Too Many Hendersons and Other Author Problems

After a busy weekend clearing my to-do list of at least all the urgent items, I sat down at my desk this morning ready to dive into Startup Fire. For those who don’t know, I’m one of those authors who writes on a desktop computer with a big – and I mean *big* – screen at a proper desk. None of this laptop-on-the-couch business for me when I’m in serious writing mode.

I opened the file, fingers poised over the keyboard, ready to turn that outline into actual scenes. But first, I needed to tackle one of my favorite parts of starting a new book: figuring out the side characters.

We’re going to need a grandmother in this story, and that got me thinking. What kind of granny should she be? The warmhearted, cookie-baking type who always has flour on her apron and wisdom to share over a cup of tea? Or maybe more of a motorcycle-riding, leather-jacket-wearing cool grandma who surprises everyone with her sass and spirit?

I love these kinds of decisions. So many delicious options, so many ways a character could go. The firefighter whose mother she’ll be has already been mentioned in several of my Elken Grove books, which made me pause. Had I ever described his mother before? I made a mental note to check that later.
Then I needed to tackle the next side character, and that meant coming up with a name. “Henderson” immediately popped into my head.

Henderson. Again.

You see, “Henderson” has become my knee-jerk answer to every naming request my brain makes. New character needed? Henderson! Background character mentioned in passing? Henderson! It’s like my subconscious has decided that everyone in my fictional Georgia mountains is somehow related to this mysterious Henderson clan.

I was about to mark that for later checking too when I had a moment of what I like to call “giving adult vibes.” Instead of just pushing ahead with my writing and dealing with the character chaos later, I made the responsible choice.

I pushed the writing back and opened an old file I’d been avoiding. My series bible.

Now, I’d started this series bible a few books ago with the best intentions. It was going to be this beautifully organized document tracking every character, every location, every detail across my Elken Grove world. The problem? I’d never maintained it. The last several books weren’t even in there yet, which meant I had no idea how many Hendersons I’d actually created or what details I might be contradicting.
So here I am, going through each published book methodically, checking for characters, locations, family connections, and yes – tracking down every single Henderson to see if I’ve accidentally created a small army of them.

This is going to take me 2-3 days, but it’ll be worth it. Avoiding the situation where every other family in my fictional town shares the same last name is definitely a worthy cause. Plus, making sure that when I mention a character’s mother has green eyes in one book, she doesn’t mysteriously develop brown eyes three books later.

It’s one of those behind-the-scenes tasks that readers never see but that makes all the difference in creating a believable, consistent world. Whether we’re talking about the Burning Hearts firefighter series or the upcoming stories that need to fit seamlessly into the same Elken Grove universe, getting these details right matters.

The funny thing about writing connected books is that every small detail can come back to matter later. That throwaway mention of someone’s eye color or the casual reference to a local business can become important plot points in future stories. Which is why I’m sitting here, tea growing cold, making spreadsheets instead of writing swoony firefighter romance scenes.

But I’ll get there. Once I’ve sorted out my character database and figured out how many Hendersons actually populate my fictional world, I can get back to the fun stuff. Like deciding whether our mystery grandmother is the type to sneak cookies to her firefighter son-in-law-to-be or the type to teach him how to change his motorcycle oil.

Speaking of which, I could use your help with this character decision. What kind of grandmother do you think would be more interesting in a firefighter romance? The sweet, nurturing cookie-baker or the unexpected badass with her own Harley? And while we’re at it, what should I name her? I’m officially retiring “Henderson” from active duty, so I need fresh inspiration.

Because apparently, creating fictional people is hard enough without accidentally giving them all the same last name!