Pen Names

There's been some talk around the blog circuit on pen names. Yes, of course I wanted a pen name, I'm a scorpio. We like secrets and hidden stuff.

And the pen name issue was a biggie for me. I wanted Rowen Powers. My family laughed. Passing your first book contract around the dinner table (so Mom knows that you weren’t lying for the last eight years when you ducked out of family stuff saying you were going to write), and having your family LAUGH, oh, the trauma. This is especially bad when teens and children laugh...

So I decided to go with Robin Owens but the website had been snatched up. Apparently a guy had purchased the name for his sister's boyfriend as a gift, but then the sister and her boyfriend broke up... (yes, with an androgynous name like mine I can get interesting mail). I got the call in January (coming up on 5 years, I'll let you know) and wanted the website up as soon as possible since the book was coming out in December (the website went up in March). When the guy didn't get back to me, I called my editor and said that I needed the initial D. in the title.

Problem is I’d used my middle initial for years in my legal signature (recently changed)...and there is the identity theft issue.

I have considered other names (family names, made up names), waiting in the wings, most particularly if I decide to write in other genres, and no, because I’m a scorpio, I won’t tell you.

Having given it some thought, I still wish I'd gone with Rowen (today).

May your writing go smoothly and may you have no name crises for your characters or yourself today.
Robin