Once upon a time, or as my kids used to say, "ponce a time" I had an idea for a story based on the MacGyver character.  It lived in my head for a long time.  Once, I thought I'd try writing it, but the sheer mechanics of typing dialogue with proper punctuation turned me off.  Years later, my son introduced me to Highlander: The Series on television, and I got sucked into that world.  My MacGyver story's basic premise changed, and I had a 'what if' moment for the Immortal universe.   

The story idea compelled me enough to deal with all those commas and quote marks, and I hooked up with Sandra McDonald, an author whose writing resonated with me.  With excruciating patience, she showed me the beginnings of crafting a story, which I wrote and posted to the online Highlander fanfiction sites of the time. 

Eventually, I wanted to try my hand at a book set in the real universe, with characters and settings of my choosing.  I wrote Finding Sarah.  However, that Highlander story wouldn't die, and I toyed with moving one of the segments of my "Immortal Flu" series into the real world. 

I write because I like to create characters.  Until I know what makes them tick, the plot hangs in the background.  For What's In A Name?, the click moment was listening to Dan Fogelberg's "Leader of the Band."  I knew I had to write about a character whose life was controlled by the line, "And Papa, I don't think I said I love you near enough."  Once Blake's motivation was in place, the story was no longer a Highlander story, and the rest of the book began to fall into place.  Of course, there's a little of Duncan MacLeod left in Blake Windsor.  The Highlander is Immortal, after all.