The Author Guy Blog by Larry B. Gildersleeve (Feb 18, 2025)

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18th February 2025

Hello out there,

Welcome back. One of the great joys (among a hundred or more) is selecting the names for characters in my novels. Often, with their permission, people who have a special place in my heart or in my memories of times gone by are featured. In all four of my published novels, Dr. Michael McGinley has a brief recurring role as the town’s beloved family doctor, and he keeps alive the memory of my best childhood friend who sadly died of Lou Gehrig’s disease when he was in his early fifties.

In my novel Blue by You, the minor character readers write that they “adore” is a teenage girl named Annie Hathaway. That is the name of Suzanne Pleshette’s (I was a huge fan until her passing) character in Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic thriller “The Birds.” I’m determined to name a future character Joey Heatherton after the actress, singer and dancer who was very famous during the 1960s and 1970s as I was “growing up.”

I’m in the process of writing a Christmas-themed novella for release sometime in late 2026, and the main character will be named Clarice Scarborough. Clarice is no longer with us, and I only met her a few times. She was the mother-in-law of one of my fraternity pledge class brothers, and I think the name will fit perfectly with a gracious Southern lady of “a certain age.” If you have names to suggest, I would be delighted to give them thoughtful consideration.


Until next week … Vaya con Dios


Larry B. Gildersleeve

Location: Bowling Green, KY, USA

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