What's in a name - part 1: Choosing my pen name.

Many authors choose to use a pen name rather than their real name. How did I decide which way to go? Well, it wasn't a simple answer. I wanted to use my real name or some variation of it, because, well, I wanted credit for my work, damn it! It was me who wrote this -novel, and I wanted the world to know! But, it wasn't that easy. For starters, I'm planning to write a non-fiction book as well, and wanted the two genres to carry different pen names. Since my non-fiction would be tied to my career, it should probably match the name I use at work, right? Then there's the problem that someone else is already a published author with my exact name! Ugh!

I considered using my maiden name but that came with challenges too. Mainly because my maiden name is Kolbeck, and I named my main characters Kole and Beckett (Beck) in honor of my maiden name. Would that be weird? Should I use some other forms of family names? After a long back and fourth process, I ultimately decided to combine my first and middle names and use my married last name for my works of fiction, and thus, BethAnn Spindler was born. I also decided that since my college degrees both hold my maiden name, I will use Beth Kolbeck-Spindler for my non-fiction works. Or maybe just Beth Kolbeck... we'll cross that bridge when it gets here.

P.S. My birth name is Beth, not Elizabeth or Bethany. Just Beth.