TheArsonist
Really Experienced
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2022
- Posts
- 163
Would you believe that a popular author named the main character of his book series "James Bond" even though Agatha Christie had already used the name as the hero of one of her stories?
I'd argue that "Miles Archer" is generic enough that it's fine to have two different characters in different books share it.
That doesn't seem to follow. It isn't all that obscure in the first place, and even if it were there is really no limit to how obscure a writer can be in making a deliberate reference. It's not hard to imagine that Colleen Hoover picked the name as a deliberate allusion (Ugly Love, the book in question – yes, I googled it – is also set in the same city as The Maltese Falcon, San Francisco); though I think it's more likely that he's called "Miles" and "Archer" because he's an airline pilot, so "air miles" and flying like an arrow.
I'd argue that "Miles Archer" is generic enough that it's fine to have two different characters in different books share it.
The name isn't well-known enough for it to be a deliberate reference.
That doesn't seem to follow. It isn't all that obscure in the first place, and even if it were there is really no limit to how obscure a writer can be in making a deliberate reference. It's not hard to imagine that Colleen Hoover picked the name as a deliberate allusion (Ugly Love, the book in question – yes, I googled it – is also set in the same city as The Maltese Falcon, San Francisco); though I think it's more likely that he's called "Miles" and "Archer" because he's an airline pilot, so "air miles" and flying like an arrow.