Inside Joke

Oh, where to begin with this one!

The gardener Walter Vogel is an homage to Walter von der Vogelweide, a 12th century poet who is a particular favorite of my husband’s. In one of Walther’s poems he is sitting on a rock thinking about the world, and thus when Galen first encounters Walter Vogel in my story, the older man is also sitting on a rock thinking about the state of the world.

Of the princesses, Poppy’s name is in honor of Tad Williams’ War of the Flowers, a favorite book of mine. Petunia is from playing Super Mario Bros. with my brother’s friend Roger, and having Roger get really excited and shout, "Run, little man, run! Don’t let the giant petunia get you!" Which became a catchphrase at our house. Jonquil comes from the name of a nightclub at a hotel I once stayed at, which seemed hilarious at the time. The Jonquil Room. It’s just fun to say. And Campanula is another weird flower name, along with Hyacinth and Lilac. LIE-LAAAK. Rose is my favorite flower, and lily is not only a beautiful name, but also a flower that seems demure and lovely, but is quite hardy and strong.

Most of the other names are merely common German names, but Hans Wilhelm Kelling was the name of one of my German professors.