I received an odd comment via this blog from a (teen?) stranger, accusing me of stealing my name (Maili) from one of Melissa Marr’s books. I was baffled enough to say defensively it was my middle name. (Well, technically, Màili, not Maili.) Regardless of how it’s spelt and pronounced, it’s a common name at where I come from.
S/he replied with just one word: “LAIR!!!”
Charming.
S/he seems to believe that Melissa Marr has somehow invented the name. Regardless, I was curious enough to check Marr’s books (well, okay, it’s because I’m dead nosey, all right?). According to some sites, she’s best known for the Wicked Lovely series. Yet, nowhere could I find a mention of Maili in those books. I started to wonder if the accuser was taking the piss, but decided it can’t be. The accusation was too specific.
After investigating some more, I finally found a few references to ‘Maili’ here (I typed ‘Maili’ in a search tab on the left side): Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales, Volume 2: Challenge, published by TokyoPop and HarperTeen early this year. A graphic novel. That was when I realised how the accuser may have found this blog. I’d mentioned manga and comics after all. A mystery solved.
By the look of it, the graphic novel is a spin-off product of the Wicked Lovely series. I’m not sure, to be honest, because there is no mention at Marr’s web site.
If I read that excerpt right, Wicked Lovely revolves around fairies. That’s right. Fairies. I’ve admitted this many times and I’ll admit again: I’m petrified of fairies. You might think it’s odd, but may I point out that people are afraid of odd things as well. Clowns. Spiders. Bad luck. Ghosts. So why fairies should be any different in this aspect? *cough*
And what’s more: Maili is an evil fairy.
After laughing my head off I admit I thought: “Evil fairy? Isn’t that a little bit of an overkill? I mean, fairies are naturally evil.”
Since Maili isn’t mentioned anywhere online (including reviews) but in that excerpt, I’m assuming she’s a minor character. A mere minion, perhaps. A mere evil minion, perhaps.
And take a look at these two oh-so-dramatic lines:
So funny. It’d be awesome to have this as a large framed image for my office wall. It’d be even more awesome if the first line was amended to “There’s only one faery stupid enough to shag him into unconsciousness.”
And here’s Maili the evil fairy in person (on the right):
What’s the purpose of those bandages on her face? Half of me thinks: “Please, god, let it be because she’s a massive fan of an awesome film, The Mummy.”
But seriously, note their fangs. Fangs.
EVIL VAMPIRIC FAIRIES!
Urk. I’ve just scared myself for a moment there. I’m not joking when I say I don’t like fairies. They are creepy as fuck. Either way, I’m grateful to the accuser – that would be you, “Sam” – for bringing my attention to this book, even though I’ll never read it.
And by the way, Sam, the word you wanted is spelt liar. L-I-A-R.
too funny; apparently this Sam hasn’t come across many non anglo saxon names. Therefore, if it isn’t Mary, Ann, David etc it is obviously made up by an author and copied. Sigh….the ignorance of youth.
LOL soooooo funny I am actually addicted to this series and the scene above where the girl is holding the boy up is my favorite scene because the guy actually got stabbed twice with a rusty iron dagger. LOL! XD
I don’t recall a Maili in the Wicked Lovely books. Either she was a very minor character, or she just appears in the graphic novel.
Isn’t Maili a Gaelic form of Mary? I’ve met a couple of people called Maili, mostly from Northern Ireland. Mairi/Maire more common in South.
@Talthor
My thought as well! It was so odd.
@Sarah
Oh, thank you for the info about the WL series. Yeah, looks like it’s restricted to graphic novels.
Maili/Màili is not a straight translation of a name, but it’s generally Anglicised as Molly or to be more accurate, May. It’s a crappy name either way. Mostly because it doesn’t pronounce the way it’s read, damn it.
For [edited: the Angelicised] Mary of Gaelic, though, it’s Màiri, but it does almost sound like ‘marie’ (Màiri sounds more similar to ‘fairy’; M is usually pronounced as ‘v’, ‘f’ or ‘moh’, depending on a local dialect and/or grammar). You know it yourself, Irish pronunciation is different from Scottish Gaelic pronunciation, so I’d not be surprised if Màiri is pronounced as Marie and that it’s the Irish version of Marie.
I have no idea what’s the Gaelic version of Marie, though. I didn’t know anyone with this name.
Máire is pronounced like Moira – at least around where I grew up. How do you pronounce your name? I’ve always imagined it to be similar to Máire (i.e.: Moili/Mawli).
I always think of fairies as little Tinkerbell types, so they don’t bother me. She was annoying, but not creepy. I know that isn’t what “real/traditional” fairies are like, but that’s the image I have in my head. I blame my childhood.
Regardless, to say you stole your name from a book/graphic novel is just..asinine. Kids these days, you can’t let them out on their own for even a minute.
@SarahT
It depends on local dialects. Bear it in mind, I am not good with written phonetics because I’m still not sure on how to describe vocal sounds in text:
a) Mahy-ea (mahy rhymes with ‘maybe’; ea in ‘teach’ but softly), hence its Angelicised name, May.
b) Maol-ey (maol rhymes with ‘mayo’(?); ey in ‘grey’ but softly), hence its Angelicised name, Molly.
While I was growing up, I was addressed as, interchangeably, Molly and May when in English and ‘mahy-ea’ when in Gaelic. Màili isn’t a straightforward Gaelic translation of Molly or May, though.
This is probably one of most frustrating things with people who failed to grasp this simple fact. “Maili? What’s that in English?” “It’s a name in its own right.” “Okay, what’s the nearest to an English name?” “Molly.” “Maili is lovelier than Molly.” *headdesk*
Anyroad, quite a few people outside Scotland tend to say MY-lee and MAIL-ee. I think I hear both enough to accept them without blinking twice.
@Holly
Tinkerbell gives me the creeps, I have to say. (Even more so when Julia Roberts played the role.) If we were to translate her traits to a fully grown adult, we would see that she’s Alex of Fatal Attraction reborn (even though I was largely sympathetic towards Alex – a lot more than I felt towards that arsehole, anyway). Regardless — if your idea of a fairy is something like Tinkerbell then you’re lucky.
Agreed. ….Damn. Just realised something. I should have accused Sam of stealing her/his name from Supernatural.