Titles for Teg

Titles for Teg Names and Naming Post 15 

When I started writing the Fairy in the Bed series, I dealt with just one kind of fay. As

the series expanded, I brought in more. To justify having them different (they're all fay or fairies, but many of them categorise themselves beyond that) I came up with naming systems to suit each group.

Part of the fun, if not making up the names from scratch, lies in adapting existing names and finding enough that fit recognisably into a culture.

The teg haven't featured a great deal in the Fairy in the Bed series yet. Teg, like braefolk, are similar to humans in appearance. They often have dark hair and dark eyes and tend to be quiet. Much of their talent lies in music and a lot of them work in the arts.

The only named teg to appear so far are Seren Starsinger, an ancestor of Eileen o’ the Mist who is otherwise leprechaun, and Eileen’s manifestation, Elen, who is pure teg and who fancies leprechauns. A teg girl dances with Roderick Skipton at the midsummer ball. Her name, although not given in that book, is Owena Darkeyes. Like the leprechauns, teg use surnames of convenience, which they choose themselves. Some of them adopt a family name, but others choose something more poetic.

The Fairy in the Bed series is showcased at Larksinger while the books can be purchased from the publisher.

About the Blog

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, anthologist and reader. You can find you way into her maze of websites and blogs via the portal here.(Sally is me, by the way.)

The goal for 2017 was to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. 2017 is well behind us, but I ran out of year before running out of books. As of June 2018 I STILL hadn't run out of books, but many of those still to come are MIA by which I mean I don't have copies and remember little about them. There are more new books in the pipeline, and I'm certainly showcasing those, but in between times, I'm profiling some of my characters, places and objects. Thank you so much to everyone who's come along on this journey so far!

Rasputin

Rasputin   Character Post 67

Rasputin is...a monumental grey tabby with glass-green eyes and a nose half black and half pink.
He is a fay tom, who apparently wandered out through the Sydney courtyard gateway and settled in the human realm. Why? Well, for one thing, he found a willing slave in Raph Angelus,  whose cottage has a stone wall that traps the sun. For another, he presumably likes lording it over the ordinary cats in the district.
According to Raph, Rasputin disposed of his last three girlfriends, and eats potato chips in bed. He has a loud and commanding yowl, and a disconcerting habit of staring at anyone he wants to intimidate. Fortunately, Eve Adeste is an elf, so fay toms are nothing unusual to her.
Rasputin appears in the upcoming story Christmas Eve. The only other fay tom we've met to date is Millie, who belonged to LeeLee Grene in the late 1980s. The Red Cat, Ink and Calico aren't fay toms, but manifestations of mutable fay.

The series in which Rasputin will appear and in which Millie already does is  Here.

About the Blog

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, anthologist and reader. You can find you way into her maze of websites and blogs via the portal here.(Sally is me, by the way.)

The goal for 2017 was to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. 2017 is well behind us, but I ran out of year before running out of books. As of May 2018 I STILL hadn't run out of books, but many of those still to come are MIA by which I mean I don't have copies and remember little about them. There are more new books in the pipeline, and I'm certainly showcasing those, but in between times, I'm profiling some of my characters, places and objects. Thank you so much to everyone who's come along on this journey so far!

Midsummer Melody

Midsummer Melody. Book Post 422

Midsummer Melody is a "summer short" entry in the Fairy in the Bed series. In this one, we take a step back in time to a midsummer ball held at Skipton Manor in 1969. Over here it's disco, flares and plaid shirts. Over there it's court dress, gowns and breeches. 

   Roderick Skipton, as a respectable son of the manor, is doing his duty as a host. He hopes to find time to dance with Maggie, the girl he plans to marry. In fact, he plans to propose to her that very night, but Maggie proves curiously elusive. Not so a pixie miss in primrose silk. Melody Peckerdale is determined to get his attention, but Roderick knows full well that every pixie miss has a fearsome pixie dad and very often a jealous pixie swain. No sensible courtfolk man is going to risk dealing with those. If only he could convince Melody of that...

And where the heck is Maggie du Fen when he needs some moral support?

Midsummer Melody is a comedy romance, the back story of how Ryl Skipton's parents handled their courtship. Ryl's story is told in The Kissing Ring. 

You can find Midsummer Melody HERE.

ABOUT THE BLOG

The goal for 2017 was to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. 2017 is well behind us, but I ran out of year before running out of books. As of May 2018 I STILL hadn't run out of books, but many of those still to come are MIA by which I mean I don't have copies and remember little about them. There are more new books in the pipeline, and I'm certainly showcasing those, but in between times, I'm profiling some of my characters, places and objects. Thank you so much to everyone who's come along on this journey so far!

Hector

Hector   Character Post 66

I have at least three characters with this name in my books. One is a Nineteenth Century Scotsman from Heather and Heath, one is a centaur from Hector's Garden and one is a water lad from the Fairy in the Bed series. It's the third one who is the focus of this character profile.
Hector lives at and around a waterfall pool over there. Like most waterfolk, he is sweet-natured and friendly. He is also said to be a bit more conversational than some. He is often in the company of Poll, another man the same age, and the two water maids Plie and Niss. He and another water maid named Lilla share a daughter whose name is Kin. Hector and Lilla are not and never have been in a marriage or marriage-like relationship, but Hector tells his elf friend Eve that "...we deal well together and Kin is the best thing I ever made".
   Apart from Eve and the waterfolk, Hector has a number of friends, including Oash the sylvan. He's a favourite with visitors to the pool, being tall, strong and warm-hearted. He's always ready to laugh and is utterly unshockable. He expects to see the good in people and so he does.
   Hector's father is named Janus, and his mother is a water maid named Ku. 

Hector appears in Honey and the Harvest Hob, Sam and the Sylvan, Christmas Eve and is mentioned in Pen and Ink.

About the Blog

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, anthologist and reader. You can find you way into her maze of websites and blogs via the portal here.(Sally is me, by the way.)

The goal for 2017 was to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. 2017 is well behind us, but I ran out of year before running out of books. As of May 2018 I STILL hadn't run out of books, but many of those still to come are MIA by which I mean I don't have copies and remember little about them. There are more new books in the pipeline, and I'm certainly showcasing those, but in between times, I'm profiling some of my characters, places and objects. Thank you so much to everyone who's come along on this journey so far!

Tagging Treefolk

Tagging Treefolk: Names and Naming Post 13 

When I started writing the Fairy in the Bed series, I dealt with just one kind of fay. As

the series expanded, I brought in more. To justify having them different (they're all fay or fairies, but many of them categorise themselves beyond that) I came up with naming systems to suit each group.

Part of the fun, if not making up the names from scratch, lies in adapting existing names and finding enough that fit recognisably into a culture.

The treefolk lie somewhere just beyond the leprechauns in the range of fay. Like the sylvan, they live almost exclusively over there. It's likely they could survive over here in the human realm, but most unlikely that they'd ever want to. Treefolk, who term themselves as tree maids or tree lads, or sometimes by specifics such as beech maid, are a friendly and generally sweet-natured people. They are straightforward and inclined to say exactly what they think, which some humans and even some other fay find disconcerting. They favour pleasant-sounding names that are generally short, and use group surnames, according to their clan.
We meet several treefolk in the Fairy in the Bed series. The first one encountered is a redhead named Heidi Ash, a childhood friend of Peck Grene's. Heidi is highly empathetic, and if anyone she meets is troubled, she is troubled too.  
Moss the beechmaster is the nominal head of the beech clan. He is the person the leprechaun men approach if they want beechwood for a fiddle. He also helps direct the younger clan members if he thinks they're running into danger. He has a halfling daughter named Becca, whose mother is a water maid.

Tally Beech is one of the few treefolk to venture over this side of the gateways. As a child, she used to come through to play with Flori Alexandris. Flori had no idea her friend was anything but human, and she missed Tally when she stopped coming. Moss the beechmaster had put a stop to the visits. When Flori meets Tally again she is a leprechaun's wife and the mother of four children. Everybody loves Tally, though she has a disconcerting habit of "reading" people.
Sash is another redhead, and also married to a leprechaun man.
Vith was a treemaid who enjoyed a long-term romance with a hob man, but since he lived on the human side of the gateways, they never lived together. She is a character in Pisky Business, although she never actually appears.
The treefolk aren't dryads, but they do regard trees as something special, which is probably why they choose to use tree names for their clans.


The Fairy in the Bed series is showcased at Larksinger while the books can be purchased from the publisher.

About the Blog

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, anthologist and reader. You can find you way into her maze of websites and blogs via the portal here.(Sally is me, by the way.)

