Not long ago, I shared a plane journey with a woman who was heading to Haiti to continue charity work with the victims of the terrible earthquake in 2010.
Hundreds of thousands of people were killed or left homeless by the earthquake.
At the time the world rallied to offer aid – but these things fade from the public view quickly. For the people of Haiti – the recovery is long and hard.
On my plane, I met a woman from THEA an organization helping the Haitian people help themselves – mainly through education.
It was once of those chance meetings that can sometimes lead to something more.
This weekend, in New York, THEA is holding a fundraising event – and one of the items in their silent auction will be the name of one of the characters in the novel I am currently writing. I will name the character after the highest bidder.
It is a strange way to name a character.
Usually the naming process requires a lot of flicking through my baby name books. I will try several different names until I find the one which suits my character.
It will be interesting to see how I go writing a character using a name I am given – rather than one I choose.
So – an interesting test of writing for me – and a chance to do something for a good cause…
I just hope the person who makes the winning bid is not called Algernon Zowie Snodgrass – because that name is just not going to work in my book!
