When I used to do standup comedy, I would sometimes agonize over the exact word to use in a joke. Now that I’m a screenwriter, I’m even more anal (if that’s even possible) about every word I use. However, where I’m even more “particular” is in the names I use for my characters. 



The very first thing I ever wrote was a pilot for a tv sitcom (which, unfortunately, never got produced) about the misfits in a telemarketing office called, appropriately enough, Hang Ups.  While writing, I simply took the names of the people I had worked with in the past and used their names.  Occasionally I would replace a letter in their names (i.e. Brennan became Brendan) to “protect the innocent”.



However, over the years, I’ve started to look for names that were slightly unusual as everyone knows a “David “or a “Michael” or a “Sarah”.  Sometimes a common name is exactly what’s required for a particular character while a completely unusual name might be ideal for someone else.  Here is where I will attempt to explain where I came up with some of the names for A Mile in His Soul.



Kiki

At the time I was writing A Mile, I was involved with a very sweet, beautiful and intelligent woman named Kiki.  Her real name was Kristina but everyone called her Kiki.  I loved that name as I had only heard it as the collaborator on Elton John’s hit single from the 70’s, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with Kiki Dee. 

I always loved the name and thought it would perfectly suit the female protagonist, who is an undercover reporter doing an expose on the homeless, unbeknownst to our “hero”, Malcolm.  When I asked her if she mind if I used her name, she was thrilled.  She still is to this day. 



Malcolm

Most of the leading male characters I’ve written about have had their names begin with the letter “M”.  Malcolm was a chap I worked with at my very first job coming out of university.  He was employed as a Personnel Consultant and a really nice guy.  However, I seem to recall him being a bit of a “loser” so I felt the name really suit him here.



Randy

Randy is one of my favourite characters in A Mile and is Malcolm’s voice of reason.  I think I may have subconsciously named him after one of the American Idol judges, Randy Jackson, who also seems to be the voice of reason on that show as well.



Joyce

In my opinion, Joyce is a cross between Selma Diamond and the little old lady from Blazing Saddles (talk about an obscure reference).  I don’t know how many parents name their little girls Joyce these days.  There’s nothing wrong with the name.  Rather, I just associate it with being an “older name”, sort of like “Bertha” or “Ethel”. 



Simon and Ritchie

As the early 20’s dot com millionaire owners of Nerdmatch.com, I fashioned them after Mark Zuckerberg and his early partners.  I felt that these names sounded very young and juvenile (just don’t mention this to Simon Cowell- that’s a different type of “juvenile”).



Jackson

As one of the partners in Vargas and Vickers Advertising, I needed a name that sounded slightly more “authoritative”.  A friend of mine used to have a one-man advertising agency and used the name Jackson in the title, with Jackson being the last name of his late grandmother.  I felt it suited my character’s personality perfectly.



Vargas and Vickers Advertising

Everyone’s heard of Vickers and Benson advertising.  However, in order to pay homage to Kiki’s Hungarian roots, I wanted to honour her by using a very Hungarian last name.



Paula

Paula is the name of the woman that Malcolm has the affair with that eventually sets everything in motion.  Paula is one of those names that I associate with intelligence and beauty.  I wasn’t too far off the mark because the next woman I started dating after Kiki was, coincidentally enough, Paula.  Unfortunately for her, she hates this character.  She refers to her as “Paula the Slut”! lol



Mrs. Belanger

I was looking for a French name that represented “class”.  “Belanger” is a very common French surname (at least it is in Quebec, Canada) and felt that this name represented her beautifully. 



Hal

He’s the beleaguered donut shop Manager that Malcolm runs into when he first becomes homeless.  I felt that “Hal” represented the name of someone who perhaps hasn’t gotten too far in life but works hard for a living and has nothing to be ashamed of because of it.



Hamid

I wanted to find the name of an honest, working class immigrant, who worked hard to put food on his family’s table. Hamid, to me, was a great name for the owner of the hot dog cart that  Malcolm frequently visited.



Patty

Patty represents one of the “darker” elements of the other side of life.  I purposely avoided giving her a stripper’s name like “Candy” or “Amber” or anything like that.  I wanted Patty to have a brain and avoid the “dumb blonde” stereotype often given to women of her profession.  “Patty” could be the name of anyone you know- your sister, mother, friend or even daughter. 



Julio and Franco

Julio and Franco represent Patty’s “muscle” while she’s working the streets.  In addition to sounding like tough names, Julio Franco was also the name of a baseball player who played for 25 years.



Hugo

As a huge fan of the 60’s musical “Bye Bye Birdie”, I wanted to name this tough character after one of the play’s characters, “Hugo Peabody”.  You gotta figure that for a drug dealer to have the name of “Hugo”, no one is gonna mess around with him! ;)



Sister Scholastica

I wanted to avoid giving her a typical name like “Sister Mary Joseph” or something stereotypical like that.  Kiki told me that one of the nuns she knew was named Sister Scholastica.  Thank you Kiki! 



Mo and Dax

I’m not really sure where the name “Mo” came from to be honest.  I’ve always been a huge fan of Moe Howard from The Three Stooges and many at work have also called me Moe.  However, I don’t think it had to do with either of those.  I suspect it may have sounded like the name of a rapper and therefore stuck. As for Dax, I’d never heard the name prior but I guess I figured that because his name ended in an “x”, he seemed a little more intimidating.  But to be honest, I’m not sure where I came up with that one either.  I will say this though, I REALLY love my GPS!  lol



Jay

“Jay”, of course, is really just a pun of a nickname I gave this character since he had received so many jaywalking tickets.  I believe I might have even been influenced to write this pun based on a book I read on the homeless where this one guy got a ton of jaywalking tickets he could never afford to pay.  So to get off the streets, he would sometimes go to jail instead of paying a fine he could never afford, of course. 



Marty

Remember my penchant for using names that begin with the letter “M”?  While Marty is far from a lead character, I remember going to school with this kid named Marty who was forced to drop out in grade 9 to help out with the family business.  I have no idea what the business was.  Maybe subconsciously I felt he’d be on the streets?



Imogen

Originally, the character was named Diane Mackenzie.  However, I decided to rename the character Imogen after Eiran’s adorable newborn daughter.  Another reason I love the name is because it’s also the name of one of the greatest comedienne’s ever, Imogen Coca.



Ernie

Ernie is the name of my late father and wanted to pay tribute to him by naming him after this very misunderstood, but incredibly inspirational, character.  It’s also the name of Kiki’s father in real life.



Mr. Cookston

Malcolm’s last name is “Horsley”, which was the last name of a former colleague of mine in the advertising industry.  I felt that since Malcolm had a clearly English last name, it would only be appropriate for Kiki to have one as well. While I don’t personally know of anyone with this last name, it seemed like a good fit.