Ooh, Phili, I love that idea! Sounds great!

And, by the way, I just decided on a pen name {that is quite similar to my actual one}: Kiara Shore.

How do y'all like it?

I like it.

*didn't know Zoe wasn't, er, Zoe's real name*

Um, I am planning on not using my last name because I sort of, um, have a last name that is a girl's first name, Joyce, hence I can't really use it because of the confusion

eru

Most people don't know, unless they happen to be in the right place at the right time.

I don't think that would be all that confusing.

To begin with, there's a precedence in Joyce Kilmer. (Although, granted, I thought he was a girl at first.) Second, if your first name is clearly a boy's name than you last name won't really affect it. Joyce Andrews would be dubious, and most would think it was a girl, but Andrew Joyce isn't really....

Just my two cents. I like your pen name just fine.

Ooh, Ooh, I know, I know! hehe... your last name is awesome! *stops derailing*

I think it looks great, but the phonetics of Kee-a-ra (don't know if that's right, or even how to write phonetics) might mean you have to spell it if you are ever interviewed on a podcast, or someone might forget how to spell it when they are typing your name in a search engine. I always try to make pen names and website names such that there isn't confusion over spelling based on how it is heard.

What do you all think when you read Timothy C. Ward? Does it sound too formal and stuffy? I'd prefer Tim Ward, but can't. T.C. Ward is another option.

Timothy C. Ward sounds fine to me. It doesn't sound too formal or stuffy. I could see it written on the cover of a book quite easily.

Have you considered T.C. Ward?

I just came up with a pen name that is a spin-off of my real name... Let me know what you think: Elizabeth of the Kirk in the Woods.

Very nice But somewhat long

eru

Shawn ~ for some *strange* reason, it lacks that certain ring to it that I like to have in a name...



That's very wise advice. Hm. You got the pronunciation right, though. And I'm don't think there are very many ways to pronounce "Kiara." However, it's not an immediately pronounceable name, perhaps. Hm... *brain spins around a while*

How likely is it that people would be hearing your pen name aloud? Also, how literal is "word-of-mouth" communication?

I pronounced Kiara: Kee-ar-uh. ><

@Evenstar - while I like the ring of it, I agree that "Kiara" is slightly obscure. It also sounds somewhat young, inexperienced - like a teenager. Is this a name you can grow into? When you're 30 and are trying to write books for adults, are you still going to want to be youthful, fanciful "Kiara"? "Shore" is a great last name, though.

@Huey - I agree. I've always thought "Andrew Joyce" was a great name. Not confusing at all. Authorly. Not too young and not too stuffy. Classic.

@Tim - I think Timothy C. Ward sounds just fine. Timothy is a very classic name, something that won't become outdated or outgrown.


Where should we start said pen name index? A Google Doc spreadsheet might be best.

How would you evaluate Kitra Skene?

It sounds like it comes from a foreign language. And if it does, that's one thing. (There is something to be said for ethnic names, if you have one and want to keep that identity.)

However, in English, both "Kitra" and "Skene" are obscure, to me. Not impossible to pronounce, but unusual. If you're concerned about people being able to spell it just from hearing it, that might be an issue.

For me, personally, "Kitra Skene" sounds like a character from a fantasy novel. A really great and unique name, but too fanciful for an author's name.

(Interestingly, I chose the Danish spelling of "Hansen" (instead of the English "Hanson") because my real last name is Danish. I don't think the "sen" will be a major trip-up... but people misspell my real last name all the time. Too late to change it now, though!)

Good points... *ponders* I'll keep digging, then.

I chose it for the base language and meaning. I decided to only mention my pen middle name sometimes.

*curious* What language is it? What does it mean? Forgive me if you already said that somewhere in this thread...

My penname doesn't have a middle name...

I don't think yours needs one, Philly.

That's what I figured. "Aubrey Hansen" is how I will display it, always, so I hoped I wouldn't have to think of a middle name! Because I have no idea what it would be if I needed one...

Leah.

Hey, Bushy, mine too! *shudders* And everyone pronounces it wrong. *groans* If I published under it I would be very... 'trackable'. Something I don't particularly want as there are relatively few people around with the same surname. We're all related to the same great-grandparents. For that reason I'll probably publish under a pen name. Especially as my novel themes are controversial and I don't want my relations laden with a bad reputation.

Agreed. Kiara's out, then. *Looks through US census for female names*

What do y'all think of Sienna? And can anyone come up with a suitable last name to match?



It counts, Miri, not to worry! Seriously, it hardly makes any difference in pronunciation... It's just the "Kee" part that's important.


eru ~ You know, "Joyce" is a *very* famous author's name - James Joyce! I don't suppose you're related? {inevitable question, yes}

Well I can't tell you exactly what it means or the language because they're the same as my real name and I don't want to give it away... But Kitra has something to do with royalty, Talise has something to do with God and Skene has something to do with skills. Hope that's descriptive.

I knew Zoe wasn't your real name.

Good discussion, guys. I've always leaned more towards the real name, for reasons already stated by people. But I like seeing both sides of the discussion. Thanks for starting this thread, Jonathan.

@Jonathan

@Evenstar - what about Sierra? That's common enough that people will know how to spell it just from the sound. It's pretty close to Sienna, but unique enough, IMO. Depends on the feel you're going for, though.

I don't think I'll use a pen name... my sister might though... (200th post for me)

My pen middle name is Mathias...if I didn't mention that already...little connection to my real name.

Luke Mathias Alistar. Looong story behind where it came from.

