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Notes from a Sub-divided Psyche, or a Rose by Any Other Name…
Mention a major author’s name and it’s almost like naming their genre. Grisham – legal thrillers. King – horror/thriller. Koontz the same. Christie – mystery. Patterson – mystery/thriller. Brennan – romantic thriller. Roberts – romance. The list goes on. To be taken without prejudice in another genre, most authors have decided to take another name and persona for that genre to avoid disappointing/confusing their established readership. It’s called branding.
Not that I am anywhere near being a major author, but if I have to take a pseudonym for every genre I write… Ack! I don’t know if there are that many names!
The simple truth is that I get bored writing the same genre all the time, and if the writer is bored, you can bet the reader will be too. Not good, and something I have tried most assiduously to avoid, both for the reader’s sake as well as my own.
Mention a major author’s name and it’s almost like naming their genre. Grisham – legal thrillers. King – horror/thriller. Koontz the same. Christie – mystery. Patterson – mystery/thriller. Brennan – romantic thriller. Roberts – romance. The list goes on. To be taken without prejudice in another genre, most authors have decided to take another name and persona for that genre to avoid disappointing/confusing their established readership. It’s called branding.
Not that I am anywhere near being a major author, but if I have to take a pseudonym for every genre I write… Ack! I don’t know if there are that many names!
The simple truth is that I get bored writing the same genre all the time, and if the writer is bored, you can bet the reader will be too. Not good, and something I have tried most assiduously to avoid, both for the reader’s sake as well as my own.
For example, novels of mine available now are THE FAIR AMAZON (just released this week) and SECOND CHANCE, both traditional English Regency romances from Awe-Struck Ebooks. PASSION’S CHOICE, a sensual time-travel romance set in Ancient Egypt, and THE OTHER HALF OF YOUR HEART, a contemporary romantic mystery adventure set in my old home town of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, both available from Red Rose Publishing. DARK MUSIC and ECHOES IN THE DARK, two traditional gothic suspenses set in the 1960s from Vintage Romance Publishing. And lastly, what is probably the book of my heart, a memoir written in a postmortem collaboration with my late mother called THE LAND OF HEART’S DELIGHT, published by Swimming Kangaroo Books.
I think that’s all.
Oh, and I have a children’s book coming out (as of now) in January or February of 2010 called DANNY AND THE DUST BUNNIES. For once my bad housekeeping came in handy!
About all I’ve missed is straight horror and straight mystery, but I’ve written both and am currently shopping them around.
While I admire those who can write one genre consistently, I don’t see how they do it. I won’t even attempt it. Simply keeping track of their pseudonyms and attendant personalities must be a fairly full-time job! I’ll just keep using Janis Susan May for everything and worry about using another name when I get rich and famous.
With one exception. My husband is a big mystery buff, so I’ve decided for several reasons that when I start selling in straight mystery I’ll use the name Janis Patterson. It will honor him… and, with any luck at all, it will get me shelved next to James Patterson! You’re known by the company you keep.
1 comments:
Interesting points, Janis. I get confused using my maiden name as a pseudonym. I'd be on medication with so many different identities! Good luck with your writing, and thanks for sharing your thoughts. And thank you, Rose Marie, for bringing us this interview.
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