For as many reasons as there are days in a year... a century... or millennia, some novelists choose to write incognito. By using an alias, pen name; or, as the French so beautifully say, nom de plume, they'll cloak their true identities. The nom de plume, while convenient, does present a bit of a conundrum for the writer. Whose backstory or biography should an author employ introducing themselves to their reading public? Their own, or their literary double's. Enter the creative mind. The very nature of a fiction writer is to write fiction, is it not? Indeed, it is. And, so... Shellam's story begins in Australia as Siobhán Aoife O'Shea, the only child of Irish-born parents. Growing up on a remote farm, her young life is idyllic. Though isolated from everything beyond the farm, Siobhán's life is filled with work, her books, and her parents' love. As a young teen, tragedy ensues, forcing her to survive on her own and learn to live in a strange and mysterious world. In this coming-of-age story, Djuna Shellam—nom de plume—author of The Em Suite Series, shares the early years of an unconventional life in Vol 1 of her memoir series, The True-Life Adventures of Djuna Shellam. Beginning in the Victoria countryside, her story continues to Melbourne, VIC. Siobhán enters uncharted territory that's fraught with challenges, discoveries, love, and heartache. As she gains a footing in her new world, solved mysteries and shared secrets create lifelong bonds in the gripping story of an extraordinary life.

Devoted homemaker and mother C.B Lyons hadn’t known she was living a lie, right up until the moment when she caught her husband cheating. Betrayed and then divorced, with her dreams of a big, happy family smashed to pieces, C.B. takes her toddler son to Heritage Springs, Kentucky, to be near family. Typing manuscripts for a famous romance author seems like the perfect job until she discovers the hidden truth about the reserved, reclusive writer. Madison Mallory is a best-selling romance author with a secret. “She” is a “he.” The original Madison is actually in a nursing home. Her son, Jamie Madison, is determined she’ll have the best care possible. Even if that means quitting his job and taking up his mother’s pen name to keep the romance—and the money needed for her care—flowing. Writing about romance is one thing. Making it work in real life is harder for Jamie. C.B. has good reasons to distrust men, especially sexy ones with piercing blue eyes. When C.B.’s ex wants his family back, can the author and his assistant find a way to write their own happily-ever-after ending.

A literary history of eighteen authors from the 19th and 20th centuries and their famous pseudonyms. Exploring the fascinating stories of more than a dozen authorial impostors across several centuries and cultures, Carmela Ciuraru plumbs the creative process and the darker, often crippling aspects of fame. Only through the protective guise of Lewis Carroll could a shy, half-deaf Victorian mathematician at Oxford feel free to let his imagination run wild. The three weird sisters from Yorkshire—the Brontës—produced instant bestsellers that transformed them into literary icons, yet they wrote under the cloak of male authorship. Bored by her aristocratic milieu, a cigar-smoking, cross-dressing baroness rejected the rules of propriety by having sexual liaisons with men and women alike, publishing novels and plays under the name George Sand. Highly accessible and engaging, these provocative stories reveal the complex motives of writers who harbored secret identities—sometimes playfully, sometimes with terrible anguish and tragic consequences. Part detective story, part exposé, part literary history, Nom de Plume is an absorbing psychological meditation on identity and creativity. Praise for Nom de Plume A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year “Each page affords sparkling facts and valuable insights into . . . the eternally mysterious, often tormented interface between life and literature.” —Elif Batuman “A richly documented literary excursion into the inner, secret lives of some of our favorite writers.” —Joyce Carol Oates “You are on the second to last page . . . and wishing you weren’t because this book is such great fun.” —San Francisco Chronicle “[An] engrossing, well-paced literary history. . . . It’s biography on the quick, and done well.” —Bookforum

Lola Montez runs from the haunting memories of Spain. She meets Franz Liszt; performs her racy Spider Dance at the Paris Opéra; then meets the man of her dreams, a friend of Alexandre Dumas. Shadowy figures try to stop another venture: writing a novel about a feisty female character. In the heady atmosphere of the left bank, will Lola survive?

It's total robot war! In development to be a major motion picture, Ashley Wood's World War Robot tells the tale of a dwindling band of humans and robots who face off in a battle that will likely end humanity as we know it -- on Earth, on the Moon, and on Mars, too! Badass battles, really intense human/robot drama, and even a little black humor and political intrigue are the order of the day in this oversize epic that collects both previous books in one deluxe hardcover volume along with nealry 50 pages of new material.

Uncover the secret to financial success with advice from self-made millionaire Felix Dennis. Felix Dennis is an expert at proving people wrong. Starting as a college dropout with no family money, he created a publishing empire, founded Maxim magazine, made himself one of the richest people in the UK, and had a blast in the process. How to Get Rich is different from any other book on the subject because Dennis isn’t selling snake oil, investment tips, or motivational claptrap. He merely wants to help people embrace entrepreneurship, and to share lessons he learned the hard way. He reveals, for example, why a regular paycheck is like crack cocaine; why great ideas are vastly overrated; and why “ownership isn't the important thing, it’s the only thing.”