Monday, August 14, 2023

HOW I GOT MY PEN NAME By Morgan Mandel

    When my first book, TWO WRONGS, was about to be published way back in 2006, I had a decision to make. Should I use my actual name, or choose a pen name?
    Well, the book was written in the points of view of the hero and the villain, both of whom were male. Since I'm a female, I wondered if using my actual name would not get as many readers.
    So I decided the best bet would be to choose a name which could belong to either a male or female. Well, the names of Morgan Freeman, a guy, and Morgan Fairchild, a gal, came to mind.
     Not only that, I also owned a female dog who happened to have been named Morgan when my husband and I adopted her.

    So, Morgan seemed a great choice. As far as a last name went, I have to admit I wanted a short one which would be easy for people to remember and also short enough to easily sign autographs.
     When TWO WRONGS was first released, the book originally came out in paperback and ebook forms. Since then, after the publisher sold to another publisher, and the second publisher was of no help in selling my books, I wondered what to do. Upon the advice of Austin S. Camacho, a fellow mystery writer, I decided to arrange for the publishing rights to revert back to me. 
    With ebooks becoming ever more popular, I chose to publish this one myself solely in ebook form. From looking at the cover, I think you can figure out who's the good guy and who's the bad guy. 



    And now you've learned the deep dark secret of how I chose my pen name. 
    To learn even more dark secrets, check out TWO WRONGS. This mystery, set in Chicago, includes Marshall Field's in a pivotal scene before it became Macy's.

Morgan Mandel

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