How do I name my characters?

In Angel’s Grace I used the names of friends and family for the characters in the book. Little did I know I could auction off the honor of having me use a person’s name in the pages of my book! Too late for that now! If you’ve read Angel’s Grace, here’s a rundown of who is named after whom.

Grace Brewster = My grand-aunt by marriage is named Grace; Brewster is the surname of one of my brother’s best friends

Sally = My husband’s step-sister.

Ma = What my mother called her grandmother

Aunty Jackie = My husband’s best friend’s girlfriend (at the time).

Raj = I think it was my best friend from T’dad’s brother, but I’ll have to call her and ask.

Karven Mitchell/Brother John = Karven is my cousin; Mitchell is a friend of my mother (or is it my father?); John was a friend of mine in college, who was also once my substitute teacher in High School.

Bruce Simeon = My husband and I went to high-school with a guy we called Bruce though that wasn’t actually his name; Simeon was my Uncle Gregory’s last name (he wasn’t really my uncle, he was a family friend).

Christine = my aunt

Macire = My best friend from high-school’s first child.

Richard = One of my best friends when I was a teen (also now dancing in the Lion King in Germany! Or is it Cirque de Soleil in Iceland?).

Shankar = A family on my street in San Fernando.

Harry = The guy who drove taxi in my dad’s car (if you’re Trini you know what I mean, if you’re not, don’t ask) and who chauffered my brother and I to and from school. (Actually his name was Harrylal.)

I think that’s everyone.

Angel’s Grace e-book

Tracey: Hey Grace! My agent just told me that Angel’s Grace is being made into an e-book. Woo hoo! You’re going cyber, how do you like that?

Grace: What do you mean going? I’ve been cyber since I started this blog!

Tracey: Right. *ahem* Sorry!

Grace: Watch out all you Kindle lovers! The tropics are coming to your screens!

Angel’s Grace Giveaway

In honor of summer beginning and my kids off at camp, I’ve started a Twiveaway campaign!

You can win a signed copy of my debut novel, ANGEL’S GRACE. Here’s how.

1) Follow me on Twitter (click on the link: http://twitter.com/TraceyBaptiste and click “FOLLOW”)

2) Retweet this message: RT @TraceyBaptiste is giving away a signed copy of “Angel’s Grace” http://traceybaptiste.wordpress.com/summer-giveaway/

ANGEL’S GRACE was named one of the 100 best books for reading and sharing by New York City librarians.

13 year old Grace is vacationing on the island of Trinidad with her sister and her grandmother when she stumbles upon a photograph of a man who has the same birthmark on his shoulder that she does. Could it be her real father? Grace spends her entire vacation trying to uncover the mystery of the man in the photo, but what she finds out, she has not bargained for.

Han Nolan, author of “Dancing on the Edge” said: “This story, with its secrets and mystery, kept me turning the pages until the very end. The warmhearted characters, Caribbean island setting, and satisfying conclusion made me glad that I did.”

Booklist: “…a moving debut that is as frank and authentic about sibling rivalry and family anger as it is about the earthy, fruit-scented tropical setting.”

Trinidad, 1938

Every now and then, a little piece of my country’s history surfaces, and I’d like to share it with you. This is a video of Trinidad in a simpler time. Enjoy.

A cut above

President Obama and a young boy have a nice moment comparing haircuts at the White House.

From the White House Flikr site.

Best 100 Picture Books

School Library Journal blogger Elizabeth Bird spent the last few weeks couting down the top 100 books of all time. #1 is finally up today. You can check out the entire list starting here.

For the finale, there are a few treats. A preview of the upcoming movie version, and a video clip of President Obama reading the story to kids.

A taste of Trinidad

This feature from the New York Times will leave your mouth watering.

Obama up to bat

Several days ago, President Obama visited Trinidad to attend the Summit of the Americas. One of Trinidad’s best and most famous cricket players, Brian Lara, got the Pres to have some fun by showing him how to bat.

Awesome.

Happy Birthday Morse Code!

Today is the birthday of Samuel Finley Breeze Morse (1791-1872), inventor of the single-wire telegraph, and Morse code.

Morse was an American painter who lived in England briefly and then returned to the United States to become Professor of Painting and Sculpture at the University of the City of New York.

On the sea-voyage from England to New York, Morse met Charles Jackson who was an expert on electromagnets. From Jackson’s research in electromagnets, Morse got the idea for a single-wire telegraph. Prior to Morse’s invention, telegraphs had to go over railway lines, which limited where messages could be sent. With Morse’s idea, telegraph wires could be put up anywhere, and radically improve comminication.

Morse quit painting in 1837 and worked exclusively on developing the telegraph. And on May 24, 1844, the first telegraph message was sent: “What hath God wrought.”

Now go write your buddies a message in Morse Code.

Morse Codes
American	International
A . _	. _
B _ . . .	_ . . .
C . .    .	_ . _ .
D _ . .	_ . .
E .	.
F . _ .	. . _ .
G _ _ .	_ _ .
H . . . .	. . . .
I . .	. .
J _ . _ .	. _ _ _
K _ . _	_ . _
L _____	. _ . .
M _ _	_ _
N _ .	_ .
O .   .	_ _ _
P . . . . .	. _ _ .
Q . . _ .	_ _ . _
R .    . .	. _ .
S . . .	. . .
T _	_
U . . _	. . _
V . . . _	. . . _
W . _ _	. _ _
X . _ . .	_ . . _
Y . .   . .	_ . _ _
Z . . . .	_ _ . .
1 . _ _ .	. _ _ _ _
2 . . _ . .	. . _ _ _
3 . . . _ .	. . . _ _
4 . . . . _	. . . . _
5 _ _ _	. . . . .
6 . . . . . .	_ . . . .
7 _ _ . .	_ _ . . .
8 _ . . . .	_ _ _ . .
9 _ . . _	_ _ _ _ .
0 ______	_ _ _ _ _

Snafu!

I was just checking to see if any more of my covers had been posted to online bookstores like Amazon and B&N, and I came across this one:

But I didn’t write that book. You can see from the cover image that the author is Alexa Murphy. I’m sure she’s not thrilled.

I wrote Overcoming Prejudice which is attributed to Tara Koelhoffer on B&N, though on Amazon I am correctly listed as the author. I also have a small box of this title that the publishers sent to me more than a month ago.

I also wrote Being a Leader and Making Decisions. That title does not appear in the Character Education series on B&N, but it’s on Amazon, with my name, but with no cover picture yet.

I wonder what the holdup is?