We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.
This Week's Topic
If you couldn't use your own name, what would your pseudonym or penname be?
This is a good question. Honestly I thought about this before and I came to the conclusion that the only way I would use a pen name is if I got married. I'm Theresa Paolo I always have been. That was my name the first time I doodled a picture book (I was 6) and the first time I wrote an actual book.
I was named after my grandma and that's why I love my first name. My grandma is amazing. My last name represents my parents and my grandparents, the people who have supported me my entire life. I may not be able to pay them back for everything they have done, the least I can do is use my name proudly.
My last name may be difficult to pronounce, my own family doesn't even pronounce it right, but it is my last name. It's not Powell, or Palo. It's actually pronounced Payola. In elementary school kids used to call me the Paolo Crayola, crafty little buggers they were.
I know the question is if I couldn't use my name, but that's hard because obviously I would always want to. I hate any nickname affiliated with Theresa. If you call me Terry I will scream. Not that there is anything wrong with Terry, that's what they call my grandma and my aunt, it's just not me. I guess if I had no choice, say I was writing another genre than what I am known for, I would go with Jesse Walter. My grandma, my mom's mom who passed away when I was in kindergarten is Jesse. And Walter is my grandfather who passed in 2008.
What about you? What would your pen name be? Or are you like me and would want to stick with your real name?
