The name Maurita Mason came to me when I thought I was going to be a romance writer, and would therefore need a name that no one could possibly connect to me. I didn't know at the time that an author's real name is usually located next to the date on the copyright page.
For a while I considered Vicki Stone, a shake-up of letters from my maiden name. My dad invented that one, and I might still use it someday. You know...if I ever finish a manuscript. And get it published.
But I've come to identify myself with Maurita. She is me, and I am her. If I were walking down the street, and someone yelled, "Maurita!" I would turn and look, in exactly the same way I still respond to "mom" in public. In the same way I nearly panicked when a co-worker called me "Chickie" one time - my Yahoo Chat incarnation.
So where did I get Maurita? From my given name, Laura, and from a friend who was very dear to me at my first job. Her name was Marita. And Mason is a family surname from my mother's side, and merged magnificently into the Margaret Mitchell-esque author's name I was trying to create. I'm very fond of the initials MM (salute to Lermie), and I also used them previously at Journalspace when I was Moira McGartland and not yet gossamer.
I Googled Maurita Mason earlier, to see if it was safe to give out an email address of that name to someone from work. It isn't. But it led me to discover that Maurita means "star of the sea," which I think is the loveliest thing ever.
10 comments:
that's a perfect name for you, and the meaning is lovely.
Remember your "quiz" on JS where we were to make a story out of a sentence you began about "Madison"? Well, some weeks ago (eh, months) I reposted my version that I had written in my "Bird's Nest" journal....
I have always thought that my parents should have named me Stella or Juliet (my future baby names perhaps). Instead I got stuck with THE most common girl name for the '80s. I never thought to think up some grand name for my blog... I just use my middle name.
Maurita is pretty :)
Star of the sea sounds very romantic - you'll have to finish that book - it couldn't fail. And you are right - all the best people have MM as their initials!
If it comes to pseudonyms formed from anagrams of one’s real name, I feel I have a few to be proud of; some of my favourites are:
Noble Truism (philosophical works)
Mint Roubles (unashamedly commercial)
Into Slumber (autobiographical)
Nubile Storm (teen romance)
Bromine Lust/Slut (sci-fi porn)
Litmus Boner (ditto)
Sternum Boil (medical fiction)
Bile Nostrum (ditto)
Umber Tonsil (ditto)
Built Sermon (religious)
Rumbles Into (violence)
Minor Bustle (ditto)
Numbers Toil (socialism)
Numb Toilers (ditto)
Until Sombre (darker works)
Sombre Unlit (ditto)
Molest Bruin (for the bestiality market)
Lumbers Into (perils of drink)
Unlimber Sot (ditto)
…and so they go on. But I have to admit that Maurita Mason does indeed sound good. Classy but not snobbish. Maurita Mason should, I feel, be writing crime fiction of a similar nature to Ruth Rendell, but not as violent; containing more sex and less gore perhaps, and where crimes of passion are only committed by physically attractive persons, and where the investigating detective falls for the sultry charms of the brown-eyed, beautiful chief suspect with the waist-length black hair, only to be drawn into a web of deceit and sado-masochistic gay massage parlours.
I’m sure you know what I mean.
Dorrie, that's great! So it's on your current blog? I'll go investigate.
Jessica? I only say that because that's what I was going to name a girl in the 80's - if I'd had one. Marie is pretty, and it starts with an M!
Lerm, I knew you would agree!
Simon, thank you for the early morning laughs. Those are all wonderful names. And coincidentally, I had already sketched out that exact plot for my next half-novel.
That is a fantastic meaning. These pseudonyms are always interesting. I thought Fijufic would be untraceable and I am finding it is not...
The world is much smaller than I realized with the onset of my pseudonym.
Cheers,
Bobby
Star of the Sea...beautiful! Pretty name! Have a nice night!hughugs
I thought this was your real name, silly me...
Star of the Sea, great name for a boat, or a canned tuna, or a Disney ship that specialized in swinger cruises to Cozemel, yeah that's the ticket. Think i could write a 1/2 porn novel then. Well maybe do some great research and send it to you for the finishing touches. Proper touches of course.
When I was a kid down south, there was a bread company called Merita Bread. I don't know if it is in existence any longer, but I thought your name had something to do with that.
Of course, your explanation is much lovelier.
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