Pseudonyms

I was recently asked about my pen name "Rianna Tyler." While those who know me, know where my last name came from, they are curious as to how I decided on my first name.

Before I get into the answer to this question, I have to tell you - the opportunity to give yourself a name is quite exciting. And, it's very difficult - especially when you're one with many voices/personalities. I have actually gone through several pseudonyms... and it is entirely possible Rianna will not stick. That said...

Before I explain how I got my pseudonym, I must first go back to my first pen name, and all the revisions.

When I was a teenager, I often signed my writing S. Lynn. While this started as the first initial of my last name (Snare) and my middle name (Lynn... duh), the S. eventually came to mean "Samantha". Samantha... or, Sami, was also the name of the fake person I made up to torment people. The tormenter was Samantha (Sami) Adams. The writer was Samantha (Sami) Lynn.

And then came the internet age. Oh how exciting... chat rooms, false identities... it was all so appealing to someone like me - someone with multiple personalities. My first chat-room name was slynn... which, amongst the many faceless names, seemed rather untelling. And so I changed it to rogue - my favorite X-men character. But this really wasn't me. Although, in a way, the character seemed to fit me, it was a stolen name. So, rogue eventually turned into Blackwidow... and Devil's Child... and LuvSpell... and the list went on. And, depending on the personality present at that time, all these names did have a place.. a meaning... a reality. But, they aren't pen names you write under.

One day, I saw the name Kiara and decided I loved that name. So she became my new personality. The last name became Rose - a flower I have been regrettably compared to many times. And, I did like Kiara. It was a good name to write poetry and romance under, but, I grew tired of it. And, in a state of depression, I decided to choose a new chat-room name - Scarlet Rain. This one reminded me more of my blackwidow/devils child days. It wasn't a name I could write under, but oh how it fit me.

Well, one day, while just a little tipsy, I misspelled my name - I was Scarlet Rian... and the Rian caught my eye. I added the 'na' to the end, and dropped the scarlet, and voila! Rianna was born.

Anyway, it took a few years before Rianna was given a last name. But, the name fits me. The rain she was born from, the name she is attached to, the uniqueness while not being overly different.... she is me, I am she. And, there you have the story of the birth of a pseudonym.