Prelude for a Lord - names part 6 Sir Hermes

This is continuing my series explaining how I came up with the weird (and not so weird) names of my characters in Prelude for a Lord.

Bayard’s stepfather, Sir Hermes Morrish

Sir Hermes was one of the easiest characters to name. He’s a bit foolish, and very easy going. The Greek god Hermes is sometimes portrayed as the Fool, with abstract knowledge and child-like innocence.

When I looked up the meaning of the word, “moron,” it mentioned the Latin word morus which means “foolish.” I tweaked “morus” into Morrish for Sir Hermes’ surname.

Sir Hermes is very carefree, with a boundless enthusiasm for life that makes Bayard’s mother feel young and carefree herself. Sir Hermes is a considerable contrast to the personality of her late husband, Bayard’s father, which might be why she remarried to a man like Sir Hermes Morrish.

Sir Hermes is rather self-absorbed. He charmed Bayard’s widowed mother despite the fact he is slightly lower in social status and has less money than Bayard’s family. However, Sir Hermes is a gentleman—he is not a commoner nor is he bankrupt.

He spends freely as the whim takes him, but is not extravagant. The reason is because he only gambles if the game entertains him, and most players are too stodgy and serious, so he doesn’t play as much as he could and he’s not too bad a loser.

I will confess that I modeled Sir Hermes’s nephew, Mr. Robert Morrish, after Robert Ferrars in Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility. He is like a ginger colored horse, with big front teeth and weak chin. He looks a little like his cheerful uncle, Sir Hermes, but with shiftier eyes. He has a rather cruel wit, and he dances very well—better than Lord Dommick, alas.

Bayard’s friends, the Quartet

I did come up with specific names for each of these young men, but I am also planning on writing their stories in future books, so I think I will not yet blog about the meanings behind their names. (I hear your collective cries of dismay!) If you’re on my Camille Elliot newsletter, you’ll be sure to hear when the next book in this series is available!

I hope you enjoyed this blog series! I had fun figuring out what to name each of my characters!

Buy print book:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Christianbook.com

Buy ebook:
Kindle
iBooks
Kobo
Nookbook
Christianbook.com

Comments

Brainstorm - character occupation

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.23.2009 Hey guys, I could use some help. In my current manuscript, The Year of the Dog , which is a humorous contemporary romance, I have a minor character, Eddie. He’s my heroine’s ex-boyfriend, and they’re on good terms with each other. He’s a bit irresponsible, but not so much so that he’s a complete loser. He’s got a very easy going attitude, he forgets to pay his bills sometimes, he’s friendly and charming. He’s adventurous and fun to be around, but he’s a little forgetful sometimes, and he tends to spend a little outside his income. I need an occupation for him. What would a charming, easy going, slightly irresponsible guy do for a living? He’s not too irresponsible, because otherwise readers will wonder what in the world my heroine saw in him to date him in the first place. She was attracted to his charm, his easy going attitude (her family’s uptight, and he was a nice contrast), and his adventurousness. But his forgetfulness and irresponsibility ...

Lavender hand lotion

Captain's Log, Stardate 11.05.2009 I have to tell you, I LOVE Etsy.com ! Etsy is dedicated to providing a marketplace for people who like to make handmade products and people who appreciate them (and buy them). It has everything from handmade gifts (like my mom’s Bucilla Christmas stockings and ornaments and tree skirts and wall hangings and … well, just click here to see what she has! ) to soaps and lotions and jewelry and knitted items and hand-painted yarn and ... I could surf that website for DAYS. Anyway, lately I’ve been concerned about the lead content in my lotions, especially since I’m using them more now that it’s turned colder and drier here in California. I have to use lotion on my hands everytime after I wash them. So I went onto Etsy and searched for organic hand lotions, and bought this lavender lotion from Lue Cosmetics . What was really nice is that the owner, Jane, sent me a direct message via Etsy right after I made the purchase to ask if I’d received it yet and ...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou...

I got my cover!

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Blog book giveaway: To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there. Eyes of Elisha by Brandilyn Collins Tangerine by Marilynn Griffith I GOT MY COVER!!!! What do you guys think?

Search This Blog