Pen Name Versus Real Name
Yep, Collette Cameron is a pen name, my pseudonym … my nom de plume. (Ooh, that’s a lovely way of saying it!)
Originally, I was going to write under my real name, but to tell you the truth, it’s not a very exciting name. My first name is the heroine in a well-known fairytale that involves lost boys and a little fairy flitting about.
Okay, that’s only part of the truth.
I write Regency romance, and yes, there are spicy bits in my romances.
I’m also a teacher. Parents’ aren’t too terribly keen on their kiddo’s teacher being a romance novelist. There are exceptions of course. One of my biggest fans is a parent I adore, but then again, I’ve never been her child’s teacher.
Collette is actually my middle name. It rhymes with my sisters’ middle names: Minette and Georgette.
No, I’m not kidding; I wish I was.
Ironically, my stepmother’s middle name is Annette, and my heroine’s name in Highlander’s Hope is Yvette. That latter was actually unintentional. I just liked the name Yvette.
Hmm, my subconscious may have been working overtime.
My maternal grandparents surname was Cameron. Cameron is Scot’s, and Highlander’s Hope is set in Scotland. So is The Earl’s Enticement, my current work in progress. I’ve another six-book highlander saga fermenting in my brain too. It was only natural that I choose a Scot’s surname for my pen name.
And yes, I do like the alliteration Collette Cameron creates. It took me a bit to learn to respond to Collette. It took some of my family and friends longer to figure out that Collette Cameron wasn’t some creeper stalking them on Facebook.
I do like the anonymity of a pen name, not only for me personally, but for my family. It adds an element of safety too. I don’t want some of my Twitter followers or Facebook fans knowing what my real name is. Most people on social media are fabulous and harmless, but I’ve had some awkward and uncomfortable experiences, one just a few days ago.
I’ve been toying with a new pseudonym for another genre I’m thinking about dabbling in–Camron Coletti.
Hey … I can hear you laughing–
