Friday, June 6, 2014

Pen names

There has been mass debate over whether authors should use a pseudonym. I was advised I should for a couple of reasons; anonymity and my name was too big for covers. (bet you never thought about that last one, huh.)
Well. in the end I decided, after days of playing with names, to keep my own. It took me enough time to adopt my married name, I wasn't prepared to give it up just yet.
So, dismissing the 'too big for a cover' theory, I kept my name.
Do I regret this? Nah. I have conducted many library author chats with press being my friend, having my own name, being a community member helped getting the word out. My facebook is littered with community members and because I primarily write YA/NA it is also filled with participating teens.
But here is the thing...I can't write taboo, erotic, highly explicit anything for ALL of the above reasons. So to write a R-18+ book, I had to make up a whole new identity. This was fun and amazing to see different doors open, different readership and bloggers. The downside, it stays pretty quiet who this alter ego is. Not only that, but only 'one of us' can write a book at a time. This means one load of readers have to wait and not many understand why.
I average #2 books a year. This also means I have to break it down to #1 per ego.
If you have been wondering why I have been so quiet; this is why.
I now know how Superman, Batman, Spiderman feel like. There are so many things that make  it hard to have an alter ego; facebook- you have to log out and log back in as different user. My God that's annoying. Blogs, bloggers, messages, promo, GAHHHH
Exhausted and under the pressure I feel I need to tell the world.

But that never turns out for the superheroes, now does it?!

The good news for you, me...whatever, is that the second book to NEVER GOODBYE is on the go. Cover Reveal is coming this month. Get ready because there will be sales and freebies.

Happy reading.
Kez

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