Main Page: Unsent Correspondence or Space Girls
To the Girl With an Awesome Name
As I mentioned, the name of Lillis Hawker in my novel "Space Girls" was taken from a real person. This is from an old blog post to/about her that I wrote on November 30, 2013. She's since changed her last name (sad) so she can't possibly claim copyright infringement (happy).
You're not actually going to read this, at least not for a few months. Maybe then I'll make it into a Facebook message and send it directly, but it might go into your "Other" folder and never be found. In any case, I guess this is just for the benefit of myself and whoever reads my blog. I'm such a show-off.
Do you remember when we met? Three years and some odd months ago, at EFY. You weren't in my group but I saw you and I said "This is going to sound like a lame pickup line, but seriously, didn't I see you in the temple last week?" You said, "No, it doesn't sound lame." Now might be as good a time as any to set the record straight; what I meant was that it wasn't a pickup line at all. If you wished to interpret it that way and respond favorably then that would have been fine with me, but I don't really use pickup lines much unless I come up with them myself. Here's a few I came up with myself:
"You'll never find a guy who's worthy of you, so you might as well settle for me."
"What's your message? [She says, "Huh?"] Don't angels usually come to deliver messages of some sort?"
"I'm going to be excommunicated for idolatry, because I worship the ground you walk on."
Actually, I should add the temple thing to the list.
Anyway, I just thought I should tell you that when I learned your name I was like "Woah, that's the awesomest name I've ever heard." Maybe I did tell you that. If I kept a journal I would remember these things. But anyway, I liked it so much that a few weeks later I went home and made it the name of one of the protagonists in what would later become my novel. You probably already know this, but your first name is so unique that neither OpenOffice nor Word recognizes it. That's a shame. I like it so much better than the more common variants
I've grown very close to both of my protagonists throughout the writing process. They're like real people to me. Their hopes, struggles, and flaws are all compelling to me from a literary standpoint. The one named after you is less flawed than the other, of course. The other has issues up the wazoo. The one named after you just has literally zero emotions. But don't worry, that doesn't make her a robot. She still has a personality and a moral compass and stuff, and she's a figurative goddess with mechanics and electronics. Nothing about her is based on you except for her name and the fact that she's pretty. (Her actual appearance, though, is inspired by Toryn Farr in "The Empire Strikes Back". You know, the woman who says "Stand by, ion control... Fire.") Anyway, given how close and real she's become to me, and how I've never actually conversed or stayed in touch with you for years, it was kind of a Twilight Zone moment when I recently opened my little EFY booklet and saw "her" autograph.
You're not actually going to read this, at least not for a few months. Maybe then I'll make it into a Facebook message and send it directly, but it might go into your "Other" folder and never be found. In any case, I guess this is just for the benefit of myself and whoever reads my blog. I'm such a show-off.
Do you remember when we met? Three years and some odd months ago, at EFY. You weren't in my group but I saw you and I said "This is going to sound like a lame pickup line, but seriously, didn't I see you in the temple last week?" You said, "No, it doesn't sound lame." Now might be as good a time as any to set the record straight; what I meant was that it wasn't a pickup line at all. If you wished to interpret it that way and respond favorably then that would have been fine with me, but I don't really use pickup lines much unless I come up with them myself. Here's a few I came up with myself:
"You'll never find a guy who's worthy of you, so you might as well settle for me."
"What's your message? [She says, "Huh?"] Don't angels usually come to deliver messages of some sort?"
"I'm going to be excommunicated for idolatry, because I worship the ground you walk on."
Actually, I should add the temple thing to the list.
Anyway, I just thought I should tell you that when I learned your name I was like "Woah, that's the awesomest name I've ever heard." Maybe I did tell you that. If I kept a journal I would remember these things. But anyway, I liked it so much that a few weeks later I went home and made it the name of one of the protagonists in what would later become my novel. You probably already know this, but your first name is so unique that neither OpenOffice nor Word recognizes it. That's a shame. I like it so much better than the more common variants
I've grown very close to both of my protagonists throughout the writing process. They're like real people to me. Their hopes, struggles, and flaws are all compelling to me from a literary standpoint. The one named after you is less flawed than the other, of course. The other has issues up the wazoo. The one named after you just has literally zero emotions. But don't worry, that doesn't make her a robot. She still has a personality and a moral compass and stuff, and she's a figurative goddess with mechanics and electronics. Nothing about her is based on you except for her name and the fact that she's pretty. (Her actual appearance, though, is inspired by Toryn Farr in "The Empire Strikes Back". You know, the woman who says "Stand by, ion control... Fire.") Anyway, given how close and real she's become to me, and how I've never actually conversed or stayed in touch with you for years, it was kind of a Twilight Zone moment when I recently opened my little EFY booklet and saw "her" autograph.
So I've been here at my grandparents' house for Thanksgiving, in their basement, being anti-social and working on my novel. It's actually done, in the sense that it has a beginning and a middle and an end, but it needs to be trimmed and edited so I don't cringe as much when I look at it. I was seeing all the red lines under your name and it occurred to me that with such a unique name, finding you on Facebook should be easy, and that I should do it and send you a message informing you that I took it for one of my characters. I'm not asking for permission, you understand. You don't have a copyright on it. But I figured it would be polite to let you know and maybe send you a few royalties if the book becomes popular and I can afford it.
I found you - the only person with that name, and I recognized your face - but alas, I couldn't send the message. Besides the already-mentioned concern about the "Other" folder, posts on your Timeline indicated that you've been on a mission since January. I guess I can wait for you to either come back or start doing the missionary Facebook thing. In the meantime, there's this post. Maybe I'll just send you the link.
I'm sure this isn't creepy at all.
I found you - the only person with that name, and I recognized your face - but alas, I couldn't send the message. Besides the already-mentioned concern about the "Other" folder, posts on your Timeline indicated that you've been on a mission since January. I guess I can wait for you to either come back or start doing the missionary Facebook thing. In the meantime, there's this post. Maybe I'll just send you the link.
I'm sure this isn't creepy at all.
