Tag: pen names

Avoiding Unintended Consequences of Your Self-Publishing Life

author, you are firedI saw a recent article with the headline The Atlanta fire chief who wrote the homophobic book has been fired. When I read this, I thought it might be a good time for a post about some of the unintended consequences that can occur from your self-publishing life, if you don’t use a little forethought when publishing.

Clearly this fire chief wrote the book and intended to keep his job after writing it. However, things went awry because his job considered his content to be in violation of their standards for employees. While I don’t want to debate whether forethought could have prevented the situation that resulted here, I think the case serves as a reminder that the things we write can have unintended consequences if we’re not careful. Continue reading “Avoiding Unintended Consequences of Your Self-Publishing Life”

A Suitable Pseudonym

My alter-ego writes horror.
My alter-ego writes horror.

Why should you consider writing under a pen name?

When I was growing up I was very girly. Ballet, piano lessons, Barbie dolls — these are the fluffy memories of my youth. I also loved the TV show Chiller Theatre, and I spent many happy Saturday nights watching horror cult classics with my older brother. These gems are quite different from the modern slasher movie. The classic horror plot includes elements of the fantastic, the paranormal, and the magical. Many films included a psychological theme of undiagnosed insanity and paranoia. The stark objectivity of black and white cinematography heightened the fear factor. I truly love these films.

I am sure my readers would be surprised to know I have written a piece of fiction that could be categorized as dystopian horror. When I finished with the first draft I was morbidly excited by its darkness and cruelty, but confused as to what to do with it. The author brand I have been working to develop for years is juxtaposed to this story, and I felt it would send a mixed message if I put this on the same author page with stylish, sexy mysteries and tango dancing vampires. Consequently, I put the draft to the side last year and let it brood in its petri dish of cold-hearted carnage. Continue reading “A Suitable Pseudonym”

Gender Bender Again…

Our L.A. Lewandowski is taking the week off to finish her new manuscript. So here is an audience favorite to satisfy your L.A.L. jonesing for this week:  Gender Bender.

And now for something completely different.

Will the real L.A. Lewandowski please stand up?

Am I really who I say I am? None of you have ever met me. Am I a creation of my own making, a project of my inner Pygmalion? Is the face that smiles back at you me, or am I actually an eighty year old Polish woman wearing a babushka smelling invitingly of stuffed cabbage and pierogi? Admit it, you can’t really be sure.

Or can you? There is one thing for certain, my friends, I write like a girl. The color of my cocktail seeps through the pages, pooling into a pretty, pink puddle. It’s delicious, I must admit. I am not able to feel like a man, and I have never wanted to be one. There is only one exception – a cameo as a big, burly hockey player, smashing opponents into the boards and scoring the winning goal. But I digress. Continue reading “Gender Bender Again…”

Gender Bender

And now for something completely different.

Will the real L.A. Lewandowski please stand up?

Am I really who I say I am? None of you have ever met me. Am I a creation of my own making, a project of my inner Pygmalion? Is the face that smiles back at you me, or am I actually an eighty year old Polish woman wearing a babushka smelling invitingly of stuffed cabbage and pierogi? Admit it, you can’t really be sure.

Or can you? There is one thing for certain, my friends, I write like a girl. The color of my cocktail seeps through the pages, pooling into a pretty, pink puddle. It’s delicious, I must admit. I am not able to feel like a man, and I have never wanted to be one. There is only one exception – a cameo as a big, burly hockey player, smashing opponents into the boards and scoring the winning goal. But I digress. Continue reading “Gender Bender”