For the record, my book this year is an Adult Fantasy. My characters are 27 and 31. And it's NOT erotica. And their names are Hayden and Scott. And there's a fairy named Gemma. The more people can relate to the names of your characters (aka, the less 'out there' you go with them), the better I think it is.

And I think it is Michelle. I loved his 'On Writing' book and a lot of what he said stuck with me. Plus I hear everywhere to make great characters. People love to read great characters. If you make that character a living, breathing person such that they could walk off the page at any moment, then your readers will follow them all the way to the laundry mat.