They say it takes a village of idiots to raise a book, and mine are no different. My books, not my idiots.

Anyway, remember how you all¹ came to my rescue during the writing of TWENTY BOY SUMMER for naming my main character’s deceased first love and for sharing your summer seaside memories, heartfelt and embarrassing as they may have been? Yes? Yes?

Loyal readers and those whom I stalk, I need your creative input once again!

I don’t know what it is about me getting all tongue-tied when it comes to naming my MC’s love interests, but here’s the deal. I need some names for the book two boy (B2B), and sadly, Kaleb Nation is already taken (if you haven’t heard about Twilight Guy, and you like vampire boys and the boys who heart them, stop by and show some blood-love for Kaleb soon).

Anyway, a little bit about B2B to get you thinking:

1. Patrick is seventeen years old.
2. He grew up in the fictional maple sugar town of Red Falls, Vermont, but moved to the fictional city of New York with his mother five years ago. He still spends summers in VT with his father.
3. Patrick helps Dad with contract and construction work on local houses. He’s very handy, and looks good sweating in a tight white shirt with tools hanging off his low-slung tool belt.
4. Patrick has dark amber eyes (but unlike Edward Cullen’s eyes, Patrick’s don’t change color when he’s hungry or in a mood) and messy brown hair that he usually pulls into a low ponytail.
5. Every Thursday in the summer, he sings and plays acoustic guitar at Luna’s coffee shop on Main Street in Red Falls. Coincidentally, Thursdays are Luna’s busiest nights.
6. If you were, say, the 50-something mother of the author of this book, not naming names, you would probably go all cougar on this kid. Rarrr!
7. Patrick is very intense, but sweet and sincere. Girls fall for him all the time but he’s not into random hookups (sorry nameless cougars).
8. He’s definitely a Twilight Guy. Swoon!

Getting some ideas? Cool. Here are the rules:

1. I need a last name and a nickname.
2. He was known as Little Ricky as a kid, so the nickname can’t be Ricky or Rick.
3. Last name has to go with Patrick and Ricky, since his Dad still goes by Ricky.
4. His nickname doesn’t necessarily have to relate to his interests and hobbies, but it could, as long as it isn’t tacky and obvious, like Handy or Guitar Boy or Sexy White T-Shirt Guy.
5. The nickname should be something his teenage guy friends would call him.
6. Not Patsy or Patty or Pat.

So, any suggestions?

1. You all: for my Buffalo and Jersey friends, that’s yoos guys. For our neighbors to the south, it’s y’all. Up in tha club, that’s all y’all.