Names are funny things. My name for example is derived from Latin and means ‘Consecrated to the god Mars’ and ‘warlike’, those that have met me may scoff at this. Other names can be a bit odd too. While other are a perfect fit. Take Alyssa for example…

Alyssa is a feminine given name with multiple origins. Alysa is an alternative spelling. As used in Western countries, the name is usually derived from the name of the flower alyssum. The name of the flower derives from the Greek ἀ- a- (“not”) and λύσσα lyssa (“mania”); the flower was formerly thought to cure skin diseases. It shares many variants in common with the name Alice and is occasionally considered a form of that name as well.

So ‘Not mania’, who would give a child a name which ostensibly is saying to the world ‘hey its okay I’m not suffering from a mental illness marked by periods of great excitement or euphoria, delusions, and overactivity’. I mean, its a statement I’ll give you that, but is it a statement you need to make for your child when you name them?

Of course no parent actually goes into that kind of depth as to the names they pick for their children. Otherwise naming a child would take for ever, I mean I didn’t name my son a name that means ‘exalted’ or ‘strong’ and certainly not ‘mountain of strength’ on purpose… Nor did I deliberately give my daughter a name that literally means ‘Woman of high rank’ or ‘princess’. The fact that both my children have Hebrew names is also a coincidence.

Parents are generally all a little strung out when it comes to naming children so don’t really do much research as a rule (though they will tell you differently if you ask them about one of the most important choices they ever made in there life. Speaking of which I went to school with a girl called Paige Turner I’ve always suspected her parents were sadists…) But there is another bunch of people who get to chose names for individuals. All be it that the individuals in question are creations of the mind rather than genetic material.

These people have no excuse for not doing some research into the names they give out. After all most of them have spend many hours of their life researching how to get rid of bodies, how difficult it actually is to stab a person in the heart, the effects of various poisons, decompression rates in ambient spring temperatures in northern Europe and other such perfectly normal things to have in their internet search histories…

I speak of course of authors…

Which brings me back to little miss ‘hey its okay I’m not suffering from a mental illness marked by periods of great excitement or euphoria, delusions, and overactivity’ or in the short form Alyssa… and why I bring this up. I’ve just finished a book who’s main character is a young woman called Alyssa. The book is full of strange goings on involving magic. Elemental magic prominently and witchcraft, covens. Its modern urban fantasy written by a talented female author from the North East of England. It is pacey, fun and full of mystery… While Alyssa is at the centre of the mysteries and fighting to control her own innate magical abilities while facing a shadowy threat and trying to come to terms with her past and her future…

Alyssa or ‘hey its okay I’m not suffering from a mental illness marked by periods of great excitement or euphoria, delusions, and overactivity’ Seems a good name for the character all considered.

Here though things get a little odd as there is a very good chance a talented authoress from the north east of England is reading this right now and thinks the above is me talking about their book. I’m not, or maybe I am…

Confused? Well let me explain, the next book I intend to read is a book who’s main character is a young woman called Alyssa. The book is full of strange goings on involving magic. Elemental magic prominently and witchcraft, covens. Its modern urban fantasy written by a talented female author from the North East of England. It is pacey, fun and full of mystery… While Alyssa is at the centre of the mysteries and fighting to control her own innate magical abilities while facing a shadowy threat and trying to come to terms with her past and her future…

This is a completely different book written by a different talented author from the North East of England… Both books have the word Magic in the title, though one of them spells it magick and both have surnames beginning with the letters BRO… Oh and I saw both authors at a scifi convention in Scarborough last month, where I bought copies of their latest books.

Books who’s main character is a young woman called Alyssa. The book is full of strange goings on involving magic. Elemental magic prominently and witchcraft, covens. Its modern urban fantasy written by a talented female author from the… You can see where this is going right?

In actuality, while both modern urban fantasy’s these are very different books, the one I am reading next is called Rising Magick and is the second of the Whitby Witches novels by Lillian Brooks. I read the first last year and really enjoyed it though its not my usual fayre. The second has been on my to read pile a while and got joined by the third so its been bumped up over some others, hence reading it next.

(As I am talking names, Lillian Brooks is actually a pen name, so a name the author chose for themselves, which makes you wonder if they looked up the meaning of the name before they adopted it. I have, because I’m me and its the kind of thing I do…’Pledged to god’ is an odd choice for practicing pagan, that’s all I’ll say, though I guess its not specific about which god so maybe not…)

The book I have just read is ‘Of Magic and Lies’ by Maggie Brown. Who’s main character is a young woman called Alyssa. The book is full of strange goings on involving magic. Elemental magic prominently and witchcraft, covens. Its modern urban fantasy written by a talented female author from the… Yes yes I know… There is making a point and then there is driving it home with a hammer, like a stake through the lifeless heart of a vampire, but enough about my Tuesday nights…

As far as I am aware these two talented Ladies, Lilian and Maggie, have never met, unless they met at Scarborough last month which is possible. Certainly it would seem unlikely they had met before that and collectively decided there main characters should share a name. It is pure coincidence that I manage to have books by both of them to read consecutively and the main character in both has the same name. Or they both chose Alyssa because ‘hey its okay I’m not suffering from a mental illness marked by periods of great excitement or euphoria, delusions, and overactivity’ Seems a good name for their character all considered. Or perhaps they never looked it up and they just liked the name…

Funny things names… As for authors, you can’t trust them. They know how to dispose of the bodies…

Book Review ‘Of Magic and Lies’ by Maggie Brown

I’m never quite sure what to expect when I pick up a book by a new writer. Particularly one writing in a genre that I don’t read a great deal of. While I love certain kinds of Urban fantasy I don’t extensively read within it, and rarely the type of urban fantasy that is aimed in general terms towards a female audience, deliberately or otherwise.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with what I guess I would describe as ‘Chic lit Urban fantasy’. Its just not generally my cup of herbal tea. Herbal tea is also not my cup of herbal tea

That said however, the things I look for from any writer in any novel is solid writing, vivid descriptions, ‘real’ characters, intriguing plots, mysteries and the right kind of pace for the story to draws you along. Give me that and I don’t really care what genre I am reading, because you’ll hold my interest. This ‘Of Magic and Lies’ does brilliantly. There is mystery aplenty, Maggie’s writing is artful and involving, and some of the vivid descriptions are, well, very vivid…

The story is told mostly from the perspective of Alyssa, but on occasion from the perspective of the two men in her life. One her protector, the other well, that would be telling, but this too is skilfully done. Swapping perspectives like this could have broken the story, particularly as the two men know far more than Alyssa does about her past and the truth surrounding her, instead the second and third perspectives are used lightly. There is mystery to each of these characters and Maggie manages to keep that mystery while dropping little hints along the way. Nothing is quite what it seems.

There are other characters too that are intriguing, there is a certain amount of set up going on in this novel for a wider series, not just following on from this one but other novels running parallel to this series, which is a brave writing choice on the meta scale and one that could have unbalanced the novel, but Maggie manages to keep the main story on track while weaving the hints of her wider ministries into the novel with a certain seamlessness of which I am somewhat envious.

If you like urban fantasy, witches, the fay, and magic, wrapped up with a bit of feisty sexy chic lit style this is a novel for you. It’s also the novel for you if you just love a good read, good story and intriguing characters.

So there you go, apparently all female main characters in Chic lit Urban Fantasy’s are called Alyssa, its a rule apparently, who knew…