Sunday, October 21, 2007

Pseudonyms

I've had a multitude of nicknames over the years. All of them have great stories behind them. Only one of them was to protect my identity. I wasn't doing anything to be ashamed of or embarrassed by, but not everyone shared my views so it was wise to have a separate identity. I've relaxed those restrictions considerably over the years, torn between the ideas of safety and that if I believe it, I should stand behind it.

My friend Elen Grey and I spent a delightful afternoon sitting on the patio of Zooma Zooma discussing this very topic. Certain genres demand pen names. Erotica is the obvious choice but it's not the only one. I wonder if it's not just good business practice as well. There are some people who have trouble differentiating between fiction and real life. The Internet has made anonymity much more difficult.

The conversation with Elen about writing pseudonym led to a google search on my birth name. I already knew from an incident with border guards that there was another woman in my town with the same name as me. The identity mix-ups have caused a few hiccups over the years. According to google, there are plenty of us throughout the United States and Canada, serving life in many different capacities.

When I google Keziah Fenton, the only reference is my own. From 70 Days of Sweat. When I sent the email asking to have my blog linked to Sven's, I used the email account with that name. It's fitting. I'm about as serious and dedicated about a writing career as I have ever been. It's time to start as I mean to go.

Keziah was a ghost who led me to many adventures in other realms. I write paranormal. Fenton was the surname of my great-grandfather. I sat at his knee, enthralled by his gentle burr relating tales of his Scottish homeland. He was a grand storyteller, was Alec Fenton. I hope I do him justice.

On another note, I've edited/revised/rewritten 12 pages of Alex and Nea's story and plotted three pages of Bracken's since I started sweating with Sven on Wednesday. I haven't done anything yet today. But I have a Write off the Deep End meeting this afternoon. I'll likely surpass my daily word count after that.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:47 PM

    You did some good sweatin' with Sven, Ms. Keziah. Keep it up! You know, from our conversations this summer, how much I love the name Keziah Fenton. Grin. It's neat that the Fenton comes from your great-grandfather. Tis a braw name is Alec Fenton!

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  2. Here's a link to bracken fern:
    http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/ferns/pteridiumaqui.html

    I've laid low about bracken fern since I don't know much about it. It's not listed in my book on Southern-growing plants. However, it seems to be ok. It's required pH is a bit above what's around here. Birches grow here just fine. The bracken fern grows really tall, but would probably grow shorter under the semi-shade of a birch. Most ferns grow quite nicely under birches.

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  3. Anonymous2:53 PM

    My daughter was born to the name of Fenton but dropped it for 70 days of sweat - glad to see someone else using it instead.

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