A TV blooper is an embarrassing error in a scene that’s ultimately cut from the final showing. Leading up to the release of The Last Station Master, I thought I would share some book bloopers that went right up to copyediting before being changed.

Abdi is a character from The Last Station Master, but originally his name was Hajji. I named him for an old TV show I used to watch as a kid called Johnny Quest. Hajji was the brown-skin character, wiser and kinder than the full-throttle main character. Years later, I met a co-worker named Hajji. He was the first Iranian-born person I’ve ever met. Just like Hajji in Johnny Quest, he was a kind spirit but with a boyish sense of humor. So when my Iranian-American character needed a name, I immediately decided on Hajji.

Even though Hajji can be a name, in Muslim culture it is also a title of honor given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. My copyeditor questioned the wisdom of naming a character for what is generally considered a title. In addition to that, the name Hajji has come to be used as a derogatory term by some military forces in our post Nine-Eleven era. All of a sudden the name was becoming complicated. I certainly didn’t want to be seen as being demeaning, and I didn’t want to confuse readers who thought of Hajji as a title.

Less than a week before the galley went to print, I had to come up with a new name that I loved as much as Hajji. I did a little research on Arabic male names and settled on Abdul because, I suppose, it’s familiar to Americans e.g., Paula Abdul and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Except Abdul has kind of a heavy feel to me. I wanted a name that suggested a playful wisdom. A little more research provided the answer.

Abdi is a shortened, affectionate term for Abdul. Abdi even sounds a bit like Hajji. So, dear readers, that is how Hajji became Abdi and politically correct.