Scott Hawkins
Hi Julia,
For the librarians, it started out in alphabetical order. At one point there was (IIRC) an Allison and a Bob, but they got dropped for whatever reason. Carolyn and David obviously made the final cut. If memory serves, at one point in the very early stages I lost track of the little list I was using to keep track of names, so I skipped ahead to Jennifer, (Kevin, IIRC-- he got dropped), Lisa, Michael. I also wanted a whitebread suburban vibe for this one, so I mmmostly stuck to names I could remember from my own grade school days.
As far as the made-up names -- Ablakha, Mithraganhi, Nobununga -- I just liked the sound of them. I think I might have tweaked Ablakha's name to match up better with the actual historical guy Abla Khan, but I don't remember what it used to be.
I named Dresden and Nagasaki after the hugely fatal WWII bombings, obviously. Dresden's animal language name "Thorn of Dawn" was just something I thought sounded cool.
Last names were mostly random, but Steve's last name (Hodgson) is a nod to the writer William Hope Hodgson, who wrote a book called The Night Land that I liked a lot. That bit about "the black pyramid at the end of time" is a reference to Hodgson's book, as is the word "monstruwaken." I think there might have been a couple of others.
In the one I'm working on now I've spent more time on baby name sites. It kills time when I'm having lunch.
Best,
Scott
For the librarians, it started out in alphabetical order. At one point there was (IIRC) an Allison and a Bob, but they got dropped for whatever reason. Carolyn and David obviously made the final cut. If memory serves, at one point in the very early stages I lost track of the little list I was using to keep track of names, so I skipped ahead to Jennifer, (Kevin, IIRC-- he got dropped), Lisa, Michael. I also wanted a whitebread suburban vibe for this one, so I mmmostly stuck to names I could remember from my own grade school days.
As far as the made-up names -- Ablakha, Mithraganhi, Nobununga -- I just liked the sound of them. I think I might have tweaked Ablakha's name to match up better with the actual historical guy Abla Khan, but I don't remember what it used to be.
I named Dresden and Nagasaki after the hugely fatal WWII bombings, obviously. Dresden's animal language name "Thorn of Dawn" was just something I thought sounded cool.
Last names were mostly random, but Steve's last name (Hodgson) is a nod to the writer William Hope Hodgson, who wrote a book called The Night Land that I liked a lot. That bit about "the black pyramid at the end of time" is a reference to Hodgson's book, as is the word "monstruwaken." I think there might have been a couple of others.
In the one I'm working on now I've spent more time on baby name sites. It kills time when I'm having lunch.
Best,
Scott
More Answered Questions
Jeannette
asked
Scott Hawkins:
It's been months and I'd still rather be reading about Mount Char. I was wondering, what scene were you most insecure about when writing it? I know when I write I am crippled with frustration and insecurity, particularly with heavily violent or dramatic scenes. Did you ever feel this way? Despite the book being brilliant.
M
asked
Scott Hawkins:
So, I read Library a while back and fell in love with it. Then later discovered the audiobook and have listened to that more than a few times in subsequent years (it's easier to "read" when I can listen and do other things at work!). I'm wondering how do you feel that Hillary Huber did in bringing the story to life and giving voice to characters? Especially Carolyn?
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