Nora and the bookshop - why I chose the name Nora, The Secondhand Bookworm, series of novels, romance, fun, books

 Why I chose the name Nora in 2008

The Secondhand Bookworm series of books is a run of fictional novels set in a Secondhand and antiquarian bookshop on the South coast of England. The fictional setting is Castletown, a lovely historic place with a ruined castle (books one and two) and a rebuilt castle/estate as home to the Duke of Cole (book 3 onwards). The county of Cole is a fictional county on the south coast of England.

The main protagonist is Nora Jolly. The books follow Nora as she journey's through her bookselling, bookshop managing, book buying, book customer adventures in the rickety old building comprising of three floors and rooms and rooms full of books upon books upon books. And more books!

I started the series in 2008 for my bookshop colleagues, based upon our experiences running three second hand bookshops at that time. I started work at the bookshop in 2002 and left in 2012 with a wealth of experience and memories. Originally I compiled stories of hilarious and not-so-hilarious things we had encountered or endured but it was suggested that I put them into novels. I did a simple layout for books one and two and chose the name Nora Jolly for my main character.


When I was a teenager I watched the 1990's movie (over and over) called 'Pump up the Volume' staring Christian Slater. I remember being struck by the name 'Nora' of the main female character portrayed by Samantha Mathis. While I am not overly keen on the name, I liked the obscurity at the time. I no longer like the movie (it's certainly a teenage movie!), but I decided to call my bookshop character Nora and often imagined her looking like Nora de Niro in the movie.


Another inspiration was from my childhood. I had loved (and hated) the movie Pete's Dragon. One of my favourite songs in it was 'I'll be your candle on the water' sung by the character, Nora, the kind daughter of the lighthouse keeper.


Sometimes I imagine Nora like that, too!

Nora is a feminine personal name. It mainly originates as a short form of Honora (also Honoria), a common Anglo-Norman name, ultimately derived from the Latin word Honor (with that meaning). In Hungary, the name Nóra originates as a short form of Eleonóra.

Nora has been among the most popular girl names in Norway in the 2000s, topping the list of most popular girl names in 2012.

Nora is the main character in my easy-read, fun, light hearted, bookshop, books and book fun series of novels available on Amazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and in Paperback worldwide from Amazon. As of April 2023 I have 8 in the series available with more being added.


The Secondhand Bookworm

Nora and The Secondhand Bookworm

Christmas at The Secondhand Bookworm (the arrival of the Duke)

Summer at The Secondhand Bookworm

Halloween at The Secondhand Bookworm

Black Friday at The Secondhand Bookworm 

Book Club at The Secondhand Bookworm 

Valentine's Day at The Secondhand Bookworm

If you like books, bookshops, easy going characters, laughs, romance and adventure all set in and around a three floor bookshop in England then this series might be for you!

AMAZON UK LINK

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