Hello hello my darlings! I cannot believe we’re nearing the end of June! Already! And… I’m going to be … older! However! The important person here today is Soren Summers! Yes! Another first time guest to ALBTALBS! So much fun and goodness this month! Everyone give Soren a warm welcome!

On Pride and Pen Names

When I was younger – much younger, way before I knew I could, or would ever write fiction – I wondered why people would ever want to hide behind a pseudonym. Isn’t your writing something to be universally proud of? The pen name, as it was, stood to me as a symbol of shame, even of cowardice.

Yet here I am today, struggling in my thirty-somethings to make a living off of pulling stories out of thin air and pressing them into little books that I fervently hope people will enjoy. And I do it all from behind the safety of a pseudonym. Initially I wanted to go with what I thought was the gayest pen name I could come up with: Apollo Summers. Interestingly, that alias had already been snatched up by a male entertainer based in Kentucky. Good for him. Continue reading →