Friday, May 9, 2008

Guest Blogger ~ Ariana Dupre'

Hi Title Magicians all. Today we have an amazing lady and author with us. I first heard her, yes, ‘heard’ because I listened to her blog radio show. There was a link on the Passionate Ink forum, and being a radio fan (not to mention curious) I tuned in. Impressively, Ariana Dupre’/Melissa Alvarez interviewed authors and publishers. She also gave a ‘psychic’ reading or two, which, personally, I find even more impressive. Having dabbled in that arena myself and listened to several outstanding psychics over the years, I kinda know what rings true.
Ms. Dupre’ also rings true as a superb author. She is a paranormal author with Cerridwen, and her current novel, the Talgorian Prophecy, is receiving outstanding reviews. One after another! So many it makes my head spin. And, nope, I’m not possessed by an earthbound spirit! Contrary to popular opinion.
Without further adieu...

To Be Or Not To Be…..
That really is the question isn’t it? As authors we can be ourselves or we can be someone else and use a pen name. Since I write under a pen name I thought this would be interesting topic for today but before I start I’d like to thank ya’ll (yep, I’m a Southerner) for having me here today. I thoroughly enjoy your blog and am honored that Savanna asked me to participate as a guest blogger.
I saw that Mai posted about pen names not too long ago (so go check the archives because it’s a great post) and I’d like to add my experience to the mix. Why would an author decide to use a pen name? Well, there are a couple of reasons that I know of:
A) They want to protect their privacy.
B) They don’t want anyone to know what they write because it could adversely affect their day jobs.
C) They are so prolific that no one would believe they could write that many books in a year.
D) They write in multiple genres and don’t want the two confused.
E) And this list could go on and on and on and on like that little pink bunny.
I decided to use a pen name for several reasons. First, I’d worked as the guide to About.com for over a year and a half and I knew a lot of people in the industry. I was also the owner of a publishing company. I wanted my work to stand on its own – to either fail miserably or do well – based solely on the writing and not on my name. As in every industry some people may like you and some may not and I didn’t want the book to be given great reviews because someone liked me or poor reviews because they didn’t so I used a pen name that I’d come up with years earlier. I was fortunate in that the book received rave reviews and won awards – all without anyone knowing my identity. But having a secret pen name is crazy hard! Here’s an example. In 2004 with the original release of Night Visions, I was invited to the Cataromance Reviewer’s Choice Awards chat where they revealed all of the winners. Since I have quite a few authors with New Age Dimensions, I was pretty sure that one of our books was going to receive an award – I just didn’t know which one. So here I am sitting in the chat as Melissa Alvarez, owner of and publisher at New Age Dimensions, when they announced the winner of the Winner of the CataRomance.com Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Single Title Paranormal Romance 2004 – it was Night Visions by Ariana Dupré. I was so shocked that I couldn’t even type for a minute and then when I was able to answer I had to accept on Ariana’s behalf because she wasn’t there. But I really was! LOL Can you imagine – accepting a book of the year award on for yourself and not being able to tell everyone? After that I decided that it was just too hard having a secret identity so I held a contest (which was tons of fun) to reveal Ariana’s true identity. If you decide to go with a secret pen name you have to be prepared to celebrate successes by yourself unless everyone knows you only by that name.
I also write in multiple genres so that was another consideration for me to write under a pen name. I actually have a few. I write paranormal romantic suspense as Ariana Dupre, nonfiction as Melissa Alvarez and am self publishing two children’s books as Jara Jordan. By having multiple pen names people know exactly what they can expect from each of my names (engaging romantic suspense, eye opening nonfiction or fun and educational children’s books) even though it’s not a secret they all of those names belong to me.
When you’re thinking about the pen name that you’d like to use consider why you need one to begin with. Then take advice from Mai’s post and look at the importance of the type of name you choose and it’s marketability. Keeping a pen name secret is hard but it can be done.
Thanks again for having me here today! It’s been great fun.
Smiles,
Melissa Alvarez/Ariana Dupre
Talgorian Prophecy On Sale Now
http://melissaa.com , http://aspsychichaven.com


SIMPLY ROMANCE REVIEWS: TALGORIAN PROPHECY ~ GRADE: A
What would you do if you were a famous psychic and your son was just kidnapped by a ruthless serial killer? Go the police? I think not, especially when they don’t believe a word you say. You head off to find him, and that’s just what Megan Cassidy does in Talgorian Prophecy.
No one believes she can find her son but she knows she can, her visions become more and more haunting and she has no choice but to ask for the help of her ex-fiancé Brody Phelps. She has never stopped loving him but he has never forgiven her for the loss of his parents seven years ago.
But Megan has a secret she’s kept from Brody and when he finds out and agrees to help her find Robbie they learn even more unbelievable truths as they hike through the mountains of Virginia.
What is the Talgorian Prophecy? Well you’ll have to read this fast paced, hold on to the edge of your chair book by Ariana Dupré to find out. I’m not going to spoil one word of this excellent story. Can you say "what a twist?" You will and more as you hike along with Megan and Brody on their desperate search for Robbie before time runs out.
I really loved this book, it had a couple of really great surprises and it was never slow. The characters were well rounded from the obnoxious police officer (I swear I wanted to kick his butt myself) to Megan, our heroine, who loved her son so deeply nothing not even the threat of death would keep her from rescuing him. One warning, make sure when you start Talgorian Prophecy you have plenty of time to read because you won’t want to put it down until you have turned the last page. I can’t wait to read more by this very talented author. ~Reviewed by Lynda
p.s. She has horses. Beautiful gorgeous horses. Check out melissaa.com.

