Jena has a post about Peter Watts, an author who is raffling off a spot in his next novel to benefit the Philadelphia Public Library. Apparently this process of naming a character after a specific person is called Tuckerising. Except I can’t find any references to the term. Anybody want to fill me in?
I have never based any character on a living person.
Now that the lawyers have stopped reading, I’ll amend that statement: some of my characters are amalgams of people I have known, which makes them fictional. Some of these amalgams are positive; some certainly are not. But Tuckerising confuses me. I suppose for fun I could name a character after somebody I know: Pokey Bolton, Robyn Bender, Sister Mary Ellen, JoLynn Mutschinsky, Ellen Turner, Winnie Chambers, Nini Fink — all names out of my present or past. But why would people actually pay for raffle tickets for such a dubious honor, unless it’s solely to support the good cause behind it? While you’re explaining Tuckerising to me, maybe you can fill me in on this, too. Please.
On another note, can anybody tell me what Coca Cola Cake tastes like? I’m curious, but not curious enough to actually make one.
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It’s commonly done in charity auctions at SF conventions. The resulting character might or might not bear the slightest resemblance to the fan, other than the name. this SF fandom glossary cites the source as Bob Tucker, but I don’t know the story behind it. If you’re seriously curious, the folks in rec.arts.sf.fandom or one of Making Light’s open threads could certainly fill you in.
Coca-Cola Cake. I have a Coca-Cola recipe book I believe at home. I’ll try making this this weekend and let you know. Living in the South and working for The Coca-Cola Company for 17 years, you’d think I would have tasted it by now but I haven’t — at least not that I can remember! Cindy
Sara: the recipe I found for Coca-Cola cake called for 2 sticks of butter, buttermilk, cup of sugar, cocoa, cup of coke, marshmallows. It’s an unusual taste — kind of like a spongy brownie but it’s not as chocolatey as a brownie w/ a taste of the cola. I’m not the best cook in the world and there might be a better recipe somewhere else. if it’s possible to fedex a sample to you I can — just let me know the address to send it to and I’ll ask MailBoxes, etc. how you send food through the mail!! thanks, cindy