Thanksgiving is over, my NaNo book is drafted and the finishing touches are about to be put on the new blog & website. In 3 days I will no longer answer to Lexi Connor.
I'm sad about this because it's a special name for me, crafted with much thought, and one I've used for several years. People have asked me why I'm even bothering with a pen name before I sign a contract. I first chose to use a pen name when I was teaching. I wanted to keep those two careers separate. Although I shared my ups and downs with my students on a regular basis, I kept most of my writing life in its own compartment in my life.
People have also asked why I'm starting to use another pen name when someone else could come along and take the name I'm switching to. When I chose Lexi Connor, I didn't think I'd still be unpublished at this point. The same thing applies to the new name. Even on the heels of my latest rejection, I still hope to be published with the new name sooner rather than later.
At the same time, I'm excited about all the changes I'm making. I'm focusing on my romantic suspense stories for a while. I've put together a website for my new persona that I love and I'm excited to change the blog as well. There is also a contest coming later this week to celebrate my move!
For the record, I would have kept Lexi Connor as my writing name, but there is a Lexi Connor who writes kids' books and I've already started getting emails for her. She has 2 or 3 books coming out next year, with the first one in January, so I thought this would be the perfect time to make the changes.
I expect to only have a couple more posts to this blog in the next couple of days. Then we'll be surfing the new website, blog and Facebook page!
