Celestine asked E.G. Manetti:

You are so careful about the plotting in your Twelve Systems Chronicles, I imagine you are just as careful in the name selection for your characters. What were the inspirations for some of your lead characters' names?

E.G. Manetti The character names come from many sources; family, friends, my erratic muse. Some are deliberate choices based on meaning. Others are simply names, although I try to pull from the full range of cultures.

With Lilian; it was her name from the first. I have no idea where it came from or why it is spelled as it is. The same is true of the Five Warriors and Adelaide—they and their stories emerged from my psyche full-blown.

Chrys honors my first love – I was 13. Although he spelled his name in traditional fashion.

Lucius took some time to settle – I wanted something that evoked the ruthlessness and warrior culture of ancient Rome, but also Rome’s commitment to law and order. According to ‘Behind the Names’ – Roman praenomen, or given name, which was derived from Latin lux "light". Two Etruscan kings of early Rome had this name as well as several prominent later Romans, including Lucius Annaeus Seneca (known simply as Seneca), a statesman, philosopher, orator and tragedian.

Katleen is a variation on the name of my best friend since childhood.

For Trevelyan, I wanted a foil for Lucius – so I went with the British Isles where the Romans struggled to gain and hold territory. Again, Behind the Names -- From a surname which was derived from a Cornish place name meaning "homestead on the hill".

Fletcher was originally Lionel (meaning lion), but I decided it was too close to Lilian and Lucius—creating associations, I didn’t intend.

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