My fictional town up in flames....

[Lois]

Laura -- I hope you find a wonderful name for your fictional town. Most of my books take place north of NYC. The towns get names like Hudson Heights, Hudson View, Hudson Point, Hudson's Bluff. Hey, it works for me. LOL

Lois

[Pamela]

How about stealing a town from another state? Hazard, KY can become Hazard AZ (that was always one of my favorite place names, who would move to a place named Hazard?!?)

Pamela

[Lisa Werth]

It's what popped into my mind.

[Goliardeys]

This is what I'd do. Take a map of the Javelina Flats area and see of there are some names, say of rivers, valleys, hills, farms, that you could use. That way, though you may be using a real name that relates to the area you are writing about, it will not be the name of a town, and no one will have heard of it.

For my fictional town, which, like yours, is based on a real town, I use the name of a nearby buried medieval village.

Goliardeys.

[Bob Kellogg]

Slag City
Saguaro Gulch
Javelina Notch
Soda Springs
Moon Rock

Or you can do like some of us do and use a real town, but invent your own sections of it.

You'll figure it out, I'm sure.

Bob K.

[Jeff Draper]

I once broke down in Arizona with a big old Ryder truck on the offramp to Anvil Rock Road. About 50 feet from the freeway the road became dirt and led off into the hills. Always wondered what was around the bend...

[Brady Boyd]

I love the name Arthur Kill (in NY, I believe). "Kill" is a dutch word meaning stream or inlet.

Also, Shinipsit, CT. I now call people "shinipsits" since I don't like to cuss.

Brady Boyd

[Lois]

Brady -- Lots of Kills in NY, especially in the borough of Staten Island. Mmmm, maybe my next YA yarn will take place in Kills-On-Hudson. Nope, someone might think that's one of Kinsey Millhone's relatives. Or, worse, a sequel to Hudson Hawk. Lois

[Laura Gibson]

Really like Saguaro Gulch...going to have to write these all down and simmer on them a bit. Thanks all, that was fun!