The Rock of Pages

So awhile back, Jett wondered why, in an age where authors give their rockers pretty charismatic names, Nicky Wells would name her dude Dan. Lucky us — Nicky saw Jett’s post and dropped Susan a line, offering to explain. And so, without further ado, here she is.

What’s in a name? Meet Dan Hunter, lead singer of rock band Tuscq

Why is Dan called Dan? Susan and Jett asked me. Dan is a pretty humble and down-to-earth kind of name, not exactly en vogue as far as fancy rock star names go, or so they say. And they’re most probably right.

Well. I have a confession to make. I didn’t do any research of any kind on rock star name fashions. But I did think long and hard about the kind of person my first golden-voiced bad boy hero would be. He’d be a serial womaniser, for he loves women as much as he loves rock ‘n’ roll. He’d be notoriously hard to tie down, and he’d be known for his many flings and dalliances. On the plus side, he’d be clean. As in, he wouldn’t do drugs; apart from anything else, they’re bad for the voice. He’d love sex, but he‘d be down to earth and kind. This man would be no Christian Grey. He’d want his women to be happy when he’s with them, and he’d like to leave them with a big goofy smile when he takes off again. He’d be smart, intuitive, and occasionally tempestuous. His friends would matter to him, and he’d be a bit of a joker. Oh, and if you saw him on stage, you’d throw your knickers at him for he would be charisma on legs.

Bearing all that in mind, I settled on the name Dan for a number of reasons. Here goes.

1.) I like the name. Yup, it really is a simple as that. I like the name Dan. Short, sweet and to the point, and it has an ‘a’ sound in which goes very well with ‘aaaaah, Dan!’ You can shout and swoon over one-syllable names much more easily than two syllable ones!

2.) I didn’t know anyone else by that name at the time I picked it. I knew a few Dans in my time, but there was no Dan in my life when I started writing. I’ll admit that the positive traits of some of the Dan people I knew in the past probably influenced me, but other than that, Dan was a clean slate.

3.) I thought that ‘Dan’ and ‘Hunter’ worked very well together. If the first name is short and humble, the second name introduces that predatory element.

And last but not least: 4.) By the time the last book in the series would roll around—that would be Sophie’s Encore—I would need a name that would be very similar to ‘Dad.’ Some of the key moments in Sophie’s Encore hinge on the close proximity between ‘Dan’ and ‘Dad’ in a two-year-old’s speech repertoire. See, I’m a woman with a plan!

And there you have it. I’ve been very, very happy with Dan, and I cried when I had to leave him and Sophie behind. I’ll be writing many more rock stars in the future, but there’ll never be anyone else quite like Dan. He’s simply perfect with all his imperfections.

Oh hey, and don’t forget to check out Dan and Sophie on Tuscq’s single, Love Me Better, a classic eighties-style rock ballad!

Susan here again… man, do I need to read these books. Nicky’s been an absolute doll to talk to and I have nothing but respect and esteem for her. I hope she’ll be a semi-regular in these parts going forward!