It’s a New Year and a new time in my life. Old things have passed away and I am more than ready to let last year go! With that said, I wanted a new name for my website. Coming up with a new website name is tricky. Everyone has an inspiration that leads them to the right name. For some it’s so easy, for others it’s a process they’d rather forget. Here’s how it went for me.
“Honey, I’d like to change my web address to something different than my name, simple. Got any ideas?”
“What’s wrong with your name?” my husband remarks, his hand perched on his bare chest, his body in a steep recline on the Lazy Boy.
“Well, for one thing, no one can spell it.”
“I can spell it.”
“Well then, you’ll be the only person visiting, if you don’t count my family members.”
“That’s about fifty people, all tolled, and that’s not bad,” he says, the left side of his mouth curling into a snarl.
“You’re a big help.”
“Then how about “Where writers wander or where books roam or book traveler or bitty books or travel logger?” His chin points slightly at the cup of coffee on the table beside him, my signal to get it for him.
“Too long. Besides they don’t make sense.” I put the coffee in his hand and plop onto the couch. “Bitty books? Where’d you come up with that?”
“Aw, you wanted something short.”
“Short, but not stupid,” I say, wondering why on earth I’d ever ask for help.
“Then get out your synonym book and look up some words. Maybe you’ll find something there. Try travel or journey.” He puts the mug to his mouth and talks a long drink, the steam rising around his face like a halo.
“Yeah, but I want it to be about writing. Oh, and traveling. Oh, and I want it to be different, and easy to remember. Not too long. Easy to spell. Short, so I can get it on a business card.” I tap my fingers on my knees in thought.
“Not asking for much, are you?” he says, his eyes rolling back into his balding head.
“That’s a novel approach,” I say, mocking him by doing the same thing, my eyes orbiting in disgust.
“Novel!” he screams, jumping from the Lazy Boy. I haven’t seen him move this fast since he retired. “Novel! Isn’t that something writers might understand?” He’s repeating the word over and over. I don’t know if I’m more overcome by the fact that he’s trying so hard to help me or by my amazement of how a grown man can lounge an entire day away in his underwear.
“Honey, that’s good!” I say, not knowing where this is going yet.
“And you travel all the time, right?” By now he’s pacing like a madman, his big hands wiping over his mouth like he’s just sucked the meat off the last leg of a chicken.
“Yes.” I’m still sitting, watching this spectacle unfold. His briefs are riding low on his thin hips, the scars of his double hip replacement acting like arrows to his thighs.
He stops. His hands drop to his side, palms up. It’s the sign of a man with a whole thought.
“I’ve got it!” A smile creases into his face. It’s a beautiful face even after all of these years. “www.noveltravelers.com. It’s simple, it takes in the fact that you travel everywhere and people love to read and then travel to the places they read about to see if they are real, right? And any author, writer, editor, publisher of any repute will understand the “novel” part, right?”
I feel the tingle go up my spine, the feeling I get when something feels right.
“Honey, you’re right! Besides, “novel” can mean something unique, something out of the ordinary, something fresh as well. Good job! Now go put some pants on, will you?”
So that’s how I got the new name for the site. Hope you find it easy to find and to pass on to your friends!
And really? Get that picture out of your mind of my husband in his briefs, will you?
Hey Ginger! Glad to see you are still around -- miss you, lady!
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