Does a Rose by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet?

To pen name, or not to pen name....

That is the question.

When I was a practicing Christian, I hesitated to write the books I wanted to write because I was afraid they wouldn't please Jesus or Christians. When I was more secular and working on my MFA, I had to submit my manuscript to a sensitivity board and so dropped from the program.

In both cases, I was refusing to play by the rules of my chosen establishment and ironically censoring myself.

I may be answering my own question here, but...

The books I want to write include erotica - not straight smut novels, but as part of the story. I've always wanted to be blunt and honest about character's lives including good sex, bad sex, and no sex. It's a huge part of a character's internal and external life and it feels like cheating to skip or insinuate it.

But...

And here's my showing my insecurity...

Do I want to publish this under my own name?

I've thought about writing under the pen name Vivienne Cross - a mysterious author who writes literary erotica and never gives interviews.

Or...I could just slap my own name on it and call it what it is.

Thoughts?

14 comments