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Pen name. Pseudonym. Nom de plume. Going incognito. When you’ve named the voices in your head (“there is no Dana, only Zool”).
Pen names are nothing new; writers from Samuel L. Clemens (AKA Mark Twain) to Stephen King (AKA Richard Bachman) to Stanley Lieber (AKA Stan Lee) have used them. Truth be told, my given name isn’t Bradley St Paul. I used a blending of my actual names, though my first name is actually Brad.
Why would I need a pen name? I would love to use my real name; God knows I would have a larger initial platform to cull pity from. It’s not like I’m a children’s book writer who suddenly wants to start filming X rated movies. And I’m pretty sure I don’t suffer from schizophrenia or multiple personalities; I mean, I used to talk to myself, but me and the son of a bitch had a falling out years ago.
What I do have is a full time, supervisory job, which could get complicated given the nature of my writing. Yes, I’ve written a vampire novel, but not the type you’d let your 12-year-old daughter read… there’s less glitter and more internal combustion.
Brad