What's in a name?Visit Kylie Logan's website.
Names are vitally important, especially in a mystery series. Listen to mystery readers talk and they’ll often refer to a series by the main character’s name. The Bosch books. Or the Gamache books. As a writer, that tells me I need to come up with a name readers are going to remember and immediately identify with my series. Jazz Ramsey’s name fits the bill. Not really sure where I came up with Jazz, just I knew I wanted something short and snappy. She’s a no-nonsense woman who is devoted to her volunteer work as a cadaver dog handler. I couldn’t picture her as anything but Jazz. But of course, names can also be used to convey family dynamics. Jazz’s mom always calls her Jasmine. That tells you something about their relationship.
I went through more gyrations with other characters in the series. For instance, Jazz’s boyfriend, Nick Kolesov, was originally Dan Warren. I came to my senses on that one when I realized that the city of Cleveland, the setting for the books, is actually a character in every story. Cleveland is gritty. Cleveland is interesting. The city’s population is an amalgam of ethnicities and cultures. It’s what makes Cleveland...[read on]
Q&A with Kylie Logan.
--Marshal Zeringue
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