What's My Name?

No, I don't mean me. I know my name pretty darn well, and so should you by this point, given that it's at the end of every post and at the top of every comment. If you want to get technical and all-inclusive, with even the confirmation name thrown in, it's Karen Christine Genevieve Funk Blocher. At various times I've also used the nicknames Casey and Foole, and the pen names Casey Jensen and K.C. King, but that's not important right now, because this isn't about me.

It's about that princess in the two excerpts from The Mâvarin Revolutions in the fiction blog, so consistent and persistent in their utter lack of feedback or, for all I know, readers. That's okay. I don't expect more than a few of you to read it, much less comment. But I do have a minor problem with the excerpts, and the book they'll be in, and the two books before it, particularly Another Mâvarin. The Princess needs a better name. Here comes some quick background, and then the specific question and possible choices.

See, in Another Mâvarin, Cathma and Rani discover that there's a different version of Mâvarin in a parallel world, another reality. In this other world, King Jor married the evil Lormarte instead of good Lady Genva. He still had two kids, a boy and a girl - but, as in the Mâvarin of the first book, all is not quite as it seems. Unless I change my mind again, the official Prince and Princess aren't the King's kids. He knows this, and legitimized the Queen's children to avoid scandal and keep her happy. Meanwhile, he has two kids of his own, who theoretically have no prospects as potential monarchs. But that could change....

Now, Jor's real children in the first book are named Prince Carli and Princess Cathma. The imposter princess in that same book (don't ask) is Masha. I've been calling the Princess in the other reality Cathma Masha, because she has aspects of both characters. In the story her official name is Cathma, but she took on the name Masha as a minor act of defiance.

But Cathma Masha is a very un-Mâvarin thing to be called. These people never use middle names. So I need to change this. Also, the names Masha and Lok and Van came from Lokvi, the imposter royalty's real father. All are derived from the name of one of the gods, Lokvanishmu. Lormarte wouldn't be inclined to name her kids after a god unless she had a very good reason, e.g. Lokvi's dying request.

Here are the choices I've thought of:

1. Just Cathma (Jor's choice)
2. Just Masha (at her real father's dying request or something)
3. Cathma with a nickname Masha, given by her real father
4. Princess Lora
5. Princess Cath
6. Princess Carla and Prince Cathmi
7. Princess Carma and Prince Cathli
8. Some other variant on the original names.

Those of you who do read fantasy fiction, what are your thoughts?

Karen