Anyway, I've shared the idea with some fellow authors, and even let them see the disclaimer I read to potential winners. Me being me, it's as amusing as it is legalese and I was prompted by one of those authors to share it here. That way, I can point people to this blog post to see what it takes to be a character.
Incidentally, the next time this form will see the light of day is January 17, 2014, for the launch of Hugo's third adventure in France, titled THE BLOOD PROMISE.
More on that later... first this...:
Disclaimer,
Waiver, and Agreement
On __________, I took part in a raffle at _________ and, even though I complain about never winning anything, my name was
picked from the hat.
I therefore acknowledge that my mildly egocentric desire to
see my name in a novel is being realized. To be clear, I entered this contest
because I actively want my name to appear in one of the Hugo Marston books.
I also agree to the following:
- the character who is given my name might be a murderer, a masochist, a priest, or a pervert. Or, all four;
- the character who is given my name might appear just once in the novel, or may become a recurring character;
- the character who is given my name might be killed off as soon as he or she appears; I agree that this does NOT mean the author wishes to kill me off and I will not take it personally if the character who is given my name is shot, stabbed, smothered, skewered, or otherwise made dead.
Furthermore, I agree to give up all
control over my fictional appearance. The character who is given my name may be
beautiful, ugly, tall, short, fat or thin. He or she may be a snappy dresser, a
slob, or even wear clothes normally associated with the opposite sex. Or a
nudist.
Additionally, if I win and I have a
silly name, I give unconditional permission to the author and his characters to
make fun of it. If I don't have a silly name, the author or his characters may
still make fun of it.
In summary, I entered this raffle voluntarily and with the
sole intention of giving my name to Mark Pryor to use as he sees fit in any
number of his Hugo Marston novels. If I decide later that I do not wish my name
to be used, I appreciate that it is at the sole discretion of the author
whether or not to stop using that name.
Finally, I
understand and agree that if a block-buster movie is made, I do not
automatically get to play the character who is given my name, but will have to
attend the casting call like everyone else.
________________________________
Signature and date
________________________________
Printed name
My name was used several years ago for a minor character in an American novel. As I recall, the author collected names for a lot of redshirt characters, as the novel was rather bloody. A friend of mine much later came to me to show me that amazing thing he had discovered in a book...
ReplyDeleteI'd not realized, until I thought about it, how many names I go through in a book. Also, it has to be said, you have a very cool name. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to seeing my name in The Blood Promise ;-)
ReplyDelete