[Guest Post]: What’s in a (Fantasy Writer’s) Name? by Dirk Strasser

My guest author today is Dirk Strasser, an author of historical fantasy Conquist, set in Peru in 1538 in the times of conquistadors. In his post, Dirk is musing about using real authors’ names in fantasy and how they “reflect” the genre.

What’s in a (Fantasy Writer’s) Name?

Many people have said to me that my name sounds like a fantasy writer’s name, asking me if it’s my actual name. Another Australian fantasy writer Garth Nix also often gets asked the same question. In both mine and Garth’s case, they are our real names, but it makes me wonder what it is that makes a name sound like it belongs to a fantasy writer?

Names are funny things. I was surprise to find out that Eddie Perfect  is the real name of the Australian performer, writer and composer of the musical Beetlejuice. I was absolutely convinced it was a stage name. As he says, though: “If I was willing to change it, I’d have gone all the way to F…ing-Brilliant. Hyphenated.”

So, what is it that makes a name sound like a fantasy writer’s? My guess is that the letters “J” and “R” have something to do with it: J R R Tolkien, J K Rowling, George R R Martin, Brandon Sanderson. There aren’t any initials in “Dirk Strasser”, but there are three Rs.

I once had the venerable science fiction author and editor, Algis Budrys, comment in a rejection letter to me “Mmm, with a name like ‘Dirk Strasser’, I would have thought you’d be South African.” And I would have thought maybe someone with the name “Algis Budrys” shouldn’t really be commenting on other writer’s names.

Do people with fantasy writer-type names naturally drift towards fantasy writing? That would be a bit spooky. Maybe there’s a prophecy thing happening.

What if a John Smith wants to turn his hand at fantasy? One solution is to add some initials: John R R Smith works. But I think there’s a better solution for turning an ordinary name into a fantasy writers’ name—add an exotic sounding middle name.

John Tiberius Smith does the trick, as does Jane Aphrodite Smith. It’s just a matter of trawling through enough history and mythology to get the right combination.

Not everyone has been fortunate to have been given fantasy writer names by their parents. For those of you that haven’t, well, you’re just a google search away from your destiny.

About the Book

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Date Published: 1st September 2024

Publisher: Roundfire Books

Capitán Cristóbal de Varga’s drive for glory and gold in 1538 Peru leads him and his army of conquistadors into a New World that refuses to be conquered. He is a man torn by life-long obsessions and knows this is his last campaign. What he doesn’t know is that his Incan allies led by the princess Sarpay have their own furtive plans to make sure he never finds the golden city of Vilcabamba.

He also doesn’t know that Héctor Valiente, the freed African slave he appointed as his lieutenant, has found a portal that will lead them all into a world that will challenge his deepest beliefs. And what he can’t possibly know is that this world will trap him in a war between two eternal enemies, leading him to question everything he has devoted his life to – his command, his Incan princess, his honor, his God.

In the end, he faces the ultimate dilemma: how is it possible to battle your own obsessions . . . to conquer yourself?

About the Author

Dirk Strasser’s epic fantasy trilogy The Books of Ascension—Zenith, Equinox and Eclipse—was published in German and English, and his short stories have been translated into several languages. “The Doppelgänger Effect” appeared in the World Fantasy Award-winning anthology Dreaming Down Under.
His historical fantasy novel Conquist was published in 2024. The serialized version of Conquist was a finalist in the Aurealis Awards Best Fantasy Novel category.
Dirk’s screenplay version of Conquist won the Wildsound Fantasy/Sci-Fi Festival Best Scene Reading Award and was a featured finalist in the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival and the Creative World Awards. He is the co-editor of Australia’s premier science fiction and fantasy magazine, Aurealis, and was a judge on the 2024 Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival Screenplay Awards.
Dirk has been a high school teacher, a writer of best-selling textbooks, an educational software developer, a publishing manager, and a soccer club president.

Contact Links

Website: https://www.dirkstrasser.com/conquist-mdash-the-novel.html

X: https://x.com/DirkStrasser

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100054955883297

Purchase Links

Universal purchase link:

https://books2read.com/Conquist

Roundfire Books:

https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/roundfire-books/our-books/conquist-novel

Giveaway

$5 Amazon Gift Card + eBook Copy