Oh de plume
Being a gregarious hermit means I have moments of friendly banter mixed with overpowering needs to keep myself to myself. This is why I hide behind my plumey of Cricket Muse. I chirp when in the mood, and spend the rest of the time ensconced thoughtfully in my little world of teaching, reading, and writing.
I have played around with what my pen name should actually be. So far I’ve been published under three. The Chicken Soup people wouldn’t let me publish my essay on “Piece of Quiet” as Cricket Muse–too, umm, cute. They did relinquish under my compromise of C. Muse. Friends and family responded with “why”? As in why not use my real name. I guess I could have used my own name, but where’s the mystery in that? I am in good company. Look at these wonderful authors and their real names. See–it worked for them.
Name Nom de plume
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Anne Bronte–Acton Bell
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Benjamin Franklin–Alice Addertongue
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Anton Chekov–Antosha Chekhonte
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Charles Dickens–Boz
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C.S. Forester–Cecil Smith
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C.S. Lewis–Clive Hamilton
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Charlotte Bronte–Currier Bell
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Washington Irving–Diedrich Knickerbocker
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Ray Bradbury–Douglas Spalding
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L. Frank Baum–Edith Van Dyne
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Emily Bronte–Ellis Bell
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Eric Arthur Blair–George Orwell
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Georges Remi–Herge
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James Alfred Wight —James Herriot
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Michael Crichton-–John Lange
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Daniel Handler–Lemony Snicket
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Agatha Christie–Mary Westmacott
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Edna St. Vincent Millay–Nancy Boyd
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Isaac Asimov–Paul French
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Hector Hugh Munro–Saki
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Stanley Martin Lieberman–Stan Lee
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Victoria Lucas–Sylvia Plath
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Francois-Marie Arouet–Voltaire
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William S. Burroughs–William Lee
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Vladimir Sirin–Vladimir Nabokov
While I figure out under what name my masterpiece shall be published, I will keep playing with possibilities. I found the nifty pseudonym generator. So far I like:
Dewey Raferty
Grange Moser
Dalli Easton
Here: give it spin and see what you come up with…and do share it you get a doozer.
Pam Webb 
Wow, I knew some of these, but I didn’t realize about the others.
Dalli Easton sounds cool.
I did not know that Agatha Christie was not her real name. I can’t decide how I feel about that – I think I’m kind of sad! Grange Moser sounds like a Victorian. I tried the name generator – fun! I got Nev Dong (no), Dorian Marcus (lovely) and Pietrek Mineo (favourite).
Pietrek sounds like a contemporary of Chekov. Nice–now where’s the novel to go with the name?
I like Grange Moser. You could write anything with a name like that.
Mostly westerns. In fact, that name conjures up country western tunes.
I can totally relate to this entire post. I’ve been a ghost writer for years so I’m used to seeing a different name attached to my words. Now that I’m publishing, I’m on the fence about using my own name vs my pen name. I think a larger part of me will go with my pen, December Monologue 🙂
I like Dalli Easton! So neat to learn so many of these names. Had no idea!