Posted on by Angela Korra'ti

A pen name poll!

And now, O Internets, in the category of Things I Can’t Tell You About Yet, the issue has arisen that I need to take on a pen name. Not for issues of needing to conceal what names I’m writing under–because I won’t be–but more in the interests of using a name that’s easier to spell and search for on the Internets. I have narrowed down my names of interest to the following list!

“Angela” is to be considered since it’s my actual first name and therefore easy to remember. “Anna”, because it’s my commonly used nickname, and again, easy to remember. “Renee” because it’s my original middle name and therefore still has personal ties to me.

For the surnames, “Highland” is my original surname. “Carey” is my grandmother’s maiden name, and the name is meaningful to me because of when I went to Grandma’s funeral last year, and had the old gentleman who spoke for her ask me after if I ever found myself randomly singing. When I told him yes, he said that was because “the Careys were always singers”, which I really liked.

Two other notes of interest, before anybody asks: one, I can’t use Anna Carey because that name’s in active use by an established YA author, and two, while I have had it proposed to me that I should work “Piper” in there somehow due to that being the rest of my commonly used nickname, I don’t actually want to use “Piper” since another local writing friend wants to use that as part of HER pen name and I don’t want to be too similar to her.

And also, please note that while I will be taking on a new name (and updating my site accordingly to reflect it), the Warder universe books WILL continue to be available under the name of Angela Korra’ti, because that’s the name Faerie Blood originally sold under. And it’s the name my Kickstarter backers know!

So let me know your thoughts on these options, people! And if you’re reading this post on LJ or Dreamwidth or Tumblr or Goodreads, please click over to the the original post to vote. The poll options won’t work from other sites!

Favorite character in Avatar: Legend of Korra! GO!

View Results

12 Replies to “A pen name poll!”

  1. two reasons I voted for “Angela Highland”

    1) it came down to the two Angela names because a first and last name that have different syllable counts roll more trippingly off the tongue.

    2) there’s several ways to spell “Carey” whereas “Highland” is pretty much Highland. :-)

  2. I like Anna Highland. It has a nice simplicity that should make it easier to remember, and the syllables go well together.

  3. ‘Obbit ‘as a point… I didn’t actually consider his second one, but “Angela Highland” flows best… IM(NAS)HO, IANAL, EIEIO…

  4. I voted for Angela Highland, but I really like Angela Carey too. I like the story behind Carey, but as the Howlin’ Hobbit above commented, there are too many ways to spell Carrie Carrey Carie Carey that if you want something easily google-able then highland is better.

  5. I went with “Angela Highland” because a) you won’t brain-cramp on “Angela” if a stranger is trying to get your attention in public and b) I miss my birth name sometimes, and would love an excuse to dust it off for something important :)

  6. “Angela Highland”, while it gets points for being your original name, to me sound too much like a pen name for a writer of Scottish bodice rippers. I like “Angela Carey” a lot but think it’s too close to “Anna Carey”. I would go for either “Anna Highland” or “Renee Carey”, methinks. A note: I think if “Piper” is claimed as a last name by your friend, you could still use it as a first name, e.g. “Piper Carey”.

    1. I am aware of the problem of “Highland” being easily connected to Scottish-set bodice rippers, yes. On the other hand, since I’m not actually writing romances, I’m not necessarily convinced that this will be a problem.

      The other thing about Highland is that I can’t find ANY authors using that as a surname yet. Careys can be found, the most obvious one being Jacqueline Carey.

      Also note: I don’t want Piper in there at all, really. If I were to use it at all, I’d want it as a last name, not as a first name. It feels too whimsical to me as a first name, and says “chick lit” to me rather than “fantasy”. As I said in my other comment, I’m not saying this in a bad way, mind you. :)

    1. Carrie Angel sounds WAY more like a pen name to me than Angela Highland does. It also doesn’t sound like a fantasy writer–it sounds more like a romance writer to me. I don’t mean this in a bad way, mind you, I’m just sayin’, it sounds like a writer of stuff I’m not actually writing. :)

  8. I voted for “Anna Highland”, mostly because I first got to know you through the ‘Net, and you’re known as “annathepiper” there. Intectually I know your name is “Angela”, but I have always thought of you as “Anna”. I think if your potential fans try to follow you on Twitter (and they do), they’re going to get confused if you go by a different name. And as Howlin Hobbit said, it goes together well.

  10. I voted Anna, but I do like Angela too, so I won’t be sad to lose to it. :)

    Carey in general I can’t help but think of Jacqueline Carey and while I love her work, it feels odd to associate you, since you don’t smut as much (Again, I like her smut, it’s just not ‘you’!)

    Renee was an interesting choice! But I know you as Anna, and as Angela a little, so I won’t get as confused if the first name is one I know. Part of why I took my main online alias (Misty!) as a middle name, it’s forever and unconfusing. :)

    I am rambling, sorry, bad migraine and body pain today, so lots of oxycontin, so whwwwwwweeeeee. ;)

    Good luck!

Comments are closed.