Evil names rock and roll in Arcane Elemental Academy

Arcane Elemental Academy might rock with themes that libertarians will love, but it still rolls with evil names. And that’s by design.

You want the short answer? Every book series I write rolls with a theme for character names that have nothing to do with the actual themes themselves. To lay out a few examples:

• Terrian Chronicles: Superhero names like Tarja Titan, Braden Hawk, and Liza Fury
• Catenarian Chronicles: Finnish names like Kaija Jokiharju, Vesala Kinnunen, and Satu Viiminen
• Sentrys of Terrene: Star Wars-style names like Sabre Kjaergaard, Tage-Ras Svendson, Ren Elk-Jaer

When I outlined Arcane, I hopped into a name generator and did some brainstorming. After about an hour, the evil names clicked.

Not that there aren’t exceptions. Yote and Jett Diamondback don’t carry the evil name monikers because I wanted to name them after the NHL’s former Arizona Coyotes and current Winnipeg Jets.

The same goes for Coy and Vixey Canyon, two characters Yote stumbles upon in The Arcane Prophecy, plus Ukko and Rauni Sharpe, who I named after Finnish gods and goddesses. Two other adult characters, named Tapio and Mielikki, were also Finnish tradition-inspired.

Evil names in The Arcane Prophecy

I carefully picked each name based on how bone-chilling they were, and how well they rolled off the tongue. Loki Kahne might be my favorite, as it’s a call-back to the Germanic/Norse god, Loki, and my all-time favorite NASCAR driver, Kasey Kahne. But unlike his shape-shifting and cunning namesake, Loki’s a dork. Something Yote finds out almost immediately.

Storm Sharpe, Ukko’s and Rauni’s son and Yote’s love interest, was another. His name made naming his parents easy: If your name’s Ukko, you’ve got to call your son Storm.

Rayne Grimbane, Yote’s favorite instructor and borderline mentor, is the best of the female crop. With a name that rhymes, it’ll be memorable for readers. Ditto for Imperia Frost, Yote’s roommate at Arcane Elemental Academy and a character I tried like crazy to hand a bigger role to, but fell flat on my face.

Then, there’s another one of Yote’s mentors, Archer Shade. That name chills the bones, much like Rass Vexx, a family friend and Yote’s go-to at Arcane when she has non-school-related questions.

Yote’s nemesis, Cassara Darkwood, is a name that’s as bold as the imposing character herself. And finally, there’s Hengist Nightshade, the proprietor of an antique shop who helps sponsor Yote’s box thrashball team, the Scorpii Venom.

Naming made easy

Something I love about taking a naming theme and using it for most characters is that it takes out a ton of guesswork. You want names to stick with readers, so they need to stand out. Especially if they’re for major characters.

Regardless of which series I’m working on, I’ll almost always tie a specific theme to almost every character name. Readers will sense a pattern, reflect, and most likely hold my work to a higher level than the competition.

If you’d like even more examples of the evil names I use in The Arcane Prophecy, check out the first three chapters now. There are a few in there that I didn’t mention in this piece, and one of them, even if they’re mentioned in passing, has always stuck.