22 comments:

Savanna Kougar said...

Welcome Ariana/Melissa. I just adore that color, the images! And I can nver get enough of those purples!

Helen Scott Taylor said...

Hi Melissa, thanks for being here with us on Title Magic. Funny story about accepting your award. Must have been hard and heart-wrenching not to be able to share your success.

I use a pen name--sort of. My real name is in there, but I have added another name in the middle. I did this for one reason only, to get a domain name for my 'name' and make myself stand out in a google search. I just wanted to ensure readers could find me!

Melissa Alvarez said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lexie O'Neill said...

Welcome Ariana/Melissa,
Thank you for blogging with us! It was really cool to read that someone actually reads our blog:)
The topic of pen names is very appropriate because I'm using one. I have a distinct feeling the upper levels at my day job wouldn't appreciate the magic or the sex (the mere 2.5 scenes I have to put in there :)
It may be easier because I am quite comfortable with everyone in the writing world knowing both...just not my bosses.
There's always the role model of Eloisa James...she swears it's easier in the long run to have a pen name.
Thank you for helping me clarify!
Lexie

Melissa Alvarez said...

Thanks for having me here today! I'm trying to post again. I posted this morning at 6 AM and after I hit send I saw three typos and a misspelled word so I deleted that post. LOL Next time I'll give myself time to wake up before posting!

I love those colors too, Savanna. Syneca did a fabulous job in capturing the essence of the book in the cover. Thank you so much for the wonderful introduction!

It was very difficult, Helen! I wanted to tell everyone "That's MY book!" but I couldn't. That's when I decided that I had to reveal my pen name. Then I could really enjoy it if my work won anything else in the future.

That's smart marketing on your part! It's difficult to get what you want in a .com name these days.

You're very welcome, Lexie! I'm happy to be here. I do enjoy your blog. I don't post comments often but there are a handful that I read regularly. That sounds like a great reason to use a pen name to me!

If anyone wants to see our horses they are on our breeder's site at http://tophatfriesians.com. The one's that are for sale are on the home page but if you click on the Our Friesians, you'll see Klaske - she's my baby and is absolutely stunning in those pictures. She's been up in Ocala for the past six weeks but hopefully when she comes back she'll be in foal. She's in foal now but with twins that are to close to pinch one off so we have to wait to see if there are two heartbeats or one. I'm praying for one because the chances of delivering twins is 1 to 500,000. I wouldn't even try it because it's too dangerous for the mare.

Smiles,

Melissa

Savanna Kougar said...

Melissa, does Syneca have a cover art page? And does she create a lot of Cerridwen's covers?

Oh, babies!especially baby horses. Or I should say foal. I so wish I was in better health, so I could have one. I have a whole twenty acres of good grass. And even a barn.

Melissa Alvarez said...

Hi Savanna,

Yes, she does on both counts. I've been very fortunate to have her design all of my covers. How I got that lucky I'll never know! I absolutely love her work. Here's a link to her website: http://www.originalsyn.us

Okay - Let's switch! I'll take your property and you can have a foal. LOL Seriously, I'd love to have 20 acres but it's hard to find here and when you do it's really expensive. Foals are a lot of work but if you raise them right they're wonderful horses. I'm very hands on with ours and the fillies are great but that little colt is a handful. LOL Now that he's getting his hormones we can't let him near the others when they're in heat. He thinks he's King or something. LOL

Smiles,

Melissa

Savanna Kougar said...

Those little colts are like that! I'd probably have to get a girl. A spirited one like my first and only horse. Too bad you aren't closer, I'd share. Except my place isn't all fenced in, but it does a have gorgeous spring-fed pond. I totally love it here!

Mel Hiers said...

Welcome to TM! From one Melissa to another. :-) (I've gone by Mel since grammar school due to a glut of Melissas my age.)

It's funny, when I started to submit, I decided against a pseudonym. I was targeting the SF/Fantasy market and figured a masculine sounding name wouldn't be a problem. Now that I'm targeting romance as well, I'm wondering if it might! :-)

Anitra Lynn McLeod said...

Hi Melissa and welcome to Title Magic! I haven't decided whether to use my "secret identity" or not. I guess I will discuss it with my publisher but my agent thinks my name is perfect for romance. She asked me several times if it was my real name. :) I can see the benefit to having different names for the different things you write--keeps you more "branded" in the readers mind.

