Appellations for Alpenfee

Appellations for Alpenfee Names and Naming Post 2 

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.

Alpenfee, (who can also call themselves alpenfay, alpenfolk or alp fairies) come from a mountainous area, as their name suggests. If they're over here, and passing (i.e. masquerading as human) people usually think they're German, Austrian or Swiss. The women style themselves as mädchen and the men are men. 

Alpenfee tend to like music and often work in the hospitality business. Others work in jobs that call for creative interpretation. So far only a few alpenfee have graced the pages (electronic and paper) of the Fairy in the Bed series, but I like them, so there will probably be more.

Hugo and Johan Bless are brothers who work as building inspectors over here. They were born in NSW, but spent holidays over there with relatives, so they have a foot in each camp. Their names are typically Swiss German. They're good at their job, but they drive the methodical Russ Merriweather spare with their peculiar way of doing things. He's also not so keen on their penchant for beer and flugelhorns.  (Want to meet the Bless brothers? Check out The Kissing Ring.)
Martina Bless is related to the brothers. She's a buxom, rosy-cheeked woman who wears her hair in a milkmaid braid. She runs a cafe called Fee Kaffee, and disconcerts some of her patrons because she has what she calls "a touch of the sight." Martina is another German or Swiss name. Martina appears in Sunshower and Court in Between.
Brigitta Merriweather, wife of Russ Merriweather's nephew Bart, is also alpenfee. She's another buxom woman with a lot of hair and a huge appetite for life. In her early fifties, she's as lively as someone half her age. Brigitta and Bart have three halfling children; Sabrina, Fabienne and Jasper. 
Brigitta appears in Man Overboard and will be a main character in Northern Lights - when I write it.

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!