The goal for 2017 was to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. 2017 is well behind us, but I ran out of year before running out of books. As of June 2018 I STILL hadn't run out of books, but many of those still to come are MIA by which I mean I don't have copies and remember little about them. There are more new books in the pipeline, and I'm certainly showcasing those, but in between times, I'm profiling some of my characters, places and objects. Thank you so much to everyone who's come along on this journey so far!

Tweet the Firebird

Tweet the Firebird   Character Post 65

Tweet is a firebird who lives in the Kingdom. She spends most of her time with her best friends, Pearl the unicorn and Olive Greenhands the ogre girl. Tweet is fast-talking and fast-moving. She is impulsive and mercurial, and can go from shivering uncertainty to brash bravado in a matter of seconds. Although she talks a lot, she uses a kind of verbal shorthand which her friends understand easily.
Tweet is somewhat vain of her gleaming feathers, and loves to be the centre of attention. She revels in playing tricks and jokes on her friends, and also on anyone else she deems to need a stir-up. She loves apples. Although more than capable of flying, Tweet often rides on Olive's shoulder or clings to Pearl's mane. This allows her to be part of the conversation in a way that isn't possible if she's flying overhead.

Tweet appears in Pearl the Magical Unicorn, Pearl the Flying Unicorn and Pearl the Proper Unicorn... all coming soon.

About the Blog

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, anthologist and reader. You can find you way into her maze of websites and blogs via the portal here.(Sally is me, by the way.)

The goal for 2017 was to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. 2017 is well behind us, but I ran out of year before running out of books. As of May 2018 I STILL hadn't run out of books, but many of those still to come are MIA by which I mean I don't have copies and remember little about them. There are more new books in the pipeline, and I'm certainly showcasing those, but in between times, I'm profiling some of my characters, places and objects. Thank you so much to everyone who's come along on this journey so far!

Pointers for Piskies

Pointers for Piskies: Names and Naming Post 12 

When I started writing the Fairy in the Bed series, I dealt with just one kind of fay. As

the series expanded, I brought in more. To justify having them different (they're all fay or fairies, but many of them categorise themselves beyond that) I came up with naming systems to suit each group.

Part of the fun, if not making up the names from scratch, lies in adapting existing names and finding enough that fit recognisably into a culture.

Piskies are quite closely related to pixies, but they consider themselves a very different people. The ones that live in the pisky hills have their own favoured way of dressing and they rather pride themselves on being mercurial, manipulative and vain. The men call themselves pisky men, while the women can be pisky misses or, on occasion, pisky minxes. They like to use Cornish names just as much as they like to wear silver ornaments and bindings, buckles and belts on their clothing.
The ones met so far in the series include Merryn "Merry" Pendennis, who is considered much nicer than most of his kind. Merryn has two sons and a daughter. George "Jory" Pendennis and Richenda Pendennis by his human love Rachel and Tane Pendennis by the water maid Tam. 
Merry's cousin Keeley Weir Marsh is also paired up with a human, but she seems to have had the naming of their three sons, Yestin, Kevern and Caden.
Beatrice Florin is a pisky maid who has "lived human" for a long time, and Daveth Porthwellian is an acquaintance of Jory Pendennis. Jillian Jules Fraeman and her mother Zena and Jillian Jules' children are all part pisky, but once the pisky blood waters down to 25% or less, the naming conventions are less obvious.

The Fairy in the Bed series is showcased at Larksinger while the books can be purchased from the publisher.

About the Blog

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, anthologist and reader. You can find you way into her maze of websites and blogs via the portal here.(Sally is me, by the way.)

The goal for 2017 was to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. 2017 is well behind us, but I ran out of year before running out of books. As of June 2018 I STILL hadn't run out of books, but many of those still to come are MIA by which I mean I don't have copies and remember little about them. There are more new books in the pipeline, and I'm certainly showcasing those, but in between times, I'm profiling some of my characters, places and objects. Thank you so much to everyone who's come along on this journey so far!

Olive Greenhands

Olive Greenhands   Character Post 64

Olive is an ogre girl who lives in the Kingdom. Her best friends are Pearl the unicorn and Tweet the firebird. Olive is immensely strong, immensely capable and immensely cheerful. She eats a lot, and is equipped with an ogre-nose for sniffing out food and long ogre-arms for detaching it. She's not fussy. If there's nothing else about she'll chomp on a pine cone.
Olive loves pretty things. She wears a simple dress, but she likes to wear flowers or feathered hats. She's boisterous and noisy, but so goodhearted her friends love her.
She has a small boat she calls her ogre-boat, and loves to bop in time with a song as she paddles about. If you need a friend with feet as big as her heart and a voice that could drop a villain at twenty paces, you could do a lot worse than Olive Greenhands. She'll even throw in an *ogre-hug...free.

