Author Spotlight: A Guest Post from Vila Spider Hawk

Today we have a special guest post from author Vila Spider Hawk.  I introduced her book Hidden Passages yesterday. 


Vila,
in your book, Hidden Passages – Tales To Honor the Crones you share eight beautifully crafted stories about women of different cultures and eras. The characters names are so very unique, Mrs. Po, Mima, Cara, Donnata, Heraulta, Gita and Nanu. Where did you come up with the idea for these names?

Oh that’s an interesting question. No one has asked me that before. Mima is the name my friend called her grandmother. I always liked it, and so I used it. Po is an abbreviation for a long and unpronounceable Czechoslovakian name. The neighborhood people gave up trying to get her name correct and so decided to call her Mrs. Po. Thus, Mima Po came into being.

Cara is a corruption of the French word coeur, meaning heart. Cara’s family cherishes her enormously, and so the name seemed appropriate for her.

Donnata is also a corruption of a French word—the verb to give donner. Donnata may have her challenges, but at bottom, she’s an open-hearted person, a giver.

I have done a great deal of corrupting, because Heraulta is also a corruption of a French word. Since she is the herald in the trilogy, and since the French word for herald is hérault, I therefore named her Heraulta.
I’m afraid that Gita is much more pedestrian. Years ago I met a woman whose name was Gita and liked her name. Therefore, that’s the name I chose for one of my characters. Gita the character and Gita my friend are strong and determined, in spite of their heartaches. I respect both women a great deal. Therefore I chose to honor Gita my friend by naming a character for her.

In my family Nana is a popular name for grandmother. However, I didn’t want to use Nana. I simply changed the final letter and came up with Nanu.

About Vila Spider Hawk
Vila Spider Hawk is taking a different view on the aging of womankind. Hidden Passages: Tales to Honor the Crones is a collection of tales, some of which are interconnected, others which stand alone, all of which deal with women who are finding or already using the wisdom acquired from years of life experience.

Vila SpiderHawk and her husband share a log home of their design in the woods of Pennsylvania where they live with their five cats and enjoy frequent visits with their many woodland friends. SpiderHawk is an avid gardener and a gourmet vegan cook.
You can find Vila at www.vilaspiderhawk.com

Follow Vila’s Virtual Book Tour at Pump Up Your Book
http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/2010/10/17/hidden-passages-tales-to-honor-the-crones-virtual-book-tour-november-%E2%80%9810/

Watch the book video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmlz31q_ugQ

Vila reads from Hidden Passages: Tales to Honor the Crones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXzvTLo71Ok


Thank you Vila!