We’re so pleased to welcome author Alex Whitehall today, on the tour for their new novella, Second Skin. Enjoy Alex’s guest post and then be sure to check out the giveaway details below to enter for the chance to win a $25 Riptide Publishing store credit.
Good luck!
Hello, everybody! I’m Alex Whitehall, and I’m here today touring for my New Adult story, Second Skin, which is about Jay and Roswell, who are on a journey of love, acceptance, and self-discovery.
Anyone who’s familiar with fairy tales know that names have power (case in point: Rumplestiltskin). While in the real world the power of names may not be quite as tangible as it is in the fairy-tale realm, names certainly do have power.
In Second Skin, names play a special role for Roswell and Jay. For Jay, his name signifies how he wants to be presented to the world. To a degree, this applies to everyone, but not everyone takes the opportunity to pick their own name. Probably because changing it is a lot of work, people get used to their name as it is (after all, they’ve had it their whole life), and there’s a lot of pressure tied to picking a name!
Names have the power of first impressions: when you meet someone, you’re likely to make assumptions about that person based on their name, whether you’re aware of it or not. The name Stacy always makes me think of cheerleaders. Michael means you’re a trouble maker. Obviously not every Stacy and every Michael fits this, but from my experience with previous people with these names, I’ve begun to make assumptions about this person based on a name (most likely given by their parent, over which they had no control).
Beyond a person’s personal associations with a name, other impressions can be made with a name. Joey and Bobby sound like the names of kids, while Aloysius is definitely a grown man (despite the fact these people will likely pass through all stages of the aging process). In the same way it’s assumed David is a man and Ruth is a woman. See, names give other people the power to make a lot of assumptions about a person.
Names also give the power of summoning (“Get over here, David!”), the power of threatening (“Michael David Smith, you are in so much trouble!”), the power of respect (“Hello, Mr. Smith”), the power of removed respect (“Hello, lil miss” vs “Hello, Susan”), a show of community (through nicknames/pet names), and probably a boatload of other things I’ve forgotten.
This word we apply to ourselves has so much power, and yet most people barely give it any thought day-to-day.
What does your name say about you? What does my name say about me? What does Jay’s name say about him?
About Second Skin: When Jay heads to the university’s learning center for help with his math class, he doesn’t expect his tutor to be tall, dark, and handsome. But Roswell is all that and more, and their instant connection over cult movies, books, and TV shows quickly evolves into dating.
That’s when things get tricky.
Roswell might claim he doesn’t have issues with Jay being trans, but when he’s constantly insisting they “take it slow,” Jay’s not so sure. He’s been hurt before, and he’s not going to let it happen again.
But then Roswell reveals that he, too, has a few secrets under his skin.
About Alex Whitehall: If there are two types of people in the world, Alex Whitehall probably isn’t one of them, despite being a person. Their favorite pastimes include reading, horseback riding, sleeping, watching geek-tastic television, knitting, eating, and running. And wasting time on the internet. And spending glorious evenings laughing with friends.
While Alex prefers sleeping over doing anything else (except maybe eating), sometimes they emerge from the cave to be social and to hunt for food at the local market. They can be found blogging, reading, and tending after their aloe plants.
Connect with Alex: Twitter:@AlexWhitehall || Email || Blogging || Tumblr
The Giveaway
To celebrate the release of Second Skin, Alex is giving away $25 in Riptide credit. Leave a comment to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on April 16, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!
The Novel Approach Reviews 
Thanks for another interesting post! Before my son was born, I was thinking of naming him Aidan. But, then we went to a ball game and there was this naughty little boy who kept running away from his parents and bothering people. His parent ineffectually would call his name over and over…”Aidan, Aidan, Aidan.” After that day, I there was no way I could name my son that! ;-)
jen(dot)f(at)mac(dot)com
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That’s such a great example! Thanks for sharing :) I’ve always been partial to Aidan as well, but you definitely don’t want a troublesome child ;)
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Great post, Alex! I do not know what my name says of me…I think it says more of my mother, cause she chose it. I guess if I had another name I would still be mostly the same person… provide it wasn’t a horrible name which had me traumatised, in that case I guess I would be spiteful bitch… LOL! I’m joking.
Congratulations on the new book. It sounds really good. And thank you for the amazing giveaway ;)
susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com
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Good point about our names saying a lot about our parents. My friends are currently going through the stress of naming their future child and it’s hard because you don’t know anything about the kid, but you’re already giving them something that will “say so much about them.”
blush Thanks for stopping by :)
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Thank you for the interesting post about the power of names. I never really thought of it in quite that way. I more or less equate a name to the tone someone takes would take with an individual.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
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You mean like calling someone “Betsy” instead of “Elizabeth” or “Miss Smith”? That definitely creates a tone in the conversation.
Thanks for stopping by!
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names are so hard to figure out….a name that I love may have not so good memories for another person
I really wanted my daughter’s name to be Andrea…but my hubby absolutely detested the name because of a childhood acquaintance
I STILL think she would have been a perfect Andrea! lol
she’s now 20
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Exactly! It’s tough when it’s about picking a baby’s name and the parents disagree, though.
Of course, there’s the other problem: when everyone loves the name. I chose the name Alex…and then quickly realized that’s a VERY common name, especially in this niche!
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Names are difficult if you are a teacher. Some bad memories are usually associated with many names.
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Oh I bet. Though that makes me wonder if you’ve noticed any trends ;)
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Thanks for another interesting post! Names have always interested me – their meanings, their origins, their connotations. It’s really interesting how different names have different associations for different people. Someone I know named her daughter Viviana, which I think is a beautiful name. Someone else had a completely different reaction to the name and said some pretty horrible things about it (thankfully not to the new mom). It’s fascinating to think about what a name might say about you to someone else before you even meet them. And do you become your name or does your name become you? violet817(at)aol(dot)com
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It’s really a fascinating question to ponder. I know there are some names I’ve come across where my first reaction was “What? Really?” but I try not to judge–everyone has their reasons. Although I might pity kids who were named something that has historically negative context or really “old sounding” names that might seem weird to their peers. Kids can be cruel after all, no matter how lovely the name.
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My real first name is just my mom’s favorite, while my last is one of those ethnic ones that SOUNDS exciting but isn’t when it’s translated.
vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com
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That’s an interesting thought about last names that I never really considered. I think many names probably originate from jobs/titles/etc, so even if they sound fancy to one culture’s ears, a lot of them probably aren’t grand! Good point.
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