Thanks for being here, Jocelyn! Just gotta say how much I really loved this novella. Coop is a hero to die for! :) Best of luck and wishing you tons of sales!
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TGIF! First I would like to say thank you to Jennifer Jakes for
hosting me on her blog today. I always have a good time when I am here and look
forward to getting to know all of her great readers!
I thought I would talk a little about Pen Names, because I was
always fascinated with them as a reader and as an aspiring writer, it didn’t
make sense that someone would not want to take full credit for their work. Then
as an author it suddenly came up and I found some pretty rational and maybe
one, tiny little, less rational reason to use pen names! J Here is my quirky story on
pen names.
Many authors have pen names and I am sure that everyone has
their own special reason. I use them for three reasons. One, because I write
more than one genre and I don't want anyone who is a fan of my Contemporary
Romances (Kelly Rae) to be offended should they pick up one of my Adult
Contemporary Romances (Jocelyn Bell), that includes my dad who only needs to
know about the less steamy books!
Second, I chose not to use my married last name, because I
didn't want my ex-husband to get a sliver of credit for my words, my work. It
sounds less rational as I write it down, but it's the truth! So, I made a deal
with my son to put his name all over the place in my Contemporary works, because
at nine he was concerned that no one would know that I belonged to him. Super
amazing kid, right? RIGHT! I wanted my novels to be all mine, so Kelly Rae it
is!
And thirdly (what an odd word, lol), I chose to name my alter ego Jocelyn Bell,
which is so far removed from my actual name, because she is really another
whole side of me. As a writer I can be anything I want, write about anything I
want, BE whomever I want. What power?
When I am writing books like, What If... I am the hopeless
romantic, mushy, endless love sort of woman. But I cannot sustain this raw,
sometimes overwhelming emotion all the time. There are days I am cynical or a
real non-believer in happily-ever-after’s and more of a happy for now, sort of
girl. On these days, I prefer to write about lust, not love. Or work on
romances that are meant to be grand and wonderful, but short-lived.
Not every couple is meant for happily-ever- after. On those
occasions Jocelyn Bell gets to come out and play and write novellas like the
Voyeur Series, a three-part novella series about finding the person that fits
for right now and doesn't focus so much on the forever and ever part. In the
first novella Dare Me , a recently divorced Gina finds that her
neighbor next door is the perfect escape from thinking about the loser husband
who left her for a barista. In Want Me, which came out on December
18th, Angie is trying to avoid good-looking charming men and take her mother's
advice to find a mediocre looking man, because they don't cheat. The only
problem, her new roommate is fire and sweetness all rolled into one. What's a
girl to do...beg him to leave or beg him to stay?
I love getting to be all the sides of myself as I write a new
story. In my computer sit at least five different genres of started stories, on
some I will write The End and others will just sit. But, either way
for the moments that I spent writing a bit on each one, I got to be exactly who
I am/was, in that moment. It's some pretty powerful stuff to get to express all
of who you are in your work. Sometimes, the characters and stories are nothing
of me or my life and all of my imagination, which is just as much fun. I think
it must be why there are so many people who want to be actors in this world.
It’s fun to be someone else for a while. The opportunity to be all that you are
and nothing of who you are at the same time is very intoxicating!
Writing is simply the best!
For those of you who also enjoy a steamier read from time to
time, Dare Me is currently available on Amazon, just click here to purchase, or preview if
you like. If you stop by and grab a copy today, it’s FREE and there is an
excerpt of novella number two, Want Me, in
the back. This baby just got a new cover this month and I LOVE it!
If you have already read Dare
Me and are ready to step into my next novella click here or on the cover
above to preview or purchase Want Me! Thanks for stopping in today, Happy New Year
and New Books to all of you!
Xoxo
Jocelyn Bell
