Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Uh-oh ... I'm not THAT Sierra Donovan!

I was Googling myself yesterday and nearly fell out of my chair when I read this:


"In Southern California, Sierra Donovan is stunned by the photos she just received of her naked except for chocolate syrup...."


ACK!!!


The fact that I live in Southern California added an extra, bone-chilling element. Did some cyber-stalker sneak a webcam into my house, spot my emergency stash of Hershey's kisses, and get the wrong idea?

Peering nervously over my shoulder, I read on. Turns out the piece is a review of an upcoming Harlequin Blaze novel by Tawny Weber. And the fictional Sierra Donovan isn't any more of a chocolate eclair than I am. Those nasty photos in the story were doctored up by some bad guys who are out to blackmail the heroine.

But how'd the heroine get my name? If she had red hair and an addiction to Spider Solitaire, I might start hunting under my bed for that webcam.

So I contacted author Tawny Weber to ask how she ended up turning me into a dessert. (We've bumped into each other on author websites a few times, but let's just say her name is more recognizable than mine.) She explained that when she was looking for a last name for her character Sierra -- named after her dog!! -- "Donovan" sounded right. She just didn't realize it was the ring of familiarity.

Hey, I've always been pretty partial to the name myself. And I know what catch-alls our writers' brains can be.

Since the book is coming out in black and white next month, I can look on the bright side. It's always nice to see my name in print. And I can certainly think of worse fates than being rolled in chocolate. It couldn've been Crisco. Or peanut butter. Or killer bees. (Although, come to think of it, where there's chocolate, the bees might not be far behind....)

If you're curious about Tawny's book, you'll find an excerpt here. You'll find that her Sierra Donovan is a smart businesswoman (dark brunette, by the way). As a Blaze character, she may be a bit more adventuresome than my heroines ... but a truffle she's not.

So here's to Tawny, who put me in print without my having to lift a finger. Can't ask for better publicity than that!

Although, fair warning, girlfriend: My sister once had a golden retriever named Tawny....

5 comments:

Beth Andrews said...

Hi, Sierra! That is too funny about you sharing a name with Tawny's heroine *g* As Tawny's CP, I can say that your name is in a fantastic book and Reece, the hero, is one of my all-time favorite cowboys :-)

Tawny said...

LOL - I love your post, Sierra! And am giggling over your sisters golden retriever. I grew up being called Tawny the Scrawny Lion, so I totally can relate ;-)

Sierra Donovan said...

Beth -- Yes, I'm looking forward to some vicarious thrills when I read about what my Sierra Donovan alter ego is really up to!

Tawny -- Obviously you have fine taste in names. I've always liked your name too, regardless of the fact that you share it with golden retrievers and scrawny lions in kids' books.

A boy in grade school used to make fun my name mercilessly. HIS name was Merlin -- go figure! No matter how I tried, I couldn't make a dent with any return insults.

Tawny said...

Merlin? Really? What were his parent's thinking? And grrrr on the insults, what do you want to bet he changed his name when he got older, though?

Cathy in AK said...

Oh, the things we discover when we Google ourselves ; )

I've Googled my characters' names, but haven't hit upon real people. Yet.

OK, I'm off to catch up on your more recent blog posts! Glad you're back on line, tho I've been slow in finding you again.