To Pen Name or Not

So there's this person. Oh let's call her my non-twin. She has the same name as me but looks nothing like me and isn't related to me. And well, by god, she decided to write a book. And then she decided to write another one. And another. Bah.

So what's an aspiring author to do when someone has stolen your identity? (Total hyperbole, I know). Why, pick a different name of course!

To pen name or not to pen name has been bouncing back and forth in my head for a few months now. Initially I was going to do it. And then, well, I changed my mind. I was working on a non-fiction book, and still am, so what's the point in having a pen name?

But then when I did my little Amazon search yesterday and found out that this person - this other non-twin - just published another book and now had a legit entire author fan page, well I decided something just must be done about this problem.

Yes, dear readers, I had to change my name. Again. Because I just changed it! And not because I'm insane, but because I just got married. And I'd decided long ago that I'd be using my new last name for everything I publish, because my old last name belongs to an idiot (sigh) and the name before that hasn't been used in almost 15 years (who is that again?).

So to pen name or not? Sometimes you have to because of the mere existence of a random non-twin who beat you to the goal line. And sometimes adding a middle initial just isn't enough. And then sometimes you think about your privacy and wonder if you really want random reader number 1035 to know what your real name is. I mean, pull up Google Maps and check out that snoopy functionality!

So pen name it is. At least I won't have any more twins, or any confusion when I write a great (or totally awful) book (or five) this year (or next).