The other me is on tour...

I'll never forget the day I was almost assaulted by an irritated mother.

No, not THAT time.

Back when I worked at Chapters, I had the pleasure of hanging out in the fiction and children's sections of the store. I enjoyed shelving books, mostly because I could mentally inventory all of the great new - and old - releases in stock. You learn a lot about some of your go-to authors that way.

So imagine my surprise when I discovered that one of my favorite teen fiction authors also writes erotica. I'm not one to judge - there isn't a genre I haven't dabbled in, and some of my writerly friends are very talented in that area. (I'm reading a hot werewolf book by one of them right now!)

The trouble came when one of my booksellers didn't pay attention to the title and genre of the book (or clearly the cover) and shelved the erotica in with the young adult fiction by the same author. You can guess what happened - young kid buys book by author, gets it home and Mom blows a gasket.

I decided then that should I ever want to write youth fiction, I'd go with a pen name.

In the adult world, I write thriller and paranormal romance. I'm not into heavy sex and violence - unless the scene warrants it. But I wouldn't want my young nephews and nieces, or even my stepdaughter to read some of my work. Yet.

Which is why I've created another blog and a whole new persona.

I haven't been covert about the fact that I write under both names. The links are all over the place, and I'm using my married name (which has the added bonus of making my husband happy) so anyone who knows anything about me (or is following the Spirited Ghosthunters contest) knows I'm one and the same person. In fact, anyone could figure out the link with a quick Google search.

But there is separation, even if it's dangling by a thread.

Well, that other me is soon to have a short story published in the Spirited anthology (e-book launching October 31 and print edition scheduled for March, 2012), which means a couple of things:

1. I'm published! And in the company of some amazing YA authors, like Candace Havens, Maria Snyder, Shannon Delany, Heather Kenealy, Judith Graves, Kitty Keswick...and more! Plus, proceeds from the book will be donated to youth literacy, through 826 National.

2. I'm able to participate in the Crossroads Blog Tour with another 14 amazing paranormal young adult authors.

From October 22 through to October 29, I'll be interviewed on a different awesome blog per day where I'll be chatting about Halloween, books, youth literacy, and my, er, bad habits.

The schedule and all the links are posted on the sidebar of my other blog. I hope you'll join me there. Besides lending support for me (thank you!), you have a great chance to win free books and swag. Huzzah!

- Dawn

The Book In My Bag Today: The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern