I’m confused! If I’m reading the latest Casey Mayes mystery, does that mean I’m enjoying Chris Cavender‘s writing? If I really enjoy J. B. Stanley‘s Supper Club Mystery Series, does that make it a sure bet that I’ll enjoy the Books by the Bay Mystery Series by Ellery Adams? I love the Julia Callahan Garrity Mystery Series by Kathy Hogan Trocheck, does it follow that I’ll also love the Weezie & BeBe Mystery Series by Mary Kay Andrews?
Do you see the source of my befuddled state of mind?!?
Why is it that more and more mystery book authors are going by pseudonyms? (Or did these same authors used to use their pseudonyms, and are now writing new mystery series using their real names?!?) I have enough trouble following the names of all the mystery series some authors are now writing >>> without having to find out about their new series under new names!
It is my opinion that it is beginning to be a new fad in the mystery book market place. Some mystery readers and/or authors may like it, others may not, but it does seem to be happening more and more these days.
Having said this, I will tell you a story that I find very interesting. It is something that occurred way back in the 1980s, and it concerns an author who my husband (a literature major in his under graduate studies) thinks is one of the best current story-tellers and authors of our times: Stephen King. Some of you may already know this story, but I am going to going to tell it anyway. Well, actually I think I’ll save it for tomorrow…
Rebecca says
I understand where you are coming from but I don’t believe that if you like one series, you will like another. I have read for example Laura Childs tea mysteries, yet I cannot get into her scrapbooking series. Now you mention Chris Cavender I do like the pizza mysteries,but not the other one. Go figure!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
I just don’t get why authors all feel they have to have so many pseudonyms. In these days, when the publishers seem to be dropping so many authors, I would think that the “established” authors (who are so lucky to have publishers to back them!) would want to let their fans know when they publish new books… rather than their readers having to “find out” who they are…
Maria (BearMountainBooks) says
Authors do it to hide past sales figures and start with a clean slate! Say they are selling “well” but not VERY well. They want to start a new series with no baggage…so they start with a new name. Booksellers (ye old B&N for instance) look for a sales history to see how many to buy. Hmm. No history? Well, then let’s give this author a chance! We’ll stock X!
It allows an author to start fresh, try something new. And as publishers are putting more and more pressure on authors to not just do “well” but VERY well…we’ll see more of it!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Maria, that makes sense. If an author starts with a “clean slate”… and the new series knocks sales right out of the park… It’s not very long before their previous series (which possibly didn’t do so well) starts selling phenomenally well, also.
I didn’t know about sales history affecting how many books a bookseller will stock…
Deahna says
Don’t really know but nowadays publishers seem to go in for series long after they are “dead”. The series, not the publisher. e.g. I used to love the needlework mysteries by Monica Ferris. But I got more and more disenchanted with them with each new book after the first five or six and haven’t even bought the last two. Critics on amazon were also way down. Now, if I were to see a new series by her I’d skip it! If it’s under a pseudonym I might at least be tempted to try it.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Hmmm… Deahna, you have a good point. I hadn’t thought of that…
Maria (BearMountainBooks) says
See! No known history!
And sometimes it is the author’s fault that series goes too long–but sometimes it is the publishers. I know authors who have submitted new series or new books–but the publisher says, ‘NO! We want the old series or nothing.” So the author…wanting to put food on the table…keeps writing the older series.
Sometimes though, it is both–the author keeps writing and the publisher just keeps putting them out!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
There are many authors who I once considered favorite authors who simply didn’t know when to stop/pull the plug/say finito/end (!!!) their series. The problem with keeping a series alive when it should have been buried, is that we tend to remember authors by the last few books we have read…
Ann says
I agree that if you like one series you might like another by the same author. I actually liked the scrapbooking one better. Sometimes authors use pen names if they are writing for a different genre so that readers don’t expect it to be the same style of writing. If you pick up a Norah Roberts book you know what to expect but if she used the same name for her J.D. Robb books you might be disappointed.
Ann
dru says
I know that some authors are told to have a pseudonyms because they’ve switched genres and the publisher wants to reach new readers for the *new* author.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ann and Dru,
I could understand it if the authors were moving from one genre to another. The example of J. D. Robb and Nora Roberts is a perfect example of this. But, when they are writing in the same genre, and using a different pseudonym for each series…
SALLY says
I sometimes don’t like every series that an author does but I would be more likely to try a new one if it were by an author that I already liked.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
I agree with you, Sally. When an author I enjoy has another series by a pseudonym, I will try that series also. But, I also try new series of authors I enjoy who don’t have pseudonyms… for me, it’s just easier to locate the books under one name…
Maria (BearMountainBooks) says
Oh yes! I forgot about needing a different name for a different genre. Yet Another Reason! to change names! Gosh. It’s a wonder an author manages to put out two books with the same name…lol!
Joelle Charbonneau says
Danna –
I haven’t had to as yet need a pen name, but I know that publishers have a clause that allows them to dictate the use of a pen name. Typically this is done if an author has multiple series that might have books released too close together. There is also the practice of authors packaging themselves under a new name if their sales for a different series weren’t as strong as they would like. Since I have trouble remembering my own name some days, I’m really hoping I get to keep my name no matter what I write. (Fingers crossed!)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Joelle, thanks for telling us about the publishers’ clause. I can see why a publisher wouldn’t want “us” to know if his/her author was putting out five or six books a year…
And, I see that your next Rebecca Robbins Mystery (Skating Over the Line) is getting close to publishing. Good luck!
Kathryn says
I read almost exclusively cozy mysteries but I stumbled upon an Amanda Quick historical mystery years ago at the library and continued to read this series as they were released. Somewhere over the years the theme became paranormal and I read on.
Then the craziest thing happened. The books are now written as trilogies. One book will be released by Amanda Quick, the second in the series by Jane Ann Krentz and the third as Jayne Castle. The trilogies have titles like Dream Light or Looking Glass Trilogy.
I have no idea why I like these books. Because I read books in order, I have invested a lot of time trying to find which titles go with which author in which trilogy. It shouldn’t have to be this hard to find a book to read.
Maria (BearMountainBooks) says
Quick/Krenz/Castle is a good author. I’ve read a number of them and enjoyed them a lot. She was a go-to author for me for a long time–comfort reads!!!
Virginia Gruver says
Unless I am mistaken, back in the 80’s some romance authors were expected to use a pseudonym because if the publisher dropped them, someone else could continue to write under that name. It was a way for the publisher to have some leverage with the author. Luckily RWA got involved to protect the authors.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Virginia, since authors own the rights to their characters, it seems pretty silly to continue with this archaic practice.
Chris B says
Nothing like commenting on a 7-year-old thread, but there’s something here no one has mentioned yet… many Cozy Mystery writers are men who write under female pen names. Why? For the same reason that male Romance writers use female pen names… it’s perceived as more comfortable for the mostly-female audience. Would you read “Murder & Merlot” by Agatha Chutney if you knew that Agatha’s real name was Joe Thibodeaux?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Chris, hmm, well… I certainly would! Two of my favorite series for my Most Popular Recommended Cozy Series feature have been Conrad Allen and E. J. Copperman… honestly, I think the Cozy Mystery genre would benefit from more diversity in authors. Still, I do see your meaning – there’s definitely a strong indication that most authors are women, and it probably seems safer to not buck that trend!
shan says
Didn’t Tim Myers write numerous cozy series under different female pen names? I really enjoyed them.