victorian/early-Edwardian eras. This an actual postcard made for mailing. I know because the back says Post Card.
:)

Her clothing, although partially obscured, gives some idea of the time this photo was taken. Women’s clothing components often identify the era –a fashion time stamp if you will.

The clues:

She is a young woman, so then as now her dress would reflect the modern age.

Her skirt doesn’t have the slight swept back look that would indicate a bustle worn during the 1870-80s. Instead it’s smooth and slightly flared below the knee which suggests we’d also find a shorter hem and visible shoes. Her sleeves are puffy, but not the hugely puffy sleeves of 1890s-1900. Taken all together what we see is indicative of the turn of the last century. But we can narrow it down further for there’s a time stamp — the hat. Medium-sized hats came into style around 1905. Wide hats in 1911. To me this says the photo was taken sometime in the five years between 1905 and 1911. Wasn’t that fun?
:D

Since I’ve not posted in a few days, I’ll share a few more~

 

I have NO idea what that last potato creature represents. Prosperity perhaps?

If you’ve enjoyed my postcards as well as my daily musings, subscribe to get them sent to your inbox. A new year full of curious and compelling posts awaits!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Words Worth Mentioning for December

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every New Year find you a better man.”

~Benjamin Franklin

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Authors and Industry representatives all month long.

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

Play our monthly contests. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

A Happy and a Merry

From my family to yours, I wish you Merry Christmas. If this is not a day you observe, Happy Holidays, Happy Yule.  I’ll be back on the 26th.

:) 

If you’re here for the first time, we’re building a vintage holiday postcard scrapbook one card at a time. I’ve been posting one or two oldies each day and plan to keep it up from now until January.

Scroll down to see previous vintage postcards and learn how postcards became popular greetings to send, what is cost to send them, and about the big changes made after WWI.

Subscribe to get them in your inbox!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥New!♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Buy on Amazon

♥♥♥ My Other Book News ♥♥♥

Four 5-star reviews of The Changeling!

♥My other recent release has shining stars too!

Entice Me – a multi-author collection. It’s a steal for 99¢. My story is Heart of Stone

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Words Worth Mentioning for December

“Christmas is a time when you get homesick — even when you’re home.” ~Carol Nelson

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Authors and Industry representatives all month long.

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The December contest is ending! Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/