Earlier this month I had an epiphany if you will of something that has been bothering me for a while. This epiphany when it came was such a relief it was if my soul had come together. All three parts of me were now in alignment.
When they did I knew what I had to do. Make an announcement of who I am. Let people know the parts that make me who I am. :) First I reached out to a few people who are friends to let them know the truth about me. I have many friends I wasn’t able to tell directly and like many of you they are reading this post. For that I’m sorry that it couldn’t be a more personal one on one but I need to get this done.
The below that I am sharing with you is hard for me. For people who know me they know I’m a private person and although I do share things about my many ups and downs in my personal life I’m vague and not as detailed as I could be since there is so much more. I keep these things close and only tell close friends and family (sometimes I don’t even tell them. I hate people worrying about me so I keep it and deal with stuff).
Now for the reveal. I currently write under three pen names. Let me introduce you to my threesome. I’m going to do this one by one and also include blog posts that defined me on my journey to three.
First is McKenna Jeffries – she is my sensual, sassy pen name. She is the misbehavior maker. :) She was also my first pseudonym and writes books that feature male/female characters. A little about her. She has been writing longer than all the other names. She has been writing and working her craft. Had opportunities and ups and downs. It took a brush with almost dying that made her take the jump to actually finish her first book. She completed her first book and shared her triumph of that as well as others with her biggest supported her Mom. She also had more books that didn’t fit with what she was writing at the time so she decided on a 2nd pen name. But back in 2005 she had many things happen. She became, along with her other name, more active in the writing world (got a blog and so on). But that year was a hard year with the most devastating moment being the loss of her mother. This put her in crisis with her writing and she was tempted to walk away from it all. But then the 2nd pen name became vocal. And it wasn’t until a little before this post that I finally let her loose.
http://mckennajeffries.com/blog/2005/12/12/the-scent-of-mama%e2%80%99s-cookingWhen McKenna wrote this she was ready to continue that journey her Mom had seen her start. So she took the chance and let her next pen name free on the world with a submission of her work which was accepted.
My second is Taige Crenshaw – she is my sizzling, sassy and adventurous pen name. She is the mayhem maker. :) She writes books that feature male/female characters. She had her up and downs too and she too along with McKenna had other moments of triumph and personal struggle. One of which gave her and McKenna the push to take the leap and decide to get a 3rd pen name. That 3rd name came because of the moment I had when I wrote this blog.
http://taigecrenshaw.com/blog/2007/02/03/stronger-than-yesterday/But just because I decided to take a leap I didn’t get to right away. I had more to face first. More personal things. Those I spoke of here.
http://taigecrenshaw.com/blog/2010/01/22/the-road-traveled/Then I took the leap.
My third is Talia Carmichael – she fills the craving and has spice, laughter and loads of fun with that pen name. She is the mischief maker. :) When I choose this one I also wanted to honor my mother so for Talia I gave her my Mom’s birth date. So each year when I get the birthday wishes I kiss my fingers and raise them to the sky and tell my Mom they are for her. When I completed my first McKenna book my Mom told me before she passed away “I can’t read what you write because it is to risqué for me but you write it baby and write it well. Don’t let anyone stop you. Follow your journey.” Talia writes books that feature male/male characters. She too along with her other 2 partner have had many up and downs over the years. This I spoke of here.
http://taliacarmichael.com/blog/2015/10/25/journey-to-betterSo this is my three. Hi my name is McKenna Jeffries, Taige Crenshaw, and Talia Carmichael. Nice to finally show you all three of me.
I choose to have three pen names for many reasons but one of the main ones is.…expectations. I didn’t want a reader to have an expectation of what a book would be by knowing all the sides that are me. So at the time I choose the pen name I didn’t let people except for some close friends know they were all the same. I wanted each to take words my Mom told me all those years ago “Follow your journey.” Each name has their own writing journey since I kept them separate and they have in my humble opinion done well. Written books they are proud off. When someone picks up a book by any of my names they know what they are getting. Every time I write a book it is for my Mom. She was one of my biggest supporters and because of her I continue this journey.
There is one common theme in my books no matter the name I write under. Family whether by blood or choice is important. They are what makes us and will be by your side no matter what. This was taught to me by my own upbringing.
I made this announcement for the reasons of my epiphany and also because I want to be able to meet readers under each name. I do go to conferences usually as Taige (told you she was adventurous although she tends to go to the corner often because she is shy and feels like a total geek talking about her books). Although I’m making this announcement, I don’t have a plan to “officially” link the names. Well McKenna and Taige sometime write together. Which is interesting and works. :) Yeah each of my three names are very distinct in my head when I sit down to write a book so I know whose voice I’m in when I’m writing. :) . I still will keep the names separate to an extent. They all have their own website, newsletter lists, facebook, facebook groups, twitter and so on. Yeah I do all three. LOL. So if you read any of my books just find me at those places based on the different pen names. :)
The timing of this with what is going on in the writing world isn’t ideal but I already made the decision to do so went ahead instead of waiting. Thank you so much for your support over the years.
Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I also put this on facebook so those who don't come to my blog can also read it.
Love always,
McKenna/Taige/Talia
Happy New Year! May 2016 be a wonderful year with many great memories. Each year there is something about a new year that makes me excited. I'm looking forward to see what 2016 brings. Here’s to a safe, a little bit naughty and most importantly a fun filled year.
Last year I posted my plans for 2015. Today at the last day of this year I'm reviewing my plans to see how I did. :)
