The Clairvoyant’s Glasses by Helen Goltz
Published by: Atlas Productions
Publication date: September 28th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance
When Sophie Carell was eight-years-old, her eccentric, clairvoyant great aunt, Daphne, predicted Sophie would be one of the greatest clairvoyants of her time. Sophie wanted to be a movie star. Her mother said not to worry about it—Aunt Daphne was daffy.
When Sophie is called to the reading of Daphne’s Will, she is given a pair of glasses that will change her life. But that’s not all she acquires. Along with the glasses, Sophie ‘inherits’ a protector—the handsome and powerful Lukas Lens; plus brooding Detective Murdoch Ashcroft who is keen for Sophie to fill her aunt’s shoes and put her talents to work for him.
Sophie has to decide if she will focus on her acting career or explore her new-found clairvoyant skills. But danger lurks around the corner…
Sophie entered her aunt’s former office; she looked small surrounded by the huge wall-to-floor
windows. Even the desk felt big as she lowered herself behind it, adjusting the chair and setting up her diary and laptop. She looked up and jumped with fright. A man filled the doorway—tall,
well-built with dark hair, he appeared from nowhere.
“Sorry,” he said, stepping out of the light.
“You scared me; couldn’t you cough or something?” She covered her heart with her hand.
“Who are you?”
The suited man stepped forward and offered his hand. “Sorry to upset you on your first day on
the job. I’m Detective Murdoch Ashcroft.”
Sophie stood and shook his hand. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be cranky, but it’s all a little…
scary at the moment,” She self-consciously straightened her pale lemon dress and then her hair.
He was handsome, way too handsome for his own good, she thought.
He looked around. “Scary, huh? I’ve always loved this room.”
“So, you’re a detective, Detective Ashcroft? Hmm, then you of all people should know not to
sneak up on unsuspecting persons.” Sophie moved away from the desk and to the window where
two couches were placed. She indicated a deep leather chair opposite and he stepped forward and
lowered his tall frame into it. She sat opposite.
“So, I expect your aunt mentioned me?” he said.
“Nope,” she answered which wasn’t quite true as she knew her aunt worked with the police,
but she thought the detective’s ego seemed big enough to fill the room already.
“Oh.” He looked crestfallen. “But you inherited her skills and her… uh office.” He looked
around again and returned his gaze to her. “I like what you’ve done with the place as they say.”
Sophie smirked. “I haven’t done anything yet, but throw out all of Daphne’s junk.”
“Yes, it’s called the minimalist look—clean, I like it.” Murdoch nodded.
“Me too, I can’t bear clutter,” Sophie agreed. “I got a huge bin delivered, threw everything
into it and had them take it away.”
“You didn’t throw away Miss Sharpe by accident?”
Sophie laughed. “Goodness no. Besides she would have known in advance... she is worse than
Daphne!”
Detective Murdoch Ashcroft laughed a hearty laugh. Definite potential, Sophie thought. She
studied him; he had the darkest eyes she had ever seen and was ruggedly handsome, and no
wedding ring. She imagined he could handle himself.
Naming a Character and Other Tough Decisions by Helen Goltz
Okay, it’s not like you are naming your first-born, but it might as well be. That name you choose
for your characters must reflect the character through thick and thin; they have to live up to it or
down to it; it might have to be sexy or tough or mysterious.
When choosing a name for my masculine stars in The Clairvoyant’s Glasses, I chose the
name Lukas for my male witch because it was sexy, interesting and old-world. It didn’t lend
itself to nicknames. For the street-smart police officer I picked the name Murdoch. I worked with
a Murdoch once and the name says ‘reliable, strong, solid’ to me. Everything my Murdoch is. I
looked up popular Irish names to select Daniel for my cute and trouble-making Irish journalist.
For the girls in The Clairvoyant’s Glasses, I took into account the era and the genre. I found
some great ‘witch’ sites with witch names and their meanings.
I selected Orli as the name for my ethereal, white-hair spiritual female. Orli means ‘my light’.
Sophie and Lucy were popular names in the year that those characters were born—I estimated
their age and looked online for the ten most popular female names that year.
So, where do you source your names from? Here’s some of my sources:
1) Popular names lists for the year in question
Depending on the genre and when your book is set, there are plenty of lists online that can help.
For example when I was writing the 1940s historical romance Autumn Manor, I Googled most
popular boy and girls names in the 1920s, because my characters were now about 20 years old.
2) The cemetery
Yes, I get that it sounds a bit morbid, but I’ve found lots of great names from cemetery
headstones. Lovely names like Matilda but most importantly, plenty of surnames, because they
can be harder to ‘create’ than first names.
3) The newspaper or online
Who hasn’t done it? Been searching quickly for a surname that you are probably only going to
use once (e.g. like a witness giving a report in your story) and glanced at the local paper or
stories online and grabbed a name.
4) Work
Have you ever glanced down that work phone list, or been searching for a quick name and
‘borrowed’ a first or last name from the office? Mm, me either :)
5) Friends and family
Both handy sources for first and last names … just make sure you mix them up and you don’t insult anyone.
Both handy sources for first and last names … just make sure you mix them up and you don’t insult anyone.
So share your inspiration. Where do you get your characters’ names from?
After studying English Literature and Communications at universities in Queensland, Australia, Helen Goltz has worked as a journalist and marketer in print, TV, radio and public relations. Helen is the author of seven books and is published by Clan Destine Press and Atlas Productions.
Author Links:
Publisher – Atlas Productions:
No comments:
Post a Comment