I've been having a devil of a time naming some of these people. Okay, naming this one character. A's love interest (A is the female main character, and Book One is written in her POV).

Way back when I came up with the concept for this (which you can now read all about here, or you can click "Debut Origins" at the top of the page, same thing), all it took was 2 minutes of research and A and D were named perfectly. I can't imagine them being anyone else, they are (I italicized and bolded, that's how much emotion you should read into that word) these people.

Their previous significant others were also fairly simple. I just looked up a few names from the time period, and I found the ones that fit each person. The antagonist was also quick to identify. I cringed and detested him as soon as I read his name, and I knew that was the one.

But when it comes to A's current love interest, I haven't a clue. Here are just some of the names he has been:

• Keith,
• Jeffery,
• Michael/Mike,
• Jared,
• Andrew,
• I think I even threw in a Chris or Matthew at some point.

Currently, per my sister's suggestion, his name is Jackson. I have looked up baby names popular at the time this guy was born, and I didn't see anything that stuck out. I even tried to use the name my husband and I would have chosen if we had had a son instead of a daughter, and that just made me project weird maternal instincts over the character which never would have worked in the book.

"Jackson" is a very open, honest guy. He accepts people for who they are, but if that doesn't work with him, and they don't take the many opportunities he gives them to change, then he backs off. He worries about everyone's well being, even people he just met. Sharing in joy and positive experiences is a big part of why A falls for him (also his deep brown eyes, but ya know, she's only human). He defends his feelings for her against her very protective brother, D, and eventually gains his trust.

Bughhhhhh! I figured naming a fictional character would be easier than naming my child, but that appears to be very untrue.

Why am I only venting about this now? Because I thought that Jackson would work if I just left it alone for a while. It's been three months and over 30,000 words, and I still hesitate before typing his name, because it just isn't his name.