Savanna Kougar said...

Hi Mel, you might consider adding a bit of estrogen to your name. Since I think sometimes readers like the romance of a name or the fantasy romance of a name. It just adds to the window dressing.

Anitra, your name is perfect, I think, for the romance market.

Mai Christy Thao said...

Hi Melissa! Thanks for joining us today. Love the pen name, btw. Have a character in my book by the name of Arryanna. Close enough, I believe. =)

Oh, and I would love to fall under option C of why an author would choose a pen name: They are so prolific that no one would believe they could write that many books in a year.

I've always been fascinated with psychics. Looking forward to finding out how Megan handles her ability!

Melissa Alvarez said...

Savanna – that would be a lot of fun! I’d share a horse with you if we lived close by. I grew up on spring water – isn’t it the best?!

Hi Mel! I went by Mac because of too many Melissa’s around. My maiden name is McDowell (Scotch-Irish). People still call me that sometimes. For romance you might want to fem it up a bit.

Hi Anitra – you have a beautiful name! It definitely sounds romantic (and Scotch-Irish too!)

Hi Mai – Thank you! It’s great to be here. I’m having a lot of fun today. That’s so cool about your characters name and what a great way to spell it! I’d love to be in option C too! I’m proflic but not that prolific! LOL

Psychics are just like everyone else – we just see a little more sometimes. And it’s not always accurate but it’s there. I try to use my psychic fiction books as learning tools. I’ve been told several times from people who’ve read my books that they’d read a scene and thing “That’s just like what I’ve experienced.” Then because I don’t hide the fact that I’m a clairvoyant advisor and that I try to teach through my characters by portraying their psychic abilities accurately, then it helps others to understand their own abilities. There are some fantasy elements in Talgorian Prophecy that aren’t realistic but the way Megan experiences her psychic abilities and connects to them is as real as I could possible make them based on my own experiences. I will tell you this – I put Megan through the wringer. ;-)

Smiles,

Melissa

Savanna Kougar said...

Mai, wouldn't that be wonderful? So prolific you have to use more than one pen name. Probably only in my dreams! Lol.

Melissa, Mac, eh? Gee, we've got the Scotch-Irish thing going. That's my maternal side heritage.
Also, I love that you are presenting intuitive abilities in a realistic manner. Whenever I have the opportunity I do my best to use what I've experienced personally, or know directly, in all my stories.

Melissa Alvarez said...

That's cool that you're Scotch-Irish too, Savanna! I'm good with Mel, or Mac (just not MelMac LOLOL just kidding!)

Oh - I also wanted to tell you guys that I donated a clairvoyant reading to Brenda Novak's auction for Diabetes. If you haven't gotten around to checking it out yet please stop by. There are great items up for bid (I'm bidding too) and it's for a wonderful cause! The link is http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com

Smiles,

Melissa


Smiles,

Melissa

Anitra Lynn McLeod said...

Blush. Thanks Sav! I'm still of two minds but I will follow the advice of my agent and publisher. I just can't imaging being in Melissa's shoes--accepting an award for myself when I'm saying it's not myself--that is almost Twilight Zone! (And I'm sure I'm not the only one to have some wonderful story ideas from that nugget!)

And Melissa I am very Scotch/Irish but also a bunch of other things--I'm like my dog: a total mutt and darn proud of it!

Thanks again so much for sharing with us on Title Magic. I did check out the auction so we'll see what the cards have in store for me. (Uh, I didn't mean for that to rhyme!)

Best!
ALM

Trish Milburn said...

Hi, Ariana. Sorry I'm a little late to the party. Thanks for guesting with us.

I write under two names -- my own for my adult romance and a pen name for my YA. I wanted to do this because they are targeted toward different audiences, and I thought my pen name (Tricia Mills) sounded a little younger than my real name.

That's a funny story about the Cataromance awards. :)

Terry Odell said...

Hi, Ariana/Melissa - I remember Nora Roberts accepting the Rita for JD Robb - but that was done as a 'joke' more than anything.

It's funny, because when I tell anyone I'm a writer, the first question is "What name do you write under?"
Many seem surprised when I tell them I use my 'real' name -- but I figure I'm enough of an unknown that I don't need to expect people to remember that if they want MY book, they need to look for a book written by someone else.

But I write only in 2 related genres -- short stories and romantic suspense. I'm not sure what I'd do if I stepped into another area.

(And yes, Syneca does great covers -- she did a guest blog for me about the process.

Savanna Kougar said...

Terry, thanks for stopping by! and leaving a blog link for Syneca.

Terry Odell said...

Glad to provide the link - Syneca does great work, and I love the covers she's done for me.

Savanna Kougar said...

Terry, that was a wonderful blog. I kinda wondered how the new generation of e-cover artists went about their craft.
BTW, if you'd like to guest blog with us at Title Magic, let me know. Smiles!

Terry Odell said...

Sure, Savanna -- I'd love to guest blog for you. Let me know.