When I was writing The Gathering Room – A Tale of Nelly Butler it was very obvious to me who the main characters were; George, Nelly & Lydia. The historical record, on which my fictional portrayal is based, made bringing those characters to life relatively simple. Their names, birthdates, etc are all real. Many of the secondary characters were also real people who had left behind evidence of their involvement with America’s first documented ghost. The handful of fictional secondary characters I needed to create, Rueben Gray, Lucy Giddings, the servant girl Martha, etc. were small and manageable. They were after all secondary characters. Now that I’m working away on the Prequel I’m faced with a dilemma I’m struggling with. So I thought I would enlist your help!

The Prequel, like The Gathering Room, is based on actual events. However we are talking about a much earlier time period. The events that I need to base this story around are there, but not so detailed when it comes to a full cast of characters, especially female characters. Women were notoriously left out of the written record. So, while I know that women had to have been involved in this story it’s not so easily spelled out for me.

Hence why I need your help. I have to create a very important main character all from fiction. She will shoulder most of the storyline in part of the book. While her male character counterpart, who is based on a real person, acts as the supporting player in the story structure. Is she a heroine? Not really. In some ways she reminds me an awful lot of Lydia Blaisdell. She will be the mystical character in this story. At certain times you may love her. Other times you may hate her. Similar to how a lot of you have told me you felt about Lydia while reading The Gathering Room.

So how can you help? I need a name for this woman! I’ve tried for a few weeks now to settle on a name for her and it’s just not coming to me. So I thought I would put a few choices out and let you, my readers, let me know what you think!

Let me introduce you to the character. She’s in her mid-twenties, still unmarried because of rumors of the supernatural that surround her. The time period is 1630-ish and witch trials and fear of witches is a very real thing in her world. She’s English and lives in the Lancashire area of England. She’s a herbalist, having learned the art from her grandmother. She heals the sick using plants and concoctions. Another strike against her during this time period of intense fear and superstition. She’s a very private person. She doesn’t socialize much, preferring instead the quite company of her immediate family or even animals. Some say this is more proof of her evil ways. She’s strong willed but also vulnerable in many ways. Her family call themselves Puritans and adhere to the new faith, although rumors swirl that she and rest of her family may not be as holy as they appear. She comes from a well established family of wool merchants. They are not poor by any means, but they are not of the aristocrat class either. She would be described as plain, unremarkable, in her appearance. As I did when writing The Gathering Room, I did an online image search of of “17th century female England” and then I scroll through the photos until I find one that resembles what I see in my mind. I then use that photo as inspiration throughout the writing process. I have done that with this character and attached the photo to this blog.

So I ask you……What is her name?

I’ve researched popular female names of the 1600-1630’s and I have come up with the names you would expect to find, Elizabeth, Mary, etc. To boring!! So I researched uncommon female names only to find a list equally boring. I have narrowed it down to a few I like. I would appreciate your opinion on this. Could you be swept away to another time with a woman by the name of Susannah, Rachel, or Marion? Or do you have a different option? Who do you see her as? You can let me know by going to the home page here on the website and using the contact form at the bottom to let me know your choice. Or if you’ve found this blog because of a social media post you can always comment on that post with your choice. Thanks so much and lets hear what you have to say! I’ll announce my final decision next week.