Names and Dates

When a small orange and white kitten was hanging from our slider screen door in October of 2007, I knew his name immediately. I had always wanted an orange kitty named Marmalade. It was easy to work him into my first book To Love and To Cherish as Pastor Maggie's best buddy when she moves to Cherish, Michigan to pastor her first church. The real Marmalade sits with me every day as I write about his fictional life in the parsonage.

Coming up with names for the many characters who live in Cherish is fun work. Of course, several character's names are actual people in my life. All four of our grandchildren have found their way into Cherish. I'm excited for the expansion of the character of Addie (our granddaughter) in the third book of the series For Richer, For Poorer.

But some of the most fun is coming up with names to fit unnamed characters. I think about the personalities of these people, and then sometimes when I'm out walking or making dinner or feeding the birds, a name pops into my head.

I'm excited to work a new character into To Love and To Cherish before its re-release in December of this year (Pen-L Publishing). This will be someone who will give Maggie a little more to deal with as she tries to get her ministry in order and handle folks like Irena, Redford, and Mrs. Abernathy. I hope you will enjoy meeting Fitch Dervish the Cherish Building Inspector. He makes his return two years later in the fourth book For Better, For Worse. Poor Maggie!

To keep characters under control, I have a notebook in which I keep names, ages, and a few tidbits about all these fine people. I also use a separate calendar to keep record of everyone's actions.

To Love and To Cherish begins on June 1, 2014, the first Sunday in June. This book contains the entire first year of Maggie's life in Cherish.

To Have and To Hold continues in 2015 going from August to October.  Saturday, October 3, 2015 is a very special day!

For Richer, For Poorer picks up where To Have and To Hold leaves off. October 6, 2015. This book takes the reader from Cherish to Ghana in alternate chapters. Actual dates are important because world issues arise in real time. March 28, 2016 (the day after Easter) is where this book ends.

For Better, For Worse picks up on August 22, 2016. We'll see where it ends!

I like keeping these kinds of details written down. I don't know what other writers do, but this works for me. As I explore the backstories of different characters, (thank you to those of you who have asked about certain Cherish folks) I jot down specifics to keep track of who's done what.
Maybe I'm old, or maybe I've finally learned to write important things down. I know I'm unable to go to the grocery store without a list anymore!

These books are important to me. Besides sharing bits and pieces of my own life, I hope stigmas against clergy in general, and women clergy in particular, can be somewhat erased. I hope people who are unimpressed with organized religion can find a pew in these books, and see a group of people learning how to love one another, while trying not to embarrass God too much in the process.

I write this often, but I love going to Loving the Lord Community Church via my computer. I enjoy the characters who come from my fingertips. Saints and sinners all mixed together.

Names and dates are important, but I write from the heart. That's the joy of being a writer.

Now if you'll excuse me, Marmalade and I need to get back to work.