Pages

Thursday, June 18, 2015

A Cold Hearted Phoenix by: Isis Sousa w/ Guest Post


Title: A Cold Hearted Phoenix: Dark Love Episode 1
Author: Isis Sousa
Series: A Cold Hearted Phoenix
Genre: Urban Gothic
Publisher: Tragic Books
Release Date: April 30 2015
Edition/Formats Available In: eBook & Print
Illustrations: Characters and Ornaments Pencil Sketches
Blurb/Synopsis:
A Cold-Hearted Phoenix is a sweet-and-sour illustrated mini-series in three episodes. It is written in an experimental style, mixing screenwriting with prose. This book includes 40+ illustrations and a unique layout.
In this first episode: VIKKI, who is an authentic and successful graphic designer, breaks one of her most sacred rules: to never date a work colleague.
Let’s watch how VIKKI’s life turns to misery and she falls into the misadventures of a DARK LOVE




Amazon Illustrated Edition {eBook}
Amazon Illustrated Edition {Hardcover}
Amazon Illustrated Edition {Paperback}
Lulu Illustrated Edition {Hardcover}
Lulu Illustrated Edition {Paperback}
Barnes and Noble Illustrated Edition {Hardcover}
Books A Million (BAM) Illustrated Edition {Hardcover}
Books A Million (BAM) Illustrated Edition {Paperback}
Book Depository Illustrated Edition {Hardcover}
Book Depository Illustrated Edition {Paperback}




How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? Do you have any name choosing resources you recommend?

Hi! Many thanks for having my book tour on your blog :D It is so nice to be back :)


Thank you for the opportunity of talking about this very interesting and important subject. I consider name to be a highly important part of a fictional character. In real life, things tend to work a bit different, but in Fiction, names or nicknames can add weight to the story and help revealing the character straight away.
Let’s take a popular character name, for example, Bruce Wayne (Batman). It is a somber name that can be associated with a serious person and wealth. It is also a short name, therefore memorable. Now imagine that Batman was called Jake or Chester? Any of these alternatives would break the somber tone of the character – when we speak of him.
Now, let’s say I have two female characters and would introduce them to the reader. I start with their names. “On the right you have Jezebel; on the left you have Sarah.” Because of the historical origins of both names related to the Bible, a reader could immediately assume that Jezebel sounds like a more mundane, darker character while Sarah sounds like someone candid, virtuous, lighter.
When I’m crafting a character, I tend to choose a name both based on History and sonority. I don’t care much for the meaning, because, the meaning of names has been changed within time, cultures and niches. For instance my birth name: Isis refers to the Egypcian Goddess – and that was the meaning when my parents gave it to me. However, of late I have seen it used in the news headlines as acronym for the islamic terror state. Someone who doesn’t know about the Goddess may associate it with terror and vice-versa.
For the characters of A Cold-Hearted Phoenix, I chose a very short, simple, memorable name for my female lead: VIKKI. Vikki sounds detached, impacting, grey – just like her. For the male lead, I chose MARCUS. Even though short, his name lingers on our tongue as we pronounce it, making total contrast with Vikki’s name – as it happens with the characters when in the storyline. Marcus is a name of Latin origins, and it may suggest that the character himself may have immigrant/foreigner family background.
Another character, MRS. DI GRIFONI, has a name that sounds antiquate, rigid, uncool. She is an elderly 75+ neighbor and friend of Vikki, she is gibbous, partially deaf and lives alone with her cat. I wouldn’t give her any other name! (Try pronouncing her name really fast and you may see what I mean!)
I do not use any tool or resource for choosing a name. Each character is unique, as each person on earth. I may play with sonority and History to find something that fits for him or her. That may or may not include research. :) Thanks a lot for the nice chat!

Writing sucks. Period.
That’s why I am an artist; illustrator and graphic designer who writes in a hobby basis. Oh, wait… That’s not the “why”… I was born artist, and there is nothing I can do to change it. But with all the imagination I have running lose, there came some stories… And there came some books!When I’m not doing artwork and illustration for authors and bands, I’m doing woodcarving, painting ornaments, painting artworks for myself, writing articles for IT’S ART MAG, collaborating with other artists and so on. Love Arts, History and Heavy Metal.Oh, and summer is a bitch! Always. Anywhere in the world.











No comments:

Post a Comment