The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry and the Process of Choosing Character Names, a guest post by Anna Rose Johnson

I love naming characters. I think it’s one of the most joyful parts of the early creative process for any novel. I discovered this as a child, working on my many (mostly unfinished!) stories—starting at around age ten, I would flip through baby naming books and make lists of my favorite names. In fact, I had so much fun with it that I would intentionally create enormous casts of characters for my books just so that I could have the opportunity to utilize all the names I’d grown so fond of!

Back in those days, I could be as creative as I wanted to with my stories (and the names of my characters). But now I have to think about other things: does this name work for the time period I’ve chosen to write about? The culture? The place? Does each character have a name that starts with a different initial? (Although sometimes impossible, I try to do this in my books because it makes it easier for readers to keep the characters separate. And, I confess, it’s easier for me, too!)

This gives me so much to think about, and character naming isn’t quite as quick as it used to be. But I’ve found that even with these limitations, I have a wonderful time naming my characters, and possibly the most fun I’ve had with it so far is when I invented names for the characters in my newly-released book, The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry.

In this middle grade novel, my main character is Selena Lucy Landry, an orphaned French-Ojibwe girl who goes to live with a family of lighthouse keepers when she loses her guardian. Lucy instantly acquires six siblings, and I wanted each of her new brothers and sisters to have names that were authentic to the time and place: Michigan in 1912.

So I began the process of combing through old census records. As a genealogist, I refer to censuses all the time, but on this occasion, I needed to research names that were used in Michigan at the turn of the century (when these children would have been born). As I searched, I jotted down a bunch of names on a list, and then put them all on slips of papers. Then I picked out a handful at random—but I didn’t love the ones I chose. So of course, I wasn’t satisfied until I simply chose the names that just felt right to me. 

In the end, the names of the Martin children became Maureen, Ansel, Forrest, Hazel, Clessie, and Orville. Based on the extensive genealogical and historical research I have done over the years, I felt that these names were a solid representation of naming patterns in early 20^th-century Michigan. And I really liked them!

But of course, naming the main character of this story—Lucy herself—took a lot of thought as well. In the end, I selected the name Selena Lucy Landry because to me, Selena was the right type of name for this character—whimsical yet classic. In fact, her name appears as only Selena (not Selena Lucy) in an early draft of the climax scene! 

However, I soon realized that the absolutely perfect name for this character—an imaginative orphan living in a lighthouse—would be Lucy. I chose to keep Selena as her official first name, because that was another naming convention that was fairly common in turn-of-the-century Michigan. (In my first book, The Star That Always Stays, Norvia’s younger sister Dicta has the full name of Mary Benedicta.) 

The main reason why I chose the name Lucy is because it literally means “light”—perfect for the theme and setting of this book! And then, of course, the alliterative title became the clear way to go. When I hit upon The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry, I felt very excited. It is my favorite title I’ve ever dreamed up, and I’m excited when other people comment on how much they love it too. 

Not every character name goes through a rigorous process—some are a little more random!—but this is one of those parts of the writing process that is pure fun for me. It can be challenging to settle on the right name, but when you do, it makes all the difference.

Meet the author

Storytelling has always been a part of Anna Rose Johnson’s life—especially timeless tales tinged with vintage charm. She grew up fascinated by the early 20th century and now writes historical middle grade novels that reflect her love of classic children’s literature. A member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Anna Rose enjoys exploring her heritage through her stories, including her debut middle grade novel The Star That Always Stays (an NPR Best Book of 2022 and a Christy Amplify Award Winner), and her second novel, The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry (which received two starred reviews). Anna Rose lives on a farm in northern Wisconsin, and you can visit her bookish blog at: http://annarosejohnson.com/blog/.

Here are my social media links: 

https://twitter.com/GymnasticsRosie

 https://www.instagram.com/annarosewriter/

About The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry

Lucy, a spirited French-Ojibwe orphan, is sent to the stormy waters of Lake Superior to live with a mysterious family of lighthouse-keepers—and, she hopes, to find the legendary necklace her father spent his life seeking…

Selena Lucy Landry (named for a ship, as every sailor’s child should be) has been frightened of the water ever since she lost her father at sea. But with no one else to care for her, she’s sent to foster with the Martins—a large Anishinaabe family living on a lighthouse in the middle of stormy Lake Superior.

The Martin family is big, hard-working, and close, and Lucy—who has always been a dreamer—struggles to fit in. Can she go one day without ruining the laundry or forgetting the sweeping? Will she ever be less afraid of the lake?

Although life at the lighthouse isn’t what Lucy hoped for, it is beautiful—ships come and go, waves pound the rocks—and it has one major advantage: It’s near the site of a famous shipwreck, a shipwreck that went down with a treasure her father wanted more than anything. If Lucy can find that treasure—a priceless ruby necklace—won’t it be like having Papa back again, just a little bit?

But someone else is hunting for the treasure, too. And as the lighthouse company becomes increasingly skeptical that the Martins can juggle Lucy and their duties, Lucy and the Martin children will need to find the necklace quickly—or they may not have a home at all.

The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry is a timelessly sweet tale of found family from rising Ojibwe voice Anna Rose Johnson, author of NPR Best Book of the Year The Star That Always Stays. Perfect for fans of L.M. Montgomery and Karina Yan Glaser!

ISBN-13: 9780823453634
Publisher: Holiday House
Publication date: 03/05/2024
Age Range: 8 – 12 Years

Filed under: Guest Post