Monday, July 15, 2013

Blog Tour Guest Post with Nicole Sobon, Author of Program 13 (and GIVEAWAY!)


Welcome to the Program 13 blog tour! Today, I have an guest post to share with you from the wonderful author, Nicole Sobon, and a giveaway! Enjoy!

Read my review of Program 13 HERE.

Follow the rest of the tour HERE.


Meet Nicole Sobon!


Choosing Names For Your Characters
by Nicole Sobon

When it comes to choosing names for my books, I try to really get a feel for the character first: appearance, personality, background, and then I try to find a name that truly fits them.

For Emile, I had this image of this robotic-like girl in my mind long before I had even started writing Program 13. Given how different the character was, and her past, I wanted a name that would standout, and Emile worked. I had been playing around with different variations of Emily until I ended up with Emile (yes, like the actor Emile Hirsch). Oddly enough, I think choosing her name was a lot easier for me than any of the others.

There have been a few instances – such as with Ben, a character you’ll meet in Collide – where I had a character, and I had a named picked out for them, and I had gotten far into the story, but due to certain reasons, I had to change it. Ben’s original name was Cole, but given how common Cole is in YA/NA stories, I figured it would be best to change it before it was published, so I asked my readers to help me rename him, and from there, I picked a name that I felt truly fit him.

Character names also vary depending on the genre I’m writing. If I’m writing a sci-fi story, the names may be a bit strange, depending on the character(s), but when it comes to contemporary stories, I definitely try to keep the names simple and make sure they reflect on the character. For instance, I have a dark NA contemporary novel that I’m working on, and the names are simple and realistic compared to the YA space story I’ve been working on for a year. The setting and genre really do determine how I name my characters in the end.


About the Author:

Nicole Sobon is the author of the Emile Reed Chronicles, Capture, No Place Like Home, and various short stories.



Check out Program 13!


Program 13 by Nicole Sobon
Book One of the Emile Reed Chronicles
Publication Date: August 15, 2012

Official Summary:

Two identities. One Body.

17-year-old Emile Reed, may have died, but she isn't dead. Her body now belongs to Program Thirteen, where her every thought, every movement, is controlled. Until Emile begins to find her way back inside of Thirteen's core, where she manages to fend off Thirteen’s programming to reclaim the life that she lost. But Charles McVeigh, the owner of Vesta Corp, isn’t willing to let Thirteen go. And he will stop at nothing to reclaim control of Thirteen's programming. Because without her, McVeigh has nothing.

What makes you human?



The Giveaway:

- (1) ebook copy of Program 13 (ePub, mobi, or PDF only) - open internationally
- (1) Program 13 bookmark - open to US/CA residents ONLY.
- The giveaway begins on July 15th, and ends on August 7th at 11:59 EST.
- PLEASE READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS IN THE RAFFLECOPTER BEFORE ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY





15 comments:

  1. I think I'd have the hardest time finding names for my characters but I do think that it should fit with the genre! I also have seen a lot of Coles haha. I've also seen giveaways with "you get to pick the name of a character in my next book" listed as a prize which I think is pretty cool!

    Thanks for being on the tour, Alyssa! :)

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  2. My name is Danielle and it is hebrew/french. It means "God is my Judge".

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  3. Unfortunately books, like babies, go through cycles of trendy names. I think there's some attraction to looking up meanings of names to suit characters. I just use regular people names. People I don't know who comment on people I do know's facebook or something.

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  4. Oh, and my name is Brittany. I;m named after the French province. I'm not French, but apparently only British people live there, anyway. I don't even know. Trendy 80s name.

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  5. Tammy is a Greek name meaning twin.

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  6. My name is Mary which means wished for child or rebellion.

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  7. Kayla means pure, love, beloved of God (depending on the site) and is Hebrew/American.

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  8. My name is Sarah it is from Hebrew origins and means "princess"

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  9. My name is Jaime. Spanish origin. Variant of the Hebrew James. He who supplants. Also, J'aime- French expression of I love!

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  10. Holly comes from Old English, and means "holy one". As for my last name, it's of Swedish decent. My ancestors were named Lett when they came to the US, and once they settled in the US, they dropped the 2nd T, and added "son", as in "Letson".

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  11. My name basically just means long hair. Sometimes they say it's based off of Teresa, which means harvester, but I've always just gone by the other meaning. My parents knew one person with the name and liked it, so they used it for mine. I've only met or known about eight other Tressa's and, not to sound proud, but it's a name I really like, so I'm glad that it's mine. :)

    Tressa @ Tressa's Wishful Endings

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  12. My name is Sarah, it's hebrew meaning Princess <3

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  13. I was told that my name (Stacy) means reincarnation.

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  14. My name is Emilia, was the name of my grandma, and i love it!!

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  15. My name is Ariel and I was named after the Little Mermaid. It means Lion of God in Hebrew.

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