Pen Names

Writing is my passion. It is a job I have dreamt of and worked towards off and on since I was in elementary school. When I published my debut novel last year I published under a pen name however it is just my first and middle names. I have been married and divorced more than once and so wanted to keep a name that remained constant.

On top of writing I have a day job as most writers do. I am a table games dealer at a Las Vegas Strip casino. It is a fun and entertaining job and gives me a chance to interact with people from all over the world. Along with players, many of my fellow dealers are aware that I write. some even own my book. A few weeks ago one of them asked why I didn't use a completely made up pen name. I know several that do and there is nothing wrong with that. For me I guess I just used my real name because I am proud of what I created and wanted to stand behind it as much as possible.

Now moving forward however I am looking at the possible creation of a few new pen names. I write in a number of different genres and while I am proud of everything I write, for marketing purposes it is better to keep a pen name for children's books separate from my suspense and erotica novels. Then of course there are my YA books which are the ones I write under my real name. I am not by any means ashamed or trying to hide from what I create just making sure that they are kept in separate categories so as to keep the individual audiences happy.

My children's books, though currently ranging in subject matter, are written with more of a masculine tone. I did that specifically for the first few and after that discovered it was easier for me to utilize the same tone for all books for that age group. However being a divorced child free woman that is a difficult angle to market so I will be using a name that is more vague gender wise. For my more adult books I will be seeking something slightly exotic that hearing it puts even me in the mood for reading a story with more adult themes.

Not everyone uses a pen name and some writers write exclusively under one or more pseudonyms. I am looking forward to branching out further and learning more about each side of my personality as I get into character to write more books under each name as well as begin promoting them.