WRITING INCOGNITO

Jayne Ormerod is not my real name, but there a real person behind the nom de plume (translation: pen name.) Many (okay, most) people ask me, “Why do you write under a pseudonym?"

My first answer is always to assure them I am not running from the law. Or even the taxman. No the decision was much more personal: to be me, or not to be me? That was the question. Obviously, I chose not to be me. 

Here is the reason why... 

Picture this: A family dinner with my active-duty-military husband and twelve-year-old son, sitting on the back deck enjoying the gentle summer breeze. I’d prepared a meal of spicy shrimp scampi and Italian bread smothered with melted cheese, green onions and poppy seeds. After a glass (or three) of a spunky Pinot Grigio, I worked up enough courage to confess my lifelong secret.

The conversation:

Me: “I want to be a writer.”

Them: “That’s great.”

Me: “Actually, I’ve been writing for a few years now.”

Them: Gentle murmurings of encouragement.

Me: “My first short story will be published next month. I’ll be paid $250."

They exchange looks of surprise before offering a celebratory toast.

Husband: “What’s the story about?”

Me: “It’s a romance called ‘Three Little Words’.” <<you can read that story by clicking here>>

Silence. Stillness. Even the no-see-ums stopped humming.

Son (aghast): “You write porn?”

Husband (laying a comforting hand on my arm): “It wouldn’t be good for my career to be married to someone who writes porn.”

Me (shaking my head): “For gawd’s sake, people. Romance is about two people falling in love, not what happens between the sheets.”

Nervous Husband: “Don’t embarrass me.”

Freaked-out Son: “Will we be moving anytime soon? Maybe Andrew’s family can adopt me…”

I sipped my wine while they worked out how to disassociate themselves from me. It soon became apparent the best solution for all concerned would be for me to choose a nom de plume.

As one of the ironies of life, I ended up writing Mystery, not romance. That seems to be perfectly acceptable to all concerned, but too late to change now! 

_____________

Advice to aspiring writers considering a pen name…had I to do it over I would have selected a name that started with the same letter as my real name. Experience has shown that while sipping wine and chatting with readers while signing a book, I invariably start my signature with the first letter of my real name! It is a habit! Perhaps the better advice would be not to drink wine while at a book signing…