Okay guys, so I forgot to add something in the last chapter's note so I decided to do it here. So, I wasn't sure what to name the character of the new minister, I knew I wanted him to be Transylvanian and have a little fun for the halloween holiday coming up. I've always been fascinated by the character of Dracula, mainly because Dracula Untold was the movie that really helped me and my sister bond and become closer as siblings, and I thought, hey, wouldn't it be funny if the town library got a copy of Dracula(published May 26th of 1897) and a new arrival was Transylvanian and the whole town thought he was a vampire. So, clearly some of the main characters are more levelheaded, for lack of a better term, than others so not everyone would be so hesitant to welcome him, but still everyone would learn a lesson in not judging a book by it's cover(pun absolutely intended). So then as I was developing the character in my head, because I'm absolute trash at planning out a story ahead of time, I thought about it and realized that I don't know any Transylvanian names other than Vlad Tepes. Go figure. So I googled Transylvanian Names and the first name that popped up was Alexandru, which is the Transylvanian version of Alexander, which means Leader Of Men. Then I googled Transylvanian Surnames and Ciobanu was, once again, the first name to pop up, and then in the same instance it gave me the meaning of the name, Shepherd. In that moment it was like a light came on and everything was pointing to this new character being a Preacher.
So, that is how Alexandru Ciobanu got his name and the meaning of his name. I hope this answers your questions of what his name means and a little bit about my writing process. I know I should be better by now with all the stories I've written, but when it comes to planning out a comprehensive outline of any story I write I can't, unless I start to actually write story. Chapter 8 actually went through about four different versions, each one trying to pick up where chapter 7 left off. In the enend I decided to time jump ahead and skip some details, mainly because I feel like Jack and Elizabeth have suffered enough and just need a well earned respite from their troubles and just fall in love again, which hopefully I will get to at some point in the near future.
Well, I think I've wasted enough time and will let ya'll enjoy the rest of your day/evening or whenever it is ya'll read this. I thank all of you for your love and support and hopefully will see ya'll in the next chapter.
Sincerely
Ficmaniac12
P.S. The chapter "Coming to Terms and Greeting a Vampire" has been updated.