Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash
When writing fantasy, names can be a big problem. Should I use names people recognize? Should I use names accurate to the medieval period? Should I make them up?
In my case, I did a little of all the above. You’ll see recognizable names like Timothy and Nan, and some legitimate medieval ones like Wilhema and Eberwulf.
You’ll also see names that look familiar, but are one or two letters different from normal. For example: Evelyne.
So how do we pronounce Evelyne? Just like Evelyn. That “e” I added to the end has no effect at all. I just liked the look of it.
My other main character, Annika, is a little different. Most Americans will pronounce it ANN-nih-kuh, but I’d like you to hear AHN-nih-kuh.
Let me know if you find a name in my novel you like, and we’ll see if our pronunciation matches.