I didn’t mean to name myself. It just happened. My Pen Name was born in the liminal space between reality and fiction.

I was deep into writing “Road Theory” one night. My laptop was open, and three books by my favorite authors sat nearby, ready to inspire me if needed.

In a pivotal scene of “Road Theory,” my character Ivaila faces their fears and transforms. I used a phoenix as a metaphor for this change. As I wrote this part, something unexpected happened.

S.J. Asher.

The name just popped into my head.

S.J. – these are initials from my real name, keeping a part of my true self in my writer identity.

Asher? That came straight from the phoenix scene in “Road Theory.” It felt right – a name emerging from the ashes of transformation.

Without hesitation, I typed S.J. Asher at the top of my “Road Theory” manuscript. It stuck.

Now, whenever I write, I remember that moment. How a scene from my novel shaped not just my character, but my writer’s identity too.

S.J. Asher – born from a fiction, bridging who I am and who I become when I write.

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What about you?

Do you have a pen name?

Did it come to you in a flash of inspiration, or did you agonize over it for months?

Perhaps you’ve gone through more name changes than a witness protection program participant?

Share your pen name tales – the good, the bad, and the unpronounceable!

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