Well, it’s finally happened. I’m going into my second decade as a published author, and it’s time to take a pseudonym. Enter Jesse Hayworth! That’s my real first name and a combination of my Grampie’s surname and my own unpronounceable married name. And, well, it’s got the word ‘hay’ in it, which makes me smile, especially since I’m writing dude ranch romances J.
There are a ton of reasons why an author might take a pen name, including privacy concerns, difficulties with spelling or pronunciation, wanting not to ‘fess up to your mother-in-law …
For me, the pseudonym is designed to let readers know what they’re going to be getting. Where Jessica Andersen writes paranormal romances and romantic suspense with lots of running, screaming, and sexytimes, Jesse Hayworth writes gentler, funnier books about a Wyoming cattle station-turned-dude-ranch. So rather than create confusion … voila! Jesse Hayworth.
Jesse has less of a dirty mind than Jessica, though she still makes plenty of cringe-inducing typos. She’s also twenty pounds heavier, and far more likely to post cute animal pictures on her Facebook and Twitter feeds. And beyond that … Well, we’ll have to see how things evolve, won’t we?
So, anyway, that’s my rather scattered intro to the new me. I hope you’ll poke around the new website, check out the excerpts, and (pretty please) pre-order the new stories. Also, keep me in mind every Monday, and check back here for blog updates.
But back to the pseudonym idea … I’ve told you how Jesse Hayworth came into being, but there are lots of ways to come up with pen names. Say, for example, using your porn star name! This, for those of you who don’t know, is composed of the name of your first pet plus the street name of your childhood home.
Mine is Tilly Broadway, which totally works. My hubby’s is Coast Guard Magdelena, which doesn’t so much. What’s yours?
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