The name I'm using as an author is C.C. Hartley. It is a shortened version of my name. It is way too long to put on a book cover, I must say. The name also has a wonderful sound to it.
At first, I didn't really like it. I was never going to use my real name. Then I thought differently. Why hide behind a pen name that makes me anonymous? I should be proud to be seen as an author. Now, if I venture into the erotic (XXX) novels, well.... maybe then I'd use a pen name. I don't want people in my corporate life to treat me differently. Wouldn't want to lose clients.
So what's behind a pen name? Don't we all use it daily in our lives? We make up user names for Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest etc. Why are we afraid of using our real names? Some of us do, because we want to troll others, harass others or want to say lewd or derogatory statements online without being identified. Then there are those of us us, who are normal upright people, who use them for good and are based on things that hold meaning. My user name (I keep the same name where ever I go) is my favorite animal. I love Tigers. White ones more-so because they are more rare. I think tigers are my soul animal. Unfortunately, my Chinese zodiac puts me under "Rabbit". I am so not a rabbit.
This post was about introducing you to my almost complete novel and it turned out as a discussion of pen names. Boy, I am so easily distracted. I could've just deleted above paragraphs and start again but why should I? It's me. Love me or hate me, but I'm always going to be me. So let me continue with my post.
My novel is about to be finished. I just have make it pretty (put in more descriptives), have it edited and then find an artist to illustrate my cover. This particular story is a start of a series. This character has been in my head for nearly 20 years. She needed to be born. It's a paranormal fiction. I would place it in fiction, but since it has paranormal creatures it's going to be placed under horror.
The only thing that is giving me a block is a title for the novel. I've never been good with naming and such. I struggle for titles for blog posts. I want the title to grab people. I don't necessarily want it to be obvious that it's a series either. Maybe I should hold a contest to make a title, lol.
What is the book about? I would love to answer this question, but I'm trying to learn the knack of not relaying too much info and keep you interested in reading the whole book. What I can say is that it has vampires and witches (variety of types). It does have a little romance in it, but it's not the main focus. In a future post I will post introductions to the protagonist and antagonist. I am looking forward to seeing how people react to my introductions.
What sets my novel apart from others? Other authors have created their own myths behind vampires. My mythology is more biological mixed with magic. Other vampires are either lusty or evil. My vampires are sexy yes, but they are not inherently evil. They are more humanized. Just like humans, what they go thru in life is what makes their personality what it is. They just don't switch personalities when they are turned (over even if they weren't). My vampires don't glitter, glow or shine. There is only one distinct feature that sets them apart from humans. I will let you learn about that when you read my story.
I was hoping to have this novel published at the end of this month but this is not realistic. Maybe end of November. I also need to work on my website too. So much to do and so little time.
Ta ta for now.
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