Join Christy’s email list to get this story free! A notorious gang puts a bounty on Detective Cady Matthews’s head after she takes down their leader, leaving her no choice but to hide until she can testify at trial. But her temporary home across the country on a remote North Carolina island isn’t as peaceful as she initially thinks. Living under the new identity of Cassidy Livingston, she struggles to keep her investigative skills tucked away, especially after a body washes ashore. When local police bungle the murder investigation, she can’t resist stepping in. But Cassidy is supposed to be keeping a low profile. One wrong move could lead to both her discovery and her demise. Can she bring justice to the island . . . or will the hidden currents surrounding her pull her under for good? Hidden Currents is the first book in the six-book Lantern Beach Mystery series. Each book contains a standalone mystery, but there are overarching mysteries within the entire series. Get it now for
I’m Japanese and my husband is Chinese, but I have several friends who are Filipino, which is why I decided to write a Filipino heroine for Narrow Escape. However, I had to do lots of research, especially for the character names.
I had a hard time coming up with the name of the Filipino drug gang in the book, but there are several real-life Filipino gangs who just use initials for their names. So I picked the phrase, laki sa layaw, which means “pampered while still young” in Tagalog (a Filipino dialect), and shortened it to the gang name, LSL. The phrase seemed appropriate for a young, tough, attitude-saturated gang of drug dealers.
I don’t actually know the meaning of Arissa’s last name, Tiong, but I liked it because it was easy to read and pronounce (sort of) for non-Filipino readers. :) Some of the Filipino surnames are really long and complicated to pronounce for an American like me!
Charity’s uncle is Johnny Capuno, is a captain in the LSL gang. I chose Johnny’s last name, Capuno, because it means “fellow leader” in Tagalog.
The Tiongs’ neighbor is Mrs. Tabil, and if you read the scene, you’ll find that the meaning of her last name is very appropriate. Tabil means “talkative” in Tagalog. :)
Nene, which Arissa uses often when speaking to her niece, Charity, is a term of endearment for young girls.
Now, aren’t you glad I didn’t pick something like Tukodlangit for Arissa’s last name? LOLOL
Do any of you come from a family with a neat ethnic name?
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Comments
The hero in my WIP is a Latin Irish cop with two last names (both parents) and both mean "warrior."