Jane's Musings

It is pretty well-known that Richard Bachman is actually Stephen King. Many Mystery readers know that Edith Pargeter wrote as Ellis Peters. A little digging around leads you to Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb. It takes a true literary sleuth, however, to discover that Shannon Hale writes as... Shannon Hale.

I am the store manager of Kennebooks, and I like to think that I am reasonably good at my job. But, there are days when I wonder why Trish even allows me on the sales floor... Trish, Ann, and I recently traveled to Hartford for the NEIBA trade show. The show offers educational sessions, dinners with featured authors,book signings, and the exhibit floor. There the publishers have sample copies of current titles, plus stacks and stacks of promotional copies, some finished and some advanced readers copies. Shannon Hale, of Princess Academy fame, was one of the featured authors. My daughter had an advance copy of hew new title, Forest Born, and absolutely loved it. So, when I saw our wonderful Macmillan sales rep, Ellen Pyle, we chatted a moment about Shannon, my daughter, and her love for the book. From there I walked around to the other side of the booth where there was a stack of The Actor and the Housewife. I was very excited because I loved this author's earlier book, Austenland, and was thrilled to see that she has a new book out. Ellen looked at me as though I were from another planet. I had no idea why.

It was not until a day or two after we returned from the show that the 'eureka' moment hit. I had been up until 2 a.m. finishing The Actor and the Housewife (which is a great read - the dialogue is very well done, and the characters are so likeable). I came into the living room where my daughter's copy of Forest Born was on the table. Now, at any point had I been asked the author of this book, I would have said "Shannon Hale." Had I been asked the author of Austenland or The Actor and the Housewife, I would have said... "Shannon Hale," but at no time did I put together that this is the same person. I don't know why. It is not as if it is uncommon for writers to write for a diverse audience. Annie Barrows with the Ivy and Bean series as well as the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society comes to mind, as well as Judy Blume, John Connolly, and many others. I think a bit of a twist on the mother-daughter book club concept is possible with parallel reading of a single author's works. I'm not sure any bonding would happen that way, but it's a thought.

So, Shannon Hale, thank you for writing books that we love to read, but know that I have figured out your cryptic pseudonym.

- Jane