A Rose by Any Name Would Sound like Smut

I just turned in my second adult novel, a holiday romance and with it I end one chapter of my writing career and start another. I’ve always written under my real name, Shanna Miles. I write books for children, specifically books with whimsy and magic and fantasy with Black main characters that remind me of the child I was and the children I serve as a school librarian. It’s all very approriate and family friendly and I could do a read aloud in any space on the planet. However, now that I’ve decided to dip my toe into romance that has changed.

I’ve always wanted to write books for every age, from picture books to literary fiction. I want a career like Neil Gaiman before he decided to be creepy. I want the reach of JK Rowling before she lost her mind. I want my literary reach to be boundless but that doesn’t mean that I want to be found. At least not by my students. So how do I thread the needle for a certain level of anonymity, but still be able to reach my intended audiences? A pen name.

It’s a time honored tradition. Nora Roberts publishes under JD Robb. Agatha Christie, famed for her mysteries wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott. Anne Rice didn’t just write vampire novels, she dipped her toe into erotica, if you can believe it and published under Anne Rampling.

Pen names allow authors to escape being pigeonholed or to avoid market saturation, which is a crazy concept. People will just get tired of seeing your name and want something new. Tons of authors will talk at length about how they lost some of their luster and advance money once they were no longer debut authors. Everyone wants something shiny and new, but you can trick the public. You can go home again and become another person. Like Dr. Who, you can transform. Not that you get so many chances to do it. I’ve only seen authors with two or maybe even three pen names, but it does give you some wiggle room.

So look out for some announcements soon! I have so many things up my sleeve.