What's In A Name? by Tim Myers (and friends)

I’ve been writing mysteries since 1993. My first published short story, My Late Aunt Hattie, was an 800 word short-short that combined elements of comedy, mystery, and the supernatural. It was published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and went on to be included in The Haunted Hour anthology.

I am the Agatha Award nominated author of over 24 novels published with Penguin, St. Martin’s, and Kensington, 10 of which have been IMBA National Bestsellers.

I am also the author of over 80 short stories. I’ve been nominated three times for the Derringer Award for Excellence in short mystery fiction, and I’ve had stories included in the Mystery Writers of America Anthology A Hot and Sultry Night for Crime, as well as Murder Most Crafty, and The Haunted House.

What’s in a name?

by Tim Myers (and friends)

When I first started writing in the early 90s, I never dreamed I’d ever use any name but Tim Myers for my work.  Sure, my birth certificate said Timothy, but that name has always felt as though it is one I have yet to grow into.  To those who know me, I’ve always simply been Tim.  So when I published my first short story in Woman’s World, my byline was never in question.  As I suffered through the next one hundred twenty three submissions before my second sale, I doubted many things, including my abilities, my talent, and dare I say my sanity, but I never gave my name a second thought. Ultimately I sold over eighty short stories before I started publishing novels with Penguin/Berkley as Tim Myers, and I thought I’d never have to give it another thought again.

Life’s funny that way, isn’t it?

Several books into my career, my agent contacted me and said that an editor at another Penguin line, NAL  Signet, wanted someone like Tim Myers, only female.  He called and asked me for recommendations, and I instantly asked, “Why can’t I do it myself?”  This led to a series of discussions between the three of us, and then, after two partial submissions, the editor finally agreed that I’d captured the voice they’d been looking for.  There was one catch, though.  I couldn’t publish the books as Tim Myers.  I struggled mightily with this decision to change my name, but finally, I agreed, and thus Elizabeth Bright was born.  Like a great many difficult things we deal with for the first time, it got easier as the years rolled on.  In fact, it turned out that my mysteries sold better when they were told from a female point of view with a female author’s name.  And we writers are an empathetic bunch.  After all, we put ourselves in the minds of killers all of the time.  Why not the opposite sex?  The next time a new series for Penguin/Berkley presented itself, I was told that I’d need yet another female pseudonym for them, so Melissa Glazer was created. 

As I continued to write and publish, my next batch of names became more androgynous in nature, again at the insistence of my publishers, with names like Casey Mayes, Chris Cavender, and a few others I’m not allowed to disclose to this day.  When I started adding some independently published books of my own to Kindle and Nook, I swore I’d never use another nom d plume in my life. 

But then the complaints started rolling in.  Many of my gentle mystery readers were shocked by my tough suspense novels.  They wanted a clear warning, despite my best attempts to provide it, that the new and darker books wouldn’t be mistaken for cozies.  I created DB Morgan, and he now handles all of my suspense, though I share a byline with him.  There’s one more name I can mention, blossoming from my other Woman’s World work.  I sold them a romantic short story and submitted several more, all under the Tim Myers name, but I found there was an aversion to that new collection under my own name, so Kelly Roberts was created to address the situation.

I get notes all of the time from readers telling me that this is all very confusing, that they just want to read my books, and people constantly ask why I use so many names when I write.  As you can see, the answer is much too complicated to clear up with a simple response, and mostly I just say with a grin, “Different name, same writer.  I love my name, but my publishers don’t.” 

What it all boils down to is that I’m just trying to create the best fiction I’m capable of writing with each and every word I choose.  And in the end, isn’t that all that matters?  We writers are, in my opinion, nothing more than simple storytellers trying our best to amuse, entertain, and maybe even enlighten.

And nothing less.

No matter what name we use.

Living in Two Different Worlds by Tim Myers (aka Chris Cavender, Casey Mayes, Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer and several more !)

Tim Myers is the author of over 24 traditionally published mystery novels, including the upcoming A PIZZA TO DIE FOR written as Chris Cavender and A KILLER COLUMN under the name Casey Mayes.  To get a list of his ebooks, published both traditionally and in ebook form, go to www.timmyers.net

Living in Two Different Worlds

By Tim Myers (aka Chris Cavender, Casey Mayes, Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, and I’m red-faced to admit, several more!)

These are exciting times to be a writer.  With the massive adoption of ebooks in several different formats, it’s now possible to bring books that have been out of print for years and collecting dust on shelves around the world back to life.  In the past six months, I’ve reissued my lighthouse inn mysteries, my candlemaking mysteries, my soapmaking mysteries, and my cardmaking mysteries (written under the name Elizabeth Bright).  I love seeing them available again, and making me a bit of money in the bargain.  The process isn’t all that simple, but it can be done with a little work, and I’ve found a surprising joy in creating covers for these books as well.  What an added bonus!  But there’s more.  I get many, many letters asking what happens next with each of my series, none more than the lighthouse inn mysteries, so I decided what better time to write one than now.  Taking my characters Alex and Elise, I decided to follow up with a promise I’d made in the fifth book of the series just before I learned that it would not be renewed by the publisher.  With great joy, I sat down and wrote a novella, titled Key to Murder, where Alex and Elise go to a lighthouse on the NC Outer Banks.  This was original fiction, written specifically for the electronic market.  The response was so strong that I decided to bring out other novels I’d written over the years that hadn’t found a home, from suspense, young adult, fantasy, traditional fiction, middle graders, science fiction, and much more.  Those started getting some attention, so I finally decided to write the final lighthouse inn book, called Ring for Murder.  The title kind of gives it all away, with the series culminating, to no one’s surprise, with a wedding, and it just went live.

But I said both worlds, didn’t I?  I’m also continuing to publish traditionally with St. Martin’s, Kensington, and Penguin/Berkley.  I love the ebook readers, and the opportunity to tell new stories, to explore new boundaries, but I also love the smell and feel of a brand new paper book in my hands.  Many folks are predicting the death of the printed book, but I don’t see that happening, at least not in our lifetimes.  There are too many folks who love bound books for that to happen, in my humble opinion.  I also enjoy the give and take with my editors, and in many ways, they help me to maximize the story I’m telling, advice I don’t always get going it alone.

Working alone and working with a traditional publisher is as different as riding roller skates or being on a bus.  Publishing your own titles (roller skates) entails quite a bit more than dealing with just the manuscript.  You are your own publisher, which means you have the freedom, and the opportunity to make good decisions, or bad, on many steps along the way.  You set the price, design your cover (or pay to have it designed), come up with a typeface, write cover copy, and do any promotion your book is going to get.  That can be a two-edged sword, and is not for the faint of heart.

There’s something comforting in turning your manuscript over to your editor (riding that bus), knowing that chances are they will catch any blunders you make.  The cover, like it or not, is usually out of your hands.  But so is a share of the promotion and marketing, which can be a nice thing indeed.

In the end, though, it all boils down to one thing. 

I love being a writer, and it means a great deal to me when readers enjoy my work, whether they read it on a Kindle, a telephone, a printed book, or if it’s written in the sky.

After all, the story, now and forever, in whatever format, is the thing.