Luke, this is HolyWorlds. We live, eat, and breath long stories.

Well said, Aussie.

Your pen-name-middle-name flows nicely, Luke. You've also chosen to use your middle name, or middle initial, when crediting your works. Me, I won't use a middle name, ever, so I don't need one. Every author has a style, and most of them have an established way they "display" their name/pen-name. Like J. R. R. Tolkien. That's how he's best known, because that's the way he chose to abbreviate his name.

Want the long story? Okay. I'm concise so it might end up shorter than you'd expect...but sure.

When I was fifteen, we started going to a new church. There was a girl there who I liked, and it was right around the time when I started writing. So I did a lot of writing, thinking someday I might create something worthwhile and catch her attention.

Her name is Lucy (we're friends now and she's practically engaged to a cool guy), so in my first series of books (The Three Gadgeteers), I created a character named Lucy. Her last name starts with A and is five letters long...so I gave my character the last name Allen. Lucy's middle name is Marie, my character got the middle name Mariah.

She's in two of the four novellas I wrote, and they're really bad, but I learned a lot while writing them, especially about love. In the stories, Lucy Allen is a journalist, and when she meets the Three Gadgeteers (Mathew Montana, Steven Thompson, and Jacob Montana...named after me and my brothers), they become friends and eventually she starts writing about their incredible adventures. In the books, she's the one who wrote the books, so I had the bright idea to make a pen name of it...L. M. Allen.

Since I'm a guy, though, they obviously had to be boy names. I thought for a bit and decided on Luke, since it's the male form of Lucy (and I love it), and Mathias, since it's another form of Matthew.

Time passed, and I got better at writing and understanding the wild ways of the heart. The Three Gadgeteers passed into the archives of books I'll never publish, but my pen name stuck.

Then I tried to write a huge epic fantasy, and got about 30,000 words into it (my second epic fantasy that got that far before crashing miserably.) The main character was Prince Forlendo, the last prince of the elves. I needed a last name for him, and I really liked all the variations of Alexander...not to mention they mean 'protector of the people.' My brother was hunting for good names in the Bible and found Alistarchus or something like that. I saw that and took the beginning, maybe tweaking the spelling a bit, until I got Alistar.

Forlendo Alistar. It was my first username on here, my second username on the OYAN forum.

Well, when I tossed out that book, I liked the name Alistar so much that I wanted to keep it. But since it started with AL, I saw the similarity to my pen name, and I could keep the initials...so I made Alistar my pen name.

There you go. You're the first people on earth to hear this story. And only three other people know who the girl I liked was...one of them is Lucy herself.

@Luke: Interesting.

I think I've decided to drop the pen name and just go with my real name: A. Andrew Joyce.

And no, I am not related to James Joyce

eru

Wow, Luke... that was very in depth.

@Evenstar - random about "Sienna"... When I read your post the other day, I thought to myself, "Wow, I've never heard of that name before! Huh, spellcheck thinks it's a real word... that's strange... I wonder what I don't know?" Later, at some weird hour, it occurred to me, "Idiot! It's a color! You know, like sienna brown?" So yeah. All of that to say, I think it's a unique name that would fit you. I might also recommend looking at other elegant/earthy names that start with S, as well as K. For some reason, I think those two starting letters would fit your personality well.

And now I shall probably think of you every time I see the word "sienna"...


*goes off to read Luke's long post*

Wow, Luke! That's cool to have such a story behind your pen name! Thanks for telling!

Why thank you, Phili! As a matter of fact, my real name does start with a "k," so I'm not surprised . Yep, Sienna is a color. And it would work really well as a name, too, except...it's rather reddish-brown! But in a similar vein of thought, how do you like Vienna?

And on the actual subject of pen names versus real names, I loved reading your long tale, Luke! That is quite the background!

Italy.

I like Sienna better. I think it's cool.

Austria, actually. Lovely city.

But I still need to come up with a good last name. For either. *drags feet and stares with trepidation at US census*

@Evenstar - Sound of Music? Really, it's a lovely name, and it fits... just not quite as well as Sienna. Vienna is a little stuffier.

Too bad "Sienna Brown" would be corny, because it flows nicely.

I know, right? I was thinking, "Sienna White," "Sienna Gray," ... all these colors intruding on my solitary meditations! And they all sounded so lovely

Oh! Oh! Evenstar! It hit me! What about "Sienna Woods"? Yes? Maybe? Too earthy?

*headdesk*

I was thinking of Venice no doubt... I get all them there V named cities mixed up.

Oooh, I like that!! But is it too... I mean, does it sound... cheesy? No?



Yes indeed - I do it all the time. Verona, Venice, Vienna...

I decided to write under my pen name 'Harvester of Pearls' because I really would like to live more of a private life with no threat of (perhaps?) creepy fans.
If someone was interested in knowing my real name they could look up the what the pen name translates into name wise. (I figured it out on a baby name site.)

I don't know... I'm having trouble wrapping my head around it. But I see what you're saying. Maybe something that rhymes with "wood" instead?

@Estar: What about something like Sienna Cross? (I'm not thinking about the color, just flowage opportunities.)

More ideas:

Sienna Moore
Sienna Reed
Sienna Hayes
Sienna West
Sienna Hart
Sienna Holt
Sienna Massey

Calen!! *huge hug* thanks so much for brainstorming those awesome names!!!

I think I've got a lovely name, but not quite certain yet: Sienna North.

Well?

I like it, Evenstar.

Me too. I think Calen's suggestion of "Sienna West" might flow a TEENY TINY bit better, but both are very lovely.