Wednesday, April 26, 2023

What lurks behind ordinary looking doors? Perhaps there are grand things beyond? Perhaps things that are not as harmless as they seem? Are you afraid to find out? Or does curiosity overcome caution? Imagine if you will, the Teagan Zone. Or more precisely in the Teagan Zone, Atonement, Tennessee.
My weekend serial, Atonement in Zugzwang, is an urban fantasy, set in a small town that’s… well, it’s full-on freaky. Readers have become fond of some very mischievous little otherworldly pigs who are part of the story. The glowing pigs already had a collection of short stories, available at Amazon.com.

However, the main character of the serial is Pepper Riley, a human woman. Pepper has recently gotten a kitten. Naturally in Atonement, it is no ordinary kitten, but (secretly) a hybrid of magical creatures. You never know what might turn up when you open a door in Atonement, TN.

We’ve learned that the kitten inherited an unusual trait — a thick spot on her forehead, from her father’s side. Pepper doesn’t know the truth about that, but a couple of characters have caused us to guess.

The kitten got a latent characteristic from dear old dad’s grandma. Pepper can see that trait — sometimes anyway. And it has her thinking she’s losing her marbles.

To the “Wednesday Writing” part of this post, I freely admit that I tend to put a tremendous amount of effort into names. Doing so, particularly all the analysis and research involved adds depth to my stories. However, in this instance, I thought it would be fun to get suggestions from those of you who are reading the serial.
Name the Kitten

