Esme Raji Codell: Hello. My name is Esme Raji Codell. My first name, pronounced Esme, sounds a little like it's May even when it's October. I was named for a fictional character from a short story by JD Salinger, For Esme with Love and Squalor. Luckily I like that story. Esme, I understand, is a derivative of Eme, Amy, or esteemed, though sometimes I just tell people my name is Emma when I'm too tired to say all that.

My middle name, Raji, is what you get when your parents are from the 1960s. I've always thought names were powerful and important things and the idea of names plays an integral part in the characters I create, like Sahara and Paris. I'm not so picky about my own name. Just don't call me later for dinner.