Split Personality aka: Writing With a Pen Name
Today's guest post comes from a fellow word nerd, Donna Schlachter, who has a new book out entitled: Echoes of the Heart. Donna and I both write for Forget Me Not Romance (Champion Chocolatier's Indie Press) and I told her I'd be more than happy to spread the word about her most recent project. Echoes of the Heart is part of The Pony Express Romance Collection. All 9 stories in the collection are available in paperback now on Amazon for only $7.90.
Donna is talking with us today (actually talking with herself) about the task of writing under two different names... her own and a pen name. It is an interesting concept that many authors consider and I found this conversation both helpful and amusing. I'll let you listen in for yourself...
Leeann, my alter ego, and I were chatting the other day.
She wanted to know why I created her.
“I was writing and hoping to publish in two different genres: historical suspense and contemporary suspense. I didn’t want to confuse my readers by writing in different genres,” I answered.
“How did you pick my name?” She wondered aloud.
“My husband’s middle name is Lee, his mother’s middle name is Ann, and my mother’s nickname in nursing school was Betts.”
“Isn’t making up a name illegal?”
“Not unless I’m trying to avoid a legal claim or defraud somebody.”
She chewed on her bottom lip, a funny habit she has. “How do you keep us straight?”
I smiled at her. “First of all, you’re cute and perky and all the things I’m not. Second, you write different stories than I write.”
“Such as?”
“Most of my historical suspense are stories about women who have made some bad choices, and now they want to straighten out their lives. Your stories are about stronger, quirkier women who are driven to excel.”
“Sounds like you,” she complimented.
Now it was my turn to chew my bottom lip. Maybe she inherited that trait from me. “But the women you write about don’t know they are strong. Or quirky. And the women I write about are just like me. Hoping it’s true that God is a God of second chances. And finding out He is.”
“So we’re different but the same?”
I patted her on the head like she was an obedient puppy. “Exactly.”
So what do you think? Are you interested in playing the pen name game? Just for fun, write your would-be-pen-name in the comments below! For extra fun, tell us what genre this new persona would tackle.
Until next Wednesday, Happy writing,
Amanda
Author bio:
Donna lives in Denver with husband Patrick, her first-line editor and biggest fan. She writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts. She is a hybrid publisher who has published a number of books under her pen name and under her own name. Her current release, Echoes of the Heart, a 9-in-1 novella collection titled "Pony Express Romance Collection" released April 1. Donna is also a ghostwriter and editor of fiction and non-fiction, and judges in a number of writing contests. She will be teaching an online course for American Christian Fiction Writers in June 2017, “Don’t let your subplots sink your story”. Donna loves history and research, and travels extensively for both.
Get in touch with Donna via any of the following social media platforms.
www.HiStoryThruTheAges.wordpress.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DonnaschlachterAuthor
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/DonnaSchlachter
Books: http://amzn.to/2ci5Xqq
Echoes of the Heart: http://amzn.to/2lBaqcW