Earlier this year I wrote about my rules for writing fiction. Little did I know that a few months down the line I would be breaking Rule #4: Characters without the right name have no life.
That’s right, I was convinced to change the names of major characters in The Secret of Fezar. Thus, “Kinnel” and “Tasil” took a tumble along with some key concepts and other names of people and places.
The siblings are now called Yavi and Fahe. It wasn’t as easy as doing a search and replace. These were well-know, well-fleshed characters, and changing the names was almost like saying goodbye to them and reincarnating them as new people.
Yes, Tasil and Kinnel will be missed, but I feel the change is for the better. I am liking the new names, but more significantly they fit better with my world. Also, “Tasil” was not an original name, since a Tasil exists in the Shadow in Eternity series, albeit in the background (Wahid’s wife, if anyone remembers Wahid).
All these changes were the direct result of some astute feedback from my editor. It also spurred me to work on a date and time system for the world the story is based in. More on that later.
Goodbye, Kinnel and Tasil. 
~PD
Yes, that’s the new name of my forthcoming book. We decided to change the name because… well, there was a possibility of it being mispronounced. (Figure it out yourself.)
The Secret of Fezar is the first book in the series called Satin. I’m undecided which one sounds better, though I’m inclined to go with the former.
This is a story about a family secret, and a very apt demonstration of the proverb, “Curiosity killed the cat.” Find out more here.
The book is finally going into production, and watch this space for updates about cover, Website, etc.
Disclaimer: No cats were harmed in the writing of this book, and none will be in the reading of it.
~PD
It’s rare to read a book that completely enthrals you. But it can be a bitter-sweet experience: on the one hand you are so completely satisfied; on the other hand you know that nothing else will match up with it for a long time to come.
The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency happens to be one such book. Detailing the adventures of the unconventional, intuitive, unflappable Mma Ramotswe, proprietor of the agency, this is the first in a series of eleven books. This is also the book that has, at long last, kicked me into adding to Writeside.net’s reviews section.
Here’s a teaser from the review:
Precious Ramotswe is about as unlikely a private detective as you would expect — indeed “the only lady private detective in Botswana”. None of the slick smarts of the Kinsey Milhones and Kate Brannigans of the world. That’s not to say that Mma Ramotswe is lacking in the intelligence department. Oh no… she is an extremely sharp and resourceful woman, and her Daddy would have been proud of her today if he had been alive to see her.
Read the rest here, but don’t forget to come back to comment.
~PD