Now you know a little about this not very ordinary kitten. If you opened your door and she sauntered in, what would you name her? Leave your name ideas in a comment.
Thanks for taking time to open this door. I hope you’ll come back on weekends to read my blog serial, Atonement in Zugzwang.
I love friendly comments. So even if you don’t want to offer a name for this strange magical kitten, be sure to stop and say hello.
♦ ♦ ♦
The Atonement Series
Atonement, Tennessee
Full series of e-books with one click: relinks.me/B087JV25JT
Kindle: rxe.me/HGSVA8A
Paperback: relinks.me/1481826948
Also in Spanish, translated by Olga Núñez Miret! The title for the Spanish-speaking market is Expiación y Magia
Atonement in Bloom
Kindle: rxe.me/5RRBLH
Paperback: relinks.me/1726882128
The Glowing Pigs, Snort Stories of Atonement, Tennessee
Kindle rxe.me/LTBDNH
Paperback relinks.me/1725891972
♦ ♦ ♦
Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. It’s hosted by Dan Antion. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).
Thanks for opening this door. Hugs!
This is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
All images are either the property of the author or provided by free sources, unless stated otherwise.
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I’m really late, but I wanted to see the names readers suggested. In my WIP, I have a cat who lives in a bookstore – named him Mr. Darcy.
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How cool, Teri. I’m looking forward to your WIP coming out. Once, long, long ago (in a “past life”) I often went to a metaphysical bookstore where they had several cats. Each one was named for a spice or herb. Thanks for visiting. Hugs.
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Spitze is German for Spike. My name for the kitten. Bruce Antion
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Welcome Bruce! Great minds think alike — John Howell had suggested Spike. (Psst… Tell you a secret — I was leaning toward Spike.) Since “zugzwang” is a German term… maybe Spitze would be better. Thanks for joining in the game. Hugs.
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Names are so unique and important to an individual and you are correct to put thought into it. I kept a journal of all the names of children I cared for in my home daycare and there were very few duplicate names which I found very interesting. But I’m scooting out of here before you ask me for a suggestion lol Best of luck!
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Haha. No worries. I appreciate your visit, Katy. Thanks for opening this door. Hugs.
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I would name her Miss Yellow she looks like uppish. A lovely read, Teagan and your pictures are amazing. The pigs too are so cute. Thanks a lot 😊🙏🏻😊🙏🏻
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Hi, Kamal. What a cute name. Thanks for opening this door and coming out to play. Hugs.
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You are always welcome dear Teagan and i am so happy to have opened your valuable Thursday door. Hugs to you too 💕💕🤗
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Wow. So many great suggestions in the comments. How will you ever decide? My mind just goes blank, but I’m not worried since you have a bunch of creative quick-thinking followers. I’m looking forward to the result.
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Thanks, Diana. I’m really pleasantly surprised by the response. Thanks for opening this door. Hugs.
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I name her Shaker! I love all of your images, Teagan. ❤
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Now that’s an interesting name, Miriam. It can be devilish hard to get the CGI software to give an image that is not bizarre. So it took some effort to get these. I’m glad you liked them Thanks for opening this door and coming out to play. Hugs.
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There’s a restaurant called Pepper and Shaker near my home in CA. I thought they would go nicely together. You have an amazing software. I would go crazy playing with it. Hugs.
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Oh! Duh…
I guess that should have been obvious. (I haven’t had a salt or pepper shaker on my table in decades.)
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I don’t either. Just use them for cooking.
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Unikitty
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Thanks for opening this door and coming out to play. Hugs.
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Biscuit Paws. Ha!
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LOL. That’s cute, Willow. Thanks for opening this door and coming out to play. Hugs.
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Okay… Ajna is my first choice.
Second is … Chandika
Hugs!
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Marvelous suggestions, Resa!
Ajna: “Ajna translates as “authority” or “command” (or “perceive”). It is considered the eye of intuition and intellect. Its associated sense organ is the mind.”
Chandika: “means Devi; a Goddess Durga” and a durga is “a principal form of the Goddess, also known as Devi and Shakti.”
Maybe Bheema will be the one to name her in the story.
Hmmm… maybe Ajna… because she certainly perceives something about young Donny. 😉 Yes, I’m shameless about teasing. Hugs winging back to you.
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Lol! Hugs!
Happy you like the suggestions.
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Depending on the character’s personality, “Spike” came to mind. Then I went a little more spiritual with Caddaja which is the Native American word for horned snake but would describe a hunter.
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Oooh, I like the Native American aspect. But I love the snark of calling her Spike. I can imagine Maudie suggesting that name. Oops… you just got a hint about the next episode. Thanks for coming out to play. Hugs.
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Always fun.
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She looks like a Matilda to me. Not sure why, she just does. I tend to name children, pets and characters by what comes to mind when I first meet them.
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Matilda is such a fun cute name for a cat, Darlene. Thanks for opening this door and coming out to play. Hugs.
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Phoebe cane to mind but my kitty Luna wanted her name thrown in too. Hugs xo
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Haha. Kitties do have a way of insisting. 🙂 Darn… with the meaning “radiant, shining one” Phoebe would have been great for one of the glowing pigs. I wish I had thought of it back then. 😀 Luna is a wonderful name for a cat. Thanks for coming out to play, Denise. Hugs.
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She’s so cute! I’m horrible at coming up with names on the fly so won’t even try. I know your readers will come up with so many good ones to choose from. Best of luck deciding on a name! I look forward to finding out what you name her.
