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Thursday, April 9, 2015

#ThursdayThoughts: Guest post by LoRee Peery

Good Morning Friends!

It is my pleasure to bring you this guest post by my friend and fellow Pelican Book Group author, LoRee Peery and while I'm introducing her, let me take a moment to wish her a very Happy & Blessed Birthday!

Do Names have Meaning?

I’m convinced names carry significance. Various cultures and history record an individual’s name as revealing who that person is, be it family, vocation, or location. There are even accounts of people going unnamed until who they are personality- or character-wise is discovered.

Have you ever looked up the meaning of your name? Mothers-to-be often check out baby name books before making selections. I have to admit I didn’t choose that route in naming my first two children, but before I decided on my youngest daughter’s name, I looked up the meanings of names on my list. God must have spoken to my heart, because I went with my first choice, which means a song.

My paternal grandmother died before I was born, and I was named for her best friend. My mom chose Loree for my name. I enjoy hearing how “pretty” it is, though not everyone knows how to say it. I was excited to discover my Latin name means victorious, based on the crown of laurel leaves placed on a victor’s head during Olympic games.

When I started school I got tired of correcting those who called me “Lori,” so I finally accepted that mispronunciation. I carried that name until around 1980, a couple years after my mother’s death. Mom didn’t name me Lori. I capitalized the R to make people consider how to say my name, and corrected anyone who pronounced it incorrectly.

One of the first writing workshops I attended had to do with naming character. As an author, I strive for my characters to reveal aspects of earthly Christian character, so I put thought into their names.

The hero of my upcoming release, Paisley’s Pattern, has always been troubled by his name. Instead of viewing Robin as “bright shining fame,” a form of excellence, he blames his mother for naming him after a bird. She did have a hippie phase and changed her surname to Paisley. He scoffed at that one too.

I had fun with transposing hero and heroine names in this story. Paisley Robbins is the heroine and their mixed-up names is the reason they became acquainted before this story begins. Paisley and Rob both grow in their spiritual lives as the story evolves. She tries to get Rob to see that his earthly name will change in heaven. At least four verses in the Bible refer to believers receiving new names in heaven.

God knows us by name, and gives us a new name. Names must matter to God. He changed a few that are recorded in the Bible. The familiar ones in Genesis are Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel. In Matthew He changed Simon to Peter.


Many places in the Bible, Christians are addressed as beloved. How about that for a precious name? I believe and look forward to receiving a new name, though my earthly name reflects that I am a victorious overcomer.

LoRee Peery
Redeeming Grace with a Sense of Place

What an interesting post! I must admit, until recently I didn't check to see what my characters' names meant. They just came to me. But in a current WIP I researched names to fit the people in the story.

LoRee Peery is a lifelong Nebraskan who thanks her mother for teaching her to read when she was four. She has devoured books ever since. She and her husband have tackled some interesting projects over the course of their married life. For one, they built the home they live in with their own hands. They used to want more acres further away from city life, but one day LoRee realized they had their “greener on the other side of the fence” already. All it took was removing the hedge made of trees and bushes. LoRee feels grounded in her sense of place and considers it humbling to be redeemed by grace. She is blessed to have five children and eleven grandchildren. One-on-one time playing cards or Scrabble provides cherished moments and memories. Find out more about LoRee by visiting her website or connecting with her on Facebook and Twitter!


Paisley's Pattern releases May 8th from Pelican Book Group but find ALL of LoRee's titles HERE!

Well Friends, I certainly hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll join me in wishing LoRee a Happy Birthday!

Leave a comment & you just might win your choice of one of LoRee's E-books!!

Until later....take care & God Bless!
PamT

4 comments:

Delia Latham said...

Happy, HAPPY Birthday, dear friend!

As always...beautiful post! Names are always important to me when I choose characters for my books. My own name seems to have little meaning: From the island of Delos. lol I, too, have spent many years bowing to the consensus, and allowing the name my mother gave me to go unused. Because she spelled my name in a way that indicates it should be pronounded Dellya, that's what I've mostly been known as, and I've done little to change it. Lately, however, I'm feeling more and more inclined to use the name my mother gave me, even if it means changing the spelling to Deela. On the other hand, it may be a little late in life to worry about it. :D

marilyn leach said...

Hope your special day is fun, LoRee. I always look up names for my characters in one of those "Name Baby" books. It covers multinational names, which is great, because I have multinational characters in my books. Thanks for your informative article.

LoRee Peery said...

It's been a full day. Thank you, Pam, for letting me be your guest as well as the birthday wishes.
Thank you Delia, for clearing up your name history in my mind.
Thank you, Marilyn, for stopping. I appreciate your good wishes.

Pamela S Thibodeaux said...

So glad y'all stopped by! Enjoyed the post, LoRee and all the discussions about names. Pamela means "All Honey" and my mom called me Honey all my life :-)

As for characters, in my WIP which I hope to submit to Passport...the heroine's name is Ferryn and hero Wendell both which mean gypsy, wanderer, etc. :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

PamT