To perform an ogre-hug, open your arms, rush towards your friend with a roar, fling the arms around the friend and squeeeeze. Better ask permission first, though.

Olive Greenhands appears in Pearl the Magical Unicorn, Pearl the Flying Unicorn and Pearl the Proper Unicorn... all coming soon.

About the Blog

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, anthologist and reader. You can find you way into her maze of websites and blogs via the portal here.(Sally is me, by the way.)

The goal for 2017 was to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. 2017 is well behind us, but I ran out of year before running out of books. As of May 2018 I STILL hadn't run out of books, but many of those still to come are MIA by which I mean I don't have copies and remember little about them. There are more new books in the pipeline, and I'm certainly showcasing those, but in between times, I'm profiling some of my characters, places and objects. Thank you so much to everyone who's come along on this journey so far!

Particularising Pixies

Particularising Pixies: Names and Naming Post 11 

When I started writing the Fairy in the Bed series, I dealt with just one kind of fay. As

the series expanded, I brought in more. To justify having them different (they're all fay or fairies, but many of them categorise themselves beyond that) I came up with naming systems to suit each group.

Part of the fun, if not making up the names from scratch, lies in adapting existing names and finding enough that fit recognisably into a culture.

Pixies appear early in the series and their naming habits are probably more eclectic than most.

Many of them choose botanical or gemstone names, but sometimes it’s difficult to discern a pattern, even in a family. 

The Peckerdale / Grene clan who are involved in one way or another with Peckerdale Grene Community Tower  are a strong presence in the books. The two patriarchs are Peter Peckerdale and Peter Grene, who are distant cousins. Their shared name means rock, so it fits the “natural world” thread of naming. Peter P (as he’s universally known when not being called grumpy old -insert noun -) is married to Pia Tillien a pixie miss  (the males call themselves pixie men) as serene as he is mercurial.

Peter G’s wife is Gentian Hillyard, who sports a botanical name. Their only child is Malachite “Mal” Grene.

Peter P and Pia had four children. The eldest is Melody Peckerdale Skipton. The second is Kristos “Kris” Peckerdale, then Alexander and finally Leilana “LeeLee” Peckerdale Grene who married Mal Grene. LeeLee’s name is botanical, while the two sons have Greek names like their father.

Melody’s half courtfolk daughter is named Ryl. This looks as if it might be short for Amaryllis, but Ryl is the whole name. It can be floral (via Amaryllis) or it might refer to a stream. Melody picked Glissando, a musical term, for her daughter’s second name; a musical theme Ryl herself continued with her own four sons.

Mal and LeeLee gave their son two family names, making him Peckerdale Peter Grene. He goes by Peck mostly. Since his wife is human, their children will probably have less odd names.

Peck’s sister is named Promise, generally known as Prom.

Kris has a son and a daughter by his leprechaun wife Calypso. They are named Corin (after Calypso’s mother Corinna) and Jisinia, which is a flower name.

Alexander has a natural son named Quinn and an adopted daughter (so to speak) named Cèilidh, but since they have a leprechaun parent each they don’t really follow the pixie tradition.

Another branch of the same family is descended from Portier Grene, a son of Berryman Grene and Clover Garth. Portier, whose name suggests pear trees and gateways, married a human. His two halfling children, Betula and Birch, have tree names. Betula is grandmother to Simon Bakewell, a trace pixie.

Other named pixies are Cambria Tillien, Casha Glen, Chance Grene, Gard Tillien, Gareth Peckerdale, Glendie Grene, Harry McFee, Jestima Grene, Kishie, Quercus Grene, Russet Fen, Shan, Tess Bryn, and York Shimmer.

So, that’s the pixies for you. Just when you think you have a handle on the way they choose to name their children, you find plenty of evidence to the contrary. 

The Fairy in the Bed series is showcased at Larksinger while the books can be purchased from the publisher.

About the Blog

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, anthologist and reader. You can find you way into her maze of websites and blogs via the portal here.(Sally is me, by the way.)

The goal for 2017 was to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. 2017 is well behind us, but I ran out of year before running out of books. As of June 2018 I STILL hadn't run out of books, but many of those still to come are MIA by which I mean I don't have copies and remember little about them. There are more new books in the pipeline, and I'm certainly showcasing those, but in between times, I'm profiling some of my characters, places and objects. Thank you so much to everyone who's come along on this journey so far!

