Who are You Today?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  When I was, oh, eight, I used to read Photoplay (anyone, anyone?) and look at photos of movie stars. Back then (imagine old woman voice) you could send in for eight-by-tens glossies of the stars, and they would send them to you. Free, if you sent a stamped self-addressed manila envelope.

That was irresistible to star-struck me, but I thought my own name, Harriet Ann, was not cool enough to entice a movie star to send me their photo. So I made up a name. A cooler name.  And my secret identity is the one who sent in my request to Photoplay.

Time went by. Some weeks later, my mom came into my room holding a manila mailing envelope. With our number, street and city. Strangely, in my handwriting. But to someone she did not realized lived with us at 4102 North Ritter. 

“Who,” she inquired in a bewildered but amused voice, “is Rita Capri?”

Erica O’Rourke totally understands. She's the award-winning author of young adult fiction, and she needed a new name too. But not to snag movie star photos. 

Here’s the scoop on how she handles her secret identity…and then we want to know: what would you do?.

The (Kinda) Secret Life of Lucy

In publishing, “debut” is a big word. So big, it should be surrounded by lights, perhaps posted on a marquee. Many of the (very nice) reviews I’ve received for my new book, TIME OF DEATH, mention that it’s a debut.

And technically, it is. TIME OF DEATH is Lucy Kerr’s debut novel.

But it’s not my first book. It’s my first adult novel, my first mystery. But I’ve published two entire series of books already. How do I put this gently? I am the publishing equivalent of “a woman of a certain age.”

And yet, that word keeps cropping up. “Debut.”

The trick, of course, is that I’m Lucy Kerr – but I’m also Erica O’Rourke. Like Clark Kent and Superman, Diana Prince and Wonder Woman, and countless other superheroes, I have a secret identity now. (Technically it’s a pen name. A nom de plume. A pseudonym. But I have a superhero-obsessed eight-year-old, so secret identity it is.)

What prompts a mild-mannered suburban mom to take on a secret identity?

The first reason is practical: Lucy and Erica write different books. Erica writes young adult books with a strong element of magic or science fiction, and an equally strong romantic bent. Lucy’s books are traditional adult mysteries. My teen readers know what to expect when they pick up a book with my name on it—and it’s not a thirty-two-year-old emergency room nurse who solves mysteries. The same applies to my adult readers: picking up paranormal romance when they’re expecting an amateur sleuth mystery might be an unwelcome surprise. Using different names for such different genres means my readers can easily find the types of books they’re interested in.

The second is psychological. When I sit down to write a Lucy book, my writing process is different, my authorial voice is different, my entire attitude changes. If you’re a crafter, maybe this will make sense: imagine knitting a sweater, and then crocheting one. Both times, you start with yarn and end up with clothing. But the stitches, the tools, and the directions are distinct. Even the way you hold the yarn changes. (Admittedly, I don’t enjoy crochet. This metaphor only works so far.) Using a pen name actually helps me shift my thinking as I write—it’s an outward symbol, but it still seems to reset my brain.

The other question my friends had, of course, was how I’d make the switch, particularly in cyberspace. Would Erica and Lucy have separate webpages? Twitter accounts? Facebook pages?

The answer was no, no, and definitely no. (I have three children, an elderly cat, and I’m a full-time author. Simple is the watchword at my house, whether we’re talking about author profiles or meal planning. We can talk about meal planning in the comments, if you like.)

Instead, I made four small changes:

• I had a new author picture taken—one that was considerably sunnier than my very dramatic young adult picture.  
• I added Lucy to my social media profiles, so they all say “Erica O’Rourke/Lucy Kerr.”
• I made sure LucyKerrBooks.com connected to EricaORourke.com.
• I had my graphic designer come up with a cute header for my newsletter incorporating both names. (and those author pics!) 

The result: Lucy Kerr and Erica O’Rourke peacefully coexist on the Internet and in my office. Unlike Batman and Bruce Wayne, you’ll often see us in the same room. And in the end, it doesn’t feel odd to have two writing names, because the stories I write and my connection to my readers doesn’t change, no matter what they call me.

The last question I get is a simple one: How’d I land on Lucy Kerr? I wish I had some sort of fancy story, but in fact, I went with old family names—and my grandfather’s love of Lucille Ball, which my children seem to have inherited, made Lucy the obvious choice.

If you could create a secret identity for yourself, who or what would you turn to for inspiration? 

HANK: And what name would you choose?
 Share it in the comments! (We promise not to tell.)

 Lucy Kerr is the pen name of Erica O'Rourke, an award-winning author of young adult fiction. Her debut adult mystery, TIME OF DEATH, launched with Crooked Lane Books on December 13, 2016. Lucy lives outside Chicago with her family, her cat, and many, many piles of books. She likes strong coffee, rainy days, old buildings, and fresh-baked cookies -- but she likes telling stories best of all.

TIME OF DEATH

 It’s been twelve years since ER nurse Frankie Stapleton fled her hometown, but with her sister’s pregnancy taking a dangerous turn and a string of failed relationships in Chicago hanging over her, Frankie is back–and hoping to put the past behind her. Within minutes of arriving at Stillwater General Hospital however, she ends up saving a man’s life, only to have him turn up dead hours later—and the hospital blames Frankie. With her career–and future–on life support, Frankie must catch a killer, clear her name, and heal the wounds of her past.