Exploring the Pen Name
It's Another Pseudonym Birthday Person...
(During the month of June, here at Today the Dragon Wins we explore the use of pseudonyms. Don't forget to participate in the discussion in the comment field to enter the contest for a copy of the eBook versions of Choices Meant for Gods and Apparitions. Details were posted June 1.)

Today I must pause in our guest posting to honor another birthday boy. This is the 48th birthday of John Taylor, the bass guitarist for Duran Duran. Anyone who's even heard my name must know I'm an obsessed fan. Notice the enormous cheesy grin on my face in the picture above. Yes, put me in between John Taylor and Nick Rhodes and I suddenly become "giddy with joy". That was just a month ago...and I've not quite recovered yet.

What does this have to do with our pen name discussion here at The Dragon? Why, guess what Mr. Taylor uses! Now, to be very truthful, he just uses a portion of his name, not his full birth name, so perhaps calling that a pseudonym isn't totally accurate. You decide. But I think he chose wisely given his profession.

Any Duranies out there want to weigh in on the debate? Which sounds better for a bass player rockin' out in the '80s, '90s and today: Nigel Taylor or John Taylor? Oh, yes, and everyone who has any familiarity with my fantasy trilogy just did a double-take.

Let me post the disclaimer here: Choices Meant for Gods is entirely a work of fiction. The NAMES, characters, places, and incidents depicted therein are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual event or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Having said that, I should explain that Joshua Nigel Taiman of the Choices fantasy trilogy encompasses many characteristics of not just a celebrity rock star, but of a certain Mr. Edward Rochester of Jane Eyre fame, and of himself. Nigel is Nigel...not anyone else. If you'd like to be the judge of that, you can pick up a copy of the novel anywhere fine books are sold (you probably have to order it by now) or on Amazon. You can get the electronic version for less than $4 at my publisher's site.

But John Taylor is celebrating a birthday under his pen name today, so I'd like to use this blog to say "Happy Birthday from one of your many crazed and adoring fans!"

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

Tags: John Taylor, Duran Duran, birthday, Jane Eyre, Edward Rochester, pseudonym, pen name, Nigel, dragon