Friday, May 15, 2009

What's in a name...

So, I came across something kind of strange today. My own name.
I guess Criss Angel, the magician, stole a cat from some producer. The gist of it is; the producer's parents died, leaving him the family cat. The producer was living in a hotel at the time, so he left the cat with his friend Jennifer Madden, until he could move out of the hotel. Somehow or another, Criss Angel ended up with the cat. The producer is threatening to sue Angel if the cat is not returned, but Angel claims that the cat no longer likes the producer and wants to live with him .
Ok, whatever.
Anyway, when I saw my name there, it really did hit me as kind of strange and even a little offsetting. I don't know if I want to keep my own name when (IF) I get published. There is no other author, that I know of, with the same name, but still. Some anonymity will be required I think.
So, I was thinking about pen names. Some authors pick names out of their hats, or use their pets names. Some only use one single name. A lot of erotica authors use some kind of love related word in their name, like Wendy Harte or Buffi something-or-other (not actual authors names as far as I know, just examples).
So how 'bout:
Scarlet Bliss, or
Tori D. Afair, or
Beezee Hooker
Like any of those? I'm just joking, of course.
Uh, unless one sounds good.

4 comments:

  1. My vote is keep working on the name. Unless you think the currently newsworthy Jennifer Madden could help make you famous. :)

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  2. I don't think so. She's a cat sitter who lost a cat. Probably won't hear much more about her.

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  3. If you googled and didn't turn up another Jennifer Madden in the writing or publishing biz, then I'd definitely keep it. It's a nice name. After having done it, I wouldn't recommend publishing with a pseudo unless there's a really compelling reason. Publishing under an assumed name comes with its own set of problems, and once you do it, there's pretty much no going back, unless you want to start over from scratch.

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  4. Hmmm, it's an idea. I'll have to think about it. Thanks, Devon

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