New Auralia Thread Contest: Name the Site of a Meteor Strike

In the third book of The Auralia Thread — Cal-raven’s Ladder — Cal-raven will venture to a very creepy place… a place where a meteor once struck and destroyed a forest, leaving a deep crater full of strange, glittering dust.

Don’t worry… he won’t find any UFOs there. But he will find something akin to a graveyard. A graveyard for massive trees, the tallest that ever grew in the Expanse. Imagine the California Redwoods, and then triple the circumference and height of its greatest tree. All of those extravagant trees were buried in the crater. But Cal-raven’s headed there because his mentor told him he’d find something important there… if he climbed the tallest tree. How can he climb a tree if they’ve all been smashed into the earth?

Anyway, before I give away any more of the story, here’s the question:

What should I call this dusty scar, this forest’s graveyard, this meteor-smashed crater?

Get creative. Invent a name. You can try coming up with something that has meaningful roots and origins, or you can just start smashing words together, as I often do, to come up with something that sounds good.

DEADLINE: New Year’s Day, January 1, 2009

Last year, I hosted a similar contest, and the winners (there were two whose answers I liked, and combined) are receiving signed copies of Cyndere’s Midnight. This year, I’m making it tougher. Because I’m going to start coming up with my own ideas for names. But I want you to come up with a better one.

The name I end up choosing for the book will earn the inventor a signed copy of Cal-Raven’s Ladder, upon its arrival.

Oh, and just a reminder: This Thursday night, I’m at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park (North Seattle), reading from Cyndere’s Midnight and signing copies at 7 p.m. You’re invited! And afterwards, we’ll hang out and enjoy some food and drink in the Third Place Books food court.