We’re trying to come up with a name for the city where our story takes place.

The novel before this one is set in Manhattan, so there was very little naming of places required. The neighborhoods and streets all have names already, and there are myriad restaurants, boutiques, businesses, and landmarks to call on for flavor. That’s not to say that we didn’t have to make anything up. We invented a few locations to suit our purposes and then we had to name them.

This time, though, we’re back to founding our own city, which gives us the fun honor (or dreaded chore, you decide) of naming absolutely everything.

Naming is a special art, whether it’s characters or places or the story itself. Not everyone has the gift for it. In our case, Jen definitely has the touch. So in our workaday partnership activities, naming stuff is one of her primary duties. (Kent has other talents. Honest.)

But for whatever reason, in this case we’re teaming up on the toponym issue. Jen named the whole cast already, so maybe she was just tuckered out. It’s neat to kick ideas back and forth and watch how your partner reacts. It’s a good way to tell if you’re on the same page in regards to the flavor. If one of you wants to call the place Kitten Basket* while the other favors Death River*, there’s a disconnect somewhere and it’s better to get that sorted out early on. One of the beneficial side-effects to our collaboration and brainstorming has been that the place’s history is starting to take shape, because some of the name concepts are so evocative. But we still haven’t chosen a name!

*Not actually under consideration. Feel free to use it yourself.