One of the questions I get asked most frequently is: "How do you name your characters?" I wish I could say I have some complex theory or method (I know a few writers do), but the honest answer for me is, I usually go with what feels right more than anything.

That said, I do prefer unique or unusual names for my characters; you won't typically find a Jack, John, Jenny or Jessica in my novel, unless said character is a minor player. Maybe even someone who's going to die.

So, why "Jude"? Well, like the title of the novel, it had Biblical inspiration, being one of the books of the New Testament. I originally toyed with the idea of "Judas," but that seemed too Biblical, and had more baggage attached to it than I wanted; Jude was similar and accomplished what I wanted, so I settled on that for my hero's first name.

But what about "Allman"? Ah, well, I suppose I did get a bit heavy-handed with that one. In fact, throughout the editing process, I kept expecting Dave, my editor, to come back and say, "Hey, can't we change his last name to something a little less obvious?" No one ever said anything though, so perhaps it was one of those things that slipped under the radar precisely because it was obvious.

I wanted Jude, of course, to be an Everyman of sorts. He's just an average schlump of a guy--a janitor, of all things. At the same time, though, he has a wondrous power: he's come back from the dead. That, to me, represents all of humanity on some level: we're terrestrial creatures, but there's a spark of the divine inside all of us. We are all Everyman, if you will, but inside us is something magical and special.

So there you have it. Jude's last name is Allman because he represents, on some level, all men (and women).