Where do I come up with names for the characters in my books? I find this fun. My heroine in After the Reunion was southern since the book takes place in Georgetown, SC,  so her name had to be indicative of the area. Shelby immediately came to my mind. When I first moved to Alabama many years ago I remember meeting several women with that first name. I had not previously known anyone with such a moniker.

The surname didn’t come to me as easily. I decided it should be of English derivation since so many people in South Carolina had British roots. I also didn’t want to use a name from someone actually living in Georgetown, SC. I remembered a friend from grade school with the last name of Cornwell so I went with it. And there you have it, the heroine’s name is Shelby Cornwell.