Slipping into a Pen Name

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Unlike most people, I don’t wait until evening to slip into something more comfortable.  I do it every morning, after breakfast, exercise, and a shower. Yes. I slip into something more comfortable, more freeing, and even more sexy. And that something is my pen name. Liz Everly.

Okay. So the name itself might not be “sexy.” I like it. It’s why I picked it. But what’s sexy and freeing about it is that it’s not my real name. My real name comes with a lot of baggage. A lot of shoulds, coulds, supposed-tos, and definitely NOT-supposed-tos. And Liz? She can let it rip. And she does. Smirk.

When you’re writing steamy or erotic romances, a pen name helps in a lot of ways. First, people make assumptions about those of us who write sexy stuff and sometimes those assumptions can be dangerous. Just because we write about sex doesn’t not mean we are up for grabs.

For some of us, it’s a matter of safety and security in our own communities, as well. I live in a conservative Southern state. I have children that go to public schools and are involved in a number of activities out side of school. It could get ugly for them. I don’t want that and I’m betting you don’t either.

Publishers love the pen name when writers are dipping into another genres. It suits their marketing purposes. They don’t want to confuse bookstores and the like about where to shelve your books. Nor do they want to confuse your “image.” Can the person who writes squeaky clean inspirational romances, for example, also write sexy romance? Yes they can—and often do. But publishers think they will lose business and readers. We don’t want that. So I am only too happy to oblige.

So for all those reasons I am Liz Everly. And every morning when I’m writing my steamy romances, I shed the skin of the other writer I am and slip into something else—a lighter, uncomplicated version of my writer-self.

What are your thoughts on pen names?

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Please visit my site for more information about me and SAFFRON NIGHTS http://www.lizeverly.wordpress.com . Also, the first two chapters of SAFFRON NIGHTS are there.

Twitter @lizeverly1 ; FB author page.  Please click on the book cover if you are interested in purchasing SAFFRON NIGHTS from Amazon.

Check out my Goddess Fish Book Blast on February 6. Leave a comment on any of the blogs and get a chance to win organic saffron and cedar body wash and soap. Yum.

Researching Aphrodisiacs in Saffron Nights

“Saffron Nights” will be released February 6 by e-Kensington. One of the questions I'm ure I’ll be asked is if aphrodisiacs really work. Well, I am not going to answer that. I reserve the right to be coy and say “read the book and you will know what I think.”

But I did find out a lot about reported aphrodisiacs all over the world when I was researching. The first one was durian, which is this spiky fruit that gives off a foul smell, but is tasty and sweet. It’s  native to Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia and many believe in its sexual enhancement powers.

Culinary superstar Anthony Bourdain says:”Its taste can only be described as…indescribable, something you will either love or despise. …Your breath will smell as if you’d been French-kissing your dead grandmother.”

 You either hate it or you love it. In my research, I found out that many people can’t get beyond the smell of it, which is exactly why some public places ban it.  So Maeve, the main character in the book, has a bad reaction to it as she is traveling through India’s mountains and durian groves. It adds an extra obstacle for her, of course, and definitely for Jackson, the photographer who is so worried about her that it difficult for him to work. But he manages and she rallies.

But with the Stinkhorn or MAMALU O WAHINE (woman’s mushroom)  that grows in Hawaii, among other places, Maeve is pleasantly surprised. She hates mushrooms and doesn’t even want to try them. (You can see a photo of it here. But as the mushrooms are cooking, the scent pulls her in. “Okay,” she thinks “I’ll try it.” She takes the plate with her to her room and locks the door. She is alone with her mushrooms and its affects—but don’t feel sorry for her. She wants it that way, preferring to keep Jackson on the other side of the door.

There are all sorts of stories about women and these mushrooms in Hawaii. Unlike Maeve, I love mushrooms. I’d be willing to try this particular mushroom, but it’s difficult to get your hands on, like much of the exotic food I am writing about in this book. This mushroom is at the top of my list to try–but I’d have to send my girls off for the weekend and lock the doors with just my husband and I inside—if the reported affects are true.

Stay tuned. I’ll be writing more about my research into the food of Saffron Nights. In the mean time, what are your experiences with exotic food–or even aphrodisiacs?

Please visit my site for more information about me and SAFFRON NIGHTS http://www.lizeverly.wordpress.com .  If you want to check out the first 2 chapters of the book, they live there. I also blog at http://www.ladysmut.com.

Twitter @lizeverly1 ; FB author page.  Please click on the book cover if you are interested in purchasing SAFFRON NIGHTS from Amazon.

Check out my Goddess Fish Book Blast on February 6. Leave a comment on any of the blogs and get a chance to win handmade organic saffron and cedar body wash and soap. Yum.