Okay, this isn’t a very serious blog. I sent my novel in yesterday, drank a glass of wine to celebrate, and I’m not in a very serious mood today:) But I’ve been thinking about author names lately. I stumbled on two author names on Amazon that had to be fake, made up to fit the style of their writing. The names were so contrived, I didn’t take their books seriously–(so I’m not going to share them, but it would be like a romance writer calling herself Frisky Delight).
When I wrote urban fantasy, I used my “author” name–Judith Post. When I switched to romances, my agent suggested using a pen name. So, I took the beginning of my name–Judi–and added my middle name–Lynn. No one calls me by either. Everyone uses Judy. But, my good friend M.L. Rigdon made my day by coming up with a nickname for me–KG–for Kitchen Goddess. Now who wouldn’t like a title like that?
I’ve been feeling a little more frisky in the kitchen lately. (Uh-oh, there’s that word “frisky” again. Sorry). But I want to come up with some good recipes to send with my mystery manuscripts, so I’ve been experimenting a little more than usual. It’s my sister Patty’s birthday this weekend, and she usually goes to a nice restaurant for it, so I invited her and my sister Mary and cousin Jenny here for supper to celebrate with us tonight. She asked for pork tenderloin sandwiches (an Idiana classic), corn on the cob, and a pineapple/cucumber salsa. And she couldn’t decide on strawberry cake or lemon meringue pies–so I made both. Spent a fun day cooking:)
I don’t know if these are Kitchen Goddess worthy, but I hope they taste good.
I read a book once that claimed that each of us chooses our own name before we’re born, and the letters in our name, along with our birth date, add up to help decide our life’s destiny. So there might be more in a name than we realize. If that’s true, I just critiqued a VERY GOOD manuscript by an author who must be an excellent writer, because her name is Judith Lynn, too:) She writes as J L Walker https://www.amazon.com/J-L-Walker/e/B01CAWLX9M/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_8?qid=1532721638&sr=1-8. If you like thriller romances, you might want to check her out.
I’m thinking most of us choose our author name, hoping it sounds like we might be a good writer. We might take those as seriously as we take choosing the right name for the characters in our stories. Anyway, whatever your name and birth date, I hope they add up to a great writing week for you. May the words (good ones) flow!
Judi Lynn 
congrats! and i get the name thing. i was born susan beth and my parents had it changed to beth susan when i was 2. explains a lot about my confusion in life perhaps? ) i had a childhood nickname of peaches, which i reclaimed when i became a grandmother and my grandies all call me that now, along with my sons in law and friends at times. long ago, i decided my pen name for cheesy romance novels would be rebecca hunter, but haven’t written one yet, nor do i have one planned. names are so interesting….
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I’ve never heard of parents changing a child’s name when the child turned two. So interesting! And I love the nickname Peaches! Hope you get to use your pen name sometime.
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Me either and thanks!
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Congratulations on sending in your novel! Raising my glass to you! (And, OMG, the birthday food looks delicious. I’d call you “KG” but it comes out sounding like “Cagey” which seems like an insult, which I absolutely DO NOT want it to sound like.)
I had never heard that about names. That’s really interesting, and now I wonder what my name says about me. (I wonder about my pen names, too, especially given my publisher picked them instead of me.)
I’m off to check out the JL Walker book. Thanks for the recommendation. And happy weekend!
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I loaned my book with birth dates and names & meanings to someone and never got it back. I take that as a compliment. They must have liked it. And I kind of like the idea of being cagey. That way, people shouldn’t underestimate me:)
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Congratulations on sending off the novel.That has to feel like gold!
And those pies look delicious. Your nickname of Kitchen Goddess is well deserved.
Interesting about names and pen names. I’m an uber private person and when I made the decision to publish, I didn’t want to be on the web/social media as “me.” My parents were so supportive of my writing and my desire to be a published author from the time I was a child. Both have since passed on, but I decided to honor them with my pen name. I took my mother’s middle name “Mae” and my father’s middle name “Clair” and Mae Clair was born 🙂
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Wow! I never knew Mae Clair was a pen name. I think it’s neat that you used your parents’ names. Everyone was supportive of my writing, too. On bad days, you need that encouragement.
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You’re kidding. Pies and food not serious? And speaking of peaches, it’s that time of year and I’ve been binging on them.
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You’re such a healthy eater! So many fruits and vegetables. It’s July 30. Happy Book Birthday to you!!!! To Jilt A Corinthian by Julia Donner is finally here.
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Congratulations on your writing achievement! What a good feeling to see a project sent off to the publisher! Those pies look luscious! Anytime someone bakes a luscious-looking pie, I consider that a great achievement too! ‘Happy to know you!
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Thank you. And likewise. Did you happen to look at the Summit City Scribes Facebook page? I added a list of our members’ books.
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