Sobriquets for Sylvan

Sobriquets for Sylvan: Names and Naming Post 10 

When I started writing the Fairy in the Bed series, I dealt with just one kind of fay. As

the series expanded, I brought in more. To justify having them different (they're all fay or fairies, but many of them categorise themselves beyond that) I came up with naming systems to suit each group.

Part of the fun, if not making up the names from scratch, lies in adapting existing names and finding enough that fit recognisably into a culture.

The sylvan first appeared in book #3: Green Balls, when the pixie hero of that book encountered one of them by the creek. They're not common, even over there and generally don't come much over here.
Each sylvan (men and maids) has a dual nature. As one of them puts it, it's not two personalities sharing a body so much as two bodies sharing a personality. Each can morph to be man or maid, depending on what s/he wants to do at the time. Because of this duality, each child is given a unisex name at birth. Since they don't bother with surnames it's probably just as well there are few of them.
Sylvan age slowly and have long lifespans, so although they often form lasting friendships with others, they understand their friends will be old while they're still barely into middle age. 
Names are often combinations of the parents' names, and frequently sound botanical or to do with the natural world.
For example Oash (pronounced in one syllable) is a child of Oaka and Asht. Oash has a sibling named Koh. 
Occasionally sylvan blood gets into the human population and the result is generally not good. Sam Silver's great-great grandfather was a sylvan, and it was this term, misheard, that formed the family surname. Her father is a sylvan halfling who goes by his/her mother's surname and uses the human naming convention--twice over --being known as Jillian/Jules Fraeman. Sam's mother Shelley, grandmother Stella and great aunt Sofia all have sylvan blood, but since they don't know,  their names follow the human style.


The Fairy in the Bed series is showcased at Larksinger while the books can be purchased from the publisher.

About the Blog

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, anthologist and reader. You can find you way into her maze of websites and blogs via the portal here.(Sally is me, by the way.)

The goal for 2017 was to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. 2017 is well behind us, but I ran out of year before running out of books. As of June 2018 I STILL hadn't run out of books, but many of those still to come are MIA by which I mean I don't have copies and remember little about them. There are more new books in the pipeline, and I'm certainly showcasing those, but in between times, I'm profiling some of my characters, places and objects. Thank you so much to everyone who's come along on this journey so far!

Jameel Singh

Jameel Singh   Character Post 63

Jameel Singh was the son of Dev and Diya Singh. He was born in New Delhi in around 2250. Jameel was a loved and happy child, but his mother fell into depression when a governmental edict removed her chance to have a daughter to add to her family. Dev pitted everything they had on a chance to live in a new society on the newly settled planet of Shiva where he and Diya were welcomed and positively encouraged to have another child.
   Jameel's little sister Meera was one of the firstborn of the Citizens of Shiva, and right from the start Jameel was taught she was special. He accepted that she had better opportunities than he, just as he accepted a job far below his capabilities when he left school. It was only when he fell in love with Tanvi, a visitor from New Delhi that Jameel thought clearly about his situation. Still, he was sensible enough to know there was nothing to be done about it. Meera was a Citizen and he was not. 
    Jameel was an optimistic young man, intelligent and generally contented. He looked forward to marriage and raising a family. He was annoyed when his sister volunteered his services for a rescue mission just as he was about to leave Shiva to visit Tanvi's family, but he accepted it just as he had always had to accept such matters.
   Having a great capacity for affection, (even for his imperious sister), Jameel was friendly and helpful to the stranded orphans of Elysian Dawn. He saw his future path broadening and branching but his loyalty to Tanvi meant he would discuss matters with her before making a decision.

Jameel Singh appears in Elysian Dawn, and The Silvering.  You can read more about the series at the Elydian Dawn website here.

About the Blog

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, anthologist and reader. You can find you way into her maze of websites and blogs via the portal here.(Sally is me, by the way.)

The goal for 2017 was to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. 2017 is well behind us, but I ran out of year before running out of books. As of May 2018 I STILL hadn't run out of books, but many of those still to come are MIA by which I mean I don't have copies and remember little about them. There are more new books in the pipeline, and I'm certainly showcasing those, but in between times, I'm profiling some of my characters, places and objects. Thank you so much to everyone who's come along on this journey so far!