How I got my names
So... some of you are new readers of mine, especially some high school reunion folks and people who don't know my past from 1990-ish. Here's how I got my names:
Gregory Monte Larson
I was named after Gregory Peck, my mother's favorite actor, and Monte Carlo, my father's favorite city. If I was born a girl, I would have been named, "Marina," because my dad liked boats. His father, Arvid Sr., wanted me to be Arvid Gunnar the Third, but my dad would have none of that. I never liked the name "Greg" because people almost ALWAYS never heard it the first time. "Craig? Gary? Rick?" Gary, really? How does "Gar-ree" even come close to "Greg?" Yet that was my most COMMON misnomer. Incidentally, those few still named Arvid will not be surprised at being called, "David."
Grig
What I tell people: "It's a Swedish nickname"
How I actually got it: when Cheryl (Evry) was much younger, she had a kind of funny way of pronouncing people's names (ask Liska, whom she also named). I am not sure if it was on purpose or some Philly accent. Then she said it was for "Grig" in "The Last Starfighter." When I needed a pen name for my writing, "Grig" seemed like a good idea, and I love the flagrant slash I put for a dot over the "i" when singing stuff. When I was in sales, people would ALWAYS remember my name if I said, "it's Greg with an I." If I said, "My name is Greg," sure enough... "So, Gary..." Much later, I found it was an uncommon Swedish nickname. And the name of a Celtic sprite.
Punk Walrus
Punk was the name of my character from my first book, a walrus punk rock star. I used it back when I was on BBS's, and it translated to the Internet. I keep it because almost no one takes it before I do.
Punkie
A shorted form of "Punk Walrus," Liska (see above) started calling me this to be funny in BBS chat rooms. The name stuck, and those that met me first from an online venue (and later convention venue) called me that. if you call me Punkie nowadays, you either met me online from 1989-1994, met me via someone who did, or you're a small child (like the Heare kids, but they also call me Grig)
Gregory Monte Larson
I was named after Gregory Peck, my mother's favorite actor, and Monte Carlo, my father's favorite city. If I was born a girl, I would have been named, "Marina," because my dad liked boats. His father, Arvid Sr., wanted me to be Arvid Gunnar the Third, but my dad would have none of that. I never liked the name "Greg" because people almost ALWAYS never heard it the first time. "Craig? Gary? Rick?" Gary, really? How does "Gar-ree" even come close to "Greg?" Yet that was my most COMMON misnomer. Incidentally, those few still named Arvid will not be surprised at being called, "David."
Grig
What I tell people: "It's a Swedish nickname"
How I actually got it: when Cheryl (Evry) was much younger, she had a kind of funny way of pronouncing people's names (ask Liska, whom she also named). I am not sure if it was on purpose or some Philly accent. Then she said it was for "Grig" in "The Last Starfighter." When I needed a pen name for my writing, "Grig" seemed like a good idea, and I love the flagrant slash I put for a dot over the "i" when singing stuff. When I was in sales, people would ALWAYS remember my name if I said, "it's Greg with an I." If I said, "My name is Greg," sure enough... "So, Gary..." Much later, I found it was an uncommon Swedish nickname. And the name of a Celtic sprite.
Punk Walrus
Punk was the name of my character from my first book, a walrus punk rock star. I used it back when I was on BBS's, and it translated to the Internet. I keep it because almost no one takes it before I do.
Punkie
A shorted form of "Punk Walrus," Liska (see above) started calling me this to be funny in BBS chat rooms. The name stuck, and those that met me first from an online venue (and later convention venue) called me that. if you call me Punkie nowadays, you either met me online from 1989-1994, met me via someone who did, or you're a small child (like the Heare kids, but they also call me Grig)