When I started publishing some of my own books in 2011, I used the name K.C. Blake. I started to build up my brand. My books started selling pretty well. Then someone else decided to use the same name to publish erotica. They didn't seem to understand why I had a problem with that. Well, I write YA with sweet romance. I didn't want people to get one of their books by mistake and get mad at me.
First, I went to Amazon about it and was told that anyone could use the same name as me. That's ridiculous. They don't let actors use the same name. Next, I went to the person using the name and asked them to use something else. They had just started, only had one book, and didn't have a website or a following. They told me to change my name. So I did.
And I am still having problems. Unlike this other person, I had several books out. I had to change the covers so that the name Kasi Blake was on them instead, and I had to retire my old print books and put up new ones. Now Goodreads still shows the name K.C. Blake on my books, and once in a while someone tells me they saw this other person's book and thought I had decided to give up YA for something... I don't even know what to call it. Steamy? Nasty? I know some people like erotica. I don't. I used to add one or two love scenes to my romance books, but I don't think of Harlequin type romances as erotica. Erotica, to me, is just about the sex. It's like porn without a real story backing it up. If you like reading it, keep reading it. I don't want to read it. I just wish that I had never used the initials. Seems like that one mistake is going to follow me forever.
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