Welp…I’m already falling off my schedule. It’s Wednesday and this should have been put up on Monday. Of course, I had a headache that lasted two days…and now its Wednesday.
So, I wanted to post about pen names and why folx use them. Though I can’t really speak for others, I can speak for myself.
I publish under several pen names…one of which is Tara Moeller; this is for my adult novels and novellas. There aren’t a whole lot of them yet, but there should be another one out by the end of the year. There are also a couple of short stories under this name that were published in college.
I also have novels published as E. G. Gaddess. This is the first name I used for any of my novels, which happen to be young adult steampunk and vampire novels (two different trilogies, btw). Very different from what I write under my own name. Though I think this name lends itself to the Victorianness of these novels, its actually my grandmother’s maiden name, and the initials for the names my grandfather thought I should have been given when I was born. I use it to honor them.
Then, there is T. L. Frye, used for my middle grade books, like the Secret of Magik and Dragons. The Truth About Magik and Dragons is in cover art production now and when it publishes, will use Open Dyslexic like the rest of the books DreamPunk Press puts out.
And now, I have Zhara Jons for young adult contemporary stories (and YA contemporary paranormal). The first under this pseudonym will publish in March of this year. And I am excited. There are two more completed and another in the works.
But why do I use pen names? I write so many different stories, and not everyone will like all of them. I am hoping that each pen name will become a brand for the types of stories I tell using them. Like the steampunk new Victorians of E.G. Gaddess.
Other writers have other reasons. Do you use a pen name? Or two (or three)? If so, why? I’d really like to know I’m not alone in my reasoning.