“...gonna use a nom de plume...”

If you don’t start singing the song from Disney’s Aladdin, then watch the video and maybe you will. :}

Okay back to the subject of Nom de Plums, or Pen Names. As I was perusing writing and publishing related blogs I came across this one from The Passive Voice, Pen Names – Everything You Need to Know, and it got me thinking about how I could use various pen names for all the different categories of stories I have on my hard drive and the names I could use.

I got a little carried away, but thankfully a post by Anne R. Allen, Part IIIof her How to Blog series reeled me in. She recommends, for the second or third time, that you should use your name as your blog title so your readers can find you.

I commented how I have name confusion, between Elorithryn and Cathryn. Okay I have name confusion on more than those two, but Anne commented that she’d seen Elorithryn, but hadn’t realized it was me. That gave me pause.

Isn’t the sun avatar clue enough? I suppose if you don’t know me, or the fact that it’s my tattoo, perhaps it is confusing. The thing is I consider the sun my Brand more than my name. Names change, that tattoo is quite permanent. Not to mention it is the source of my sunny disposition. *grin* It’s also a unique design, born of my own drawing and the tattoo artist’s flare for color.

But perhaps the sun isn’t enough. Perhaps this ought to be Cathryn Leigh’s Diary, not Elorithryn’s, though the web address might have to stay http://elorithryn.blogspot.com/, though maybe I could get CathrynLeighsDiary.blogspot.com. I don’t know what that will do to my net presence though. You see, if you Google Elorithryn, I pop up immediately (this blog, Protagonize, NaNo...). Google Cathryn Leigh and you don’t find me (the woman I was named after pops up though; she’s the only one who spells her name like I do). *sigh*

So, if anyone has any advice for me on this quandary, please share it. I’m beginning to wonder if I should have stayed Elorithryn when I started posting comments on writing blogs... But I want to be published as Cathryn Leigh.... *sob, sigh, breath and grin*

:} Cathryn Leigh

Introducing Myself

Tonight I thought I was going to manage to slip in some editing on my current story in progress. No such luck. I got thoroughly distracted by creating this blog. So, now that the kids are sleeping and this dishes are done I might as well give you a little introductory post.

My name is Cathryn Leigh.

Well that’s the name I had printed on the tags you can sew into things you make. It really is my given name; first and middle. You see when I had those tags made, back when I was twelve, I was thinking. They came in bundles of 500 and I knew I wasn’t about to make 500 things in which to sew the tags before I got married. I also knew I’d take on my husband’s last name. So, Cathryn Leigh it was because, they would never change though my last name might, and has.

I have other names, which complicates things. Real life friends and family call me Cayla, it’s how my husband almost always introduces me. My coworkers and the parents of my kids’ friends call me Cathryn. And all those cool people I’ve met though the internet call me Elo, or some variation thereof; Elorithryn being my current and favorite.

But, whatever you call me, I’m still me.

I’m the girl who loves to create and will forever dwell in the land of her imagination. Writing is the hobby I spend the most amount of time on, though come October it falls by the wayside for Halloween costumes. In December it’s cooking gingerbread cookies and making cranberry sauce that eat away at my nights. But, whatever hobby I happen to be working on, you can be sure I’m creating something. That’s my passion.

But know this; I will be published one day. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not even next year. But it will happen. And this blog is about me getting there... eventually, and all the detours and sidetracks that happen given that I am a writing, working, mother.

:} Cathryn Leigh