Last week I reviewed Pursuit by Elizabeth Jennings. Katie(babs) left a comment on that post saying that Elizabeth Jennings is also known as Lisa Marie Rice. I’d heard a rumor that EJ was LMR, but wasn’t sure until KB confirmed it.
But that got me thinking about some of my favorite authors and how they write under different names, mostly for different sub-genres. Lisa Marie Rice/Elizabeth Jennings is hardly the first to write under a different pseudonym.
Elizabeth Hoyt just released her first contemporary novel, which she wrote under the pen name Julia Harper.
J.R. Ward writes category romances under the name Jessica Bird.
Sherrilyn Kenyon writes historicals as Kinley MacGregor.
Jayne Ann Krentz writes under like 5 other pen names, including Jayne Castle and Amanda Quick.
Even Nora Roberts writes under J.D. Robb for her futuristic mystery/romance In Death series.
What I’m wondering is how you, the fans, feel about that. Do you have a problem when your favorite author starts writing under a different pen name? Does it bother you if they don’t announce it? For example: I didn’t know LMR was writing as EJ until after I’d gotten the book. And I wasn’t even positive until KB confirmed it for me. Do you think she should have announced it? Like, maybe on her website (if she had one)? Or does it bother you when an author tries to sell a new genre to his/her existing fans by announcing, “A B Author writing as B C Author”? Or does it not matter to you in the slightest?
Inquiring minds and all that…
I think that romance authors who also write YA should consider using a different name for their YA so that a young person doesn’t see their name on a book and accidently pick it up without realizing that it is most definitely NOT YA. Katie MacAlister – Katie Maxwell does this effectively. However, I realize that it would be a difficult decision for an established romance author since it is their original name that people are most familiar with.
Other than YA, I think using two names makes sense in many cases. Case in point- if I pick up a J.R. Ward I’m going to assume I’m getting paranormal, specifically a BDB story. So, I’d probably be confused if I saw her name on a category romance.
Having said all that, though. I’m not convinced that Jayne Ann Krentz really needs 5 pen names. And Elizabeth Lowell and Ann Maxwell probably don’t BOTH need to exist anymore.
Good point about the YA thing, Bev. I hadn’t really considered that side of it..I was more thinking along the erotica/mainstream romance line, because I believe LMR writes strictly erotica, doesn’t she?
I agree that I’d like clarification if an author is going from YA to straight romance.
And no, probably JAK doesn’t need five pen names…..
Okay, I’m going to kick myself when you tell me. But I’ve been through this post and our comments three times and STILL can’t figure out who LMR is. ::blushes::
GAK!! Never mind… Lisa Marie Rice… DOH!
I’ve never read anything of hers so I don’t know if she’s only erotic or not.
I think they should definitely let us know they start writing under a different pen name. It’s only appropriate to let their readers know.
But 5 pen names? Now that’s taking it a bit too far.
You know what, I’m fine with it. I know Toni Blake wasn’t very upfront about being Lacey Alexander for a long time. True, it was one of the worst-kept secrets, but she had what she felt were valid reasons for not broadcasting that information, and I think that’s her choice. I guess if you’re writing traditional romance under one name and hot & heavy erotic romance under another, that’s your decision whether or not to share it with the general public.
For one, thing, not all readers may be as open and understanding. Maybe they don’t want their family, friends, and/or co-workers to know if they write in a certain genre (i.e. erotica). Not all writers necessarily want to be in the public eye, believe it or not. So if a writer decides not to broadcast that information, that’s entirely up to them.
This is an interesting topic. In a way, it’s the author treating herself as a ‘brand.’ So the name changes so you know you’ll get a different thing. Like, Pepsi owns Dr. Pepper, but they wouldn’t call it spicy pepsi. Though actually, that sounds kind of good. Am I being coherent?
It’s interesting about the family thing, too. I think if I was an author and I had all kinds of nieces and nephews and other relatives I wanted to hide my erotica side from, I might go for a different pen name, knowing readers are savvy enough to “get it.” But what is the balance of secrecy for savvy readers to get vs being public? Maybe it depends on who you’re trying to shield, so to speak.
I think I’d only change my name if I was writing erotica and YA. I don’t understand why you’d need to write under two different names but I don’t care that they do.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, I don’t care what name they write under as long as the books are good.
hi there 😀 very interesting topic 😀 It doesn’t really matter to me and if they chose to write under a different name, it makes sense not to announce it no? I mean, otherwise, why not just write under your own name? Of course, it makes it a bit more difficult to me to get all the books…
Also, I don’t think it’s strictly related to the genre either. For example, Nora Roberts. I heard that she was so productive that it was her agent or publisher that propose an alias… so they could publish more books or something like that.
Holly! I stand corrected because Elizabeth Jennings is Lisa Marie Rice!! I looked on the Amazon message board when Dangerous Lover came out and she responded to someone’s question about the book. This is what she said on May 30, 2007
Elizabeth Jennings says:
Hi — I’m Lisa Marie Rice. I’m really sorry that I don’t have a web site, I might one day, but if you knew what it took for me to claw out the time for writing and if you realized how time-consuming a family of Italian males is, you’d understand, and forgive.
there are excerpts of Dangerous Lover floating around, but I could certainly send a sample chapter if you’d like. it’s perhaps the most romantic of all my novels.
I think Avon is doing quite a bit of promoting — sending off ARCs for reviews, ads in magazines, online promotion etc.
anyway, thanks for being a fan. i do love writing erotic romance and do so love it when what I write strikes a chord in readers’ hearts.
thanks! Lisa Marie Rice
*wipes sweat off* my investigative skills are still good 😀