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Hi Deborah. Yes there are a lot of good names here. I might have to work all that into the story, have characters suggesting them.
Have an easy coast down the other side of this midweek hump. Hugs.
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😀🤗 Thank you! You as well!!
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I don’t know why, but the first name that popped into my head when I saw the kitten was Isis. You’ve created a fun and magical creature, Teagan!
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How funny, Jan. One of my nearly finished novels has a cat named Isis. I think Egyptian names are great for cats. Thanks for coming out to play. Hugs.
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Maybe you could name her after the day she appeared? Like Friday?
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Echoes of Robinson Crusoe. 🙂 Or even one of the planets for which the days are named? Thanks for coming out to play. Hugs.
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Her Highness!
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Haha! No doubt she will earn the title. Thanks for coming out to play, Annette. It’s good to see you. Hugs.
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Hey Teagan! I’m hoping to catch up with the serial (like my pile of novels), but cannot resist naming a cat. Any cat.
I came up with BODHI, which means awakening or enlightenment, but whatever you choose, I’m sure it will fit perfectly.
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It’s good to see you, Mary J. Actually the previous post has the most recent 4 episodes in one post (a recap). That only gives you half the story so far, but it might be enough to get you comfortable with starting from there.
Now that’s how I like to choose names. Find the meaning (and/or the origin/country) and apply it somehow to the story. I do like Bodhi — a lot. Thanks for coming out to play, regardless of whether you’re caugthg up. Hugs.
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I also like names with meaning. I see someone suggested “Her Highness” and that made me chuckle. Watching Star Trek Discovery, where one character with a cat constantly reminds people, “She’s a Queen!” 😁
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Haha! That’s fabulous.
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I do know how important names are – in fact, when I was stuck for good names, I turned to you for help. Given that this is Pepper’s kitten, I might go with Cayenne. Whatever she’s called, born and raised in Atonement is sure to make her an interesting creature.
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LOL. You know I can’t resist naming, Dan. That’s always my pleasure. I’m behind on writing, and I knew I would get carried away with research (and I still might). Meanwhile this kitten presented a good opportunity for reader engagement. Cayenne is very clever! I like the connection to Pepper.
Thanks for coming out to play. Hugs.
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You’re still my go-to source if I get stuck for a name 😉
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I love Pat’s suggestion: Unicat ❣️
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Hi Luisa. It’s good to see you. Haha. That’s cute. Although since the kitten’s “attributes” have to be secret that would be “letting the cat out of the bag.” Thanks for coming out to play. Hugs.
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You’re right, Teagan, that would be too revealing a name❤️
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Wishing you an easy coast down the other side of this midweek hump. ❤
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The same to you, dear Teagan 💗
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I’d go with Iris, after her eyes.
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Ah… most intriguing, Liz. Hmmm I wonder if those golden eyes might turn out to have a hypnotic effect… Hmmm. Thanks for coming out to play. Hugs.
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You’re welcome, Teagan. I still have on my play clothes!
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Tee-hee! The play clothes made me smile.
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😀
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I know how important names are for you and the stories, so it is a tough call to think of a suitable name for such an important character. Starry? Macha? I wonder what it will be, but I’m sure we’ll enjoy her adventures. Thanks, Teagan!
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Those are both interesting names, Olga. I found more than one translation for Macha. Starry would be cute for her, and might open the door to additional mythology for my mashup. Thanks for coming out to play. Hugs.
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Unicat or Jinks.
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Haha. Thanks, Pat. Jinks would be adorable, but I try not to reuse important character names, and I have Jinx. Thanks for coming out to play. Hugs.
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You’ve got some good suggestions. They’ll probably spark your own active imagination.
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My choice is, Althea. The althea flower, commonly known as hibiscus or marshmallow, is believed to attract good spirits
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Hi GP. You’ve figured out how my brain works for choosing names. Find the meaning (and/or the origin/country) and apply it somehow to the story. Althea would be a great name. Thanks for coming out to play. Hugs.
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I predict she’s going to be Useful. (K)
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Haha. That’s great, Kerfe. Although Donny Metatron might think she should be called PainInTheA$$ before the story goes much farther. 😀 Yes, you got a hint out of me. Thanks for coming out to play. Hugs.
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How about calling the kitten ‘Shimmer’ since her magical horn seems to come and go?
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Ooooooh… That’s brilliant, Chris. Thanks for coming out to play. Hugs.
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😺🦍🤗❤️❤️🤗🦍😺
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Hi Teagan, a beautiful post. I like the name Antoinette. It is so pretty and reminds me of a ballerina. Cats always seem like dancers to me.
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What a lovely and apt comparison, Robbie. I had not thought about it, but cats really are dancers. Velma and Daphne leap into the air and turn 180 degrees in midair (just for fun) whenever I throw a toy past them. Thanks for coming out to play. Hugs.
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💓
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Loves these amazing characters, Teagan!!! 💞
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Hi Cindy. Many thanks. I appreciate you visiting. Hugs.
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Always Teagan! ❣️
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