News on Street Stories | Debra R. Borys

I picked Katja as the name of Avril’s missing friend because I thought it was unique enough that it would make Avril suspect Lily knows her when she names the baby Katja. But when naming characters, it’s important not to have two names too similar or readers might easily get confused as to who is who.

Jo’s friend Keisha also has a unique name and while maybe both names are unique enough that it won’t be confusing, I see no reason to risk it. Therefore Katja is now Zara, specifically Zara Rose.

“Zara? Zara Rose? I haven’t seen her for months. I thought you two were friends. Why come here looking for her?”

The name works on another level, too, since Zara is transgender and would have chosen her new name, one that she identifies with due to the Algerian heritage in her grandparents’ cultural background.

What do you think of the new name? And don’t forget to check out the latest excerpts posted in my Birthing the Next Street Story blog.

The beginning to Chapter 4 came to me while swimming laps at the YMCA. I had to keep going over and over the scenario in my head while I finished my 40 minutes, dried off, and dressed, so while I was sitting waiting for my Mom to get done with her exercises, I starting drafting it using my phone so I wouldn’t forget.

When I started putting it all into Scrivener back home, it really kept flowing, but I was very surprised to hear Jack reprimand Jo the way he did. I hadn’t counted on that, but it fit well into a sub-theme I want to work on. That led to this bit that I’ve posted on the Birthing blog. I don’t yet know where this will go, probably about mid-way through the book, but I thought I’d share it here to see what you think. Click the quote below to read the whole excerpt.