Okay faithful readers, I need your help. A very important question has been plaguing my brain.
As you’ve no doubt gathered by now, my main character’s name is Talula. Talula Jones. She is the daughter of a teenage runaway named Sharon Jones. Sharon wanted to be an actress, and ended up waiting tables in Hollywood.
At sixteen she found herself pregnant. I’ve always imagined her walking down Hollywood Boulevard, on her way home from work day after day, strolling over the star for Tallula Bankhead (a little known starlet from the early 1900’s – she started in silent films and moved up into talkies, though she was known more for her steamy love affairs and drug addictions – not that Sharon knew any of that). Sharon just liked the sound of the name. She thought it glamorous and unique. She rolled it around in her mouth. It tasted good.
When it came time to squeeze that little love child out, Sharon remembered the name, but not being the brightest bulb in the maternity ward, she just spelled it phonetically, which is how her daughter came to be named Talula.
Talula Jones or Tallulah Jones. I’m really torn. I think the original spelling (Tallulah) is more interesting, but given the history I’ve created for her, Talula is a far more likely spelling.
It’s something I need to decide sooner rather than later, as it is also the title of my novel. So let’s hear it. Talula OR Tallulah. Show your work. (and thanks)
Leave a Reply