What's in a (pen) name?

Chick lit author Michele Gorman has a YA alter-ego.

Since I write in several different genres I've often wondered if I ought to use a pen names. But all my stories are parts of me and I'm almost afraid having an alter ego would feel like cheating. So it's kind of satisfying to read of an author combining her identities in a re-released book, particularly when it's a book I've enjoyed so much. 

Known for her best-selling chick lit (the Single in the City series and Bella Summer Takes a Chance), Michele also writes coming-of-age fiction under the name Jamie Scott. Today she's re-launching her first novel, Little Sacrifices and I'm delighted to feature it on my blog. My review, at http://www.amazon.com/review/R71H2LSSJVFZO/, is one of many 5-star reviews on Amazon, so I'm not the only reader to have loved it. But now's your chance to enjoy a free mini-book sample before buying: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4js7yFveZLdNm9Jd0tOVThLckk/edit?usp=sharing. Try it and you'll see why I loved it so much, but I warn you, you'll probably end up buying the whole novel too... an atmospheric, evocative depiction of the American South that may just be the perfect summer read for fans of The Secret Life of Bees or To Kill A Mockingbird.
 
ABOUT THE BOOK
How much would you risk to stand up for your beliefs?

When the Powell family moves to Savannah Georgia in the late 1940s, they hope against hope that they'll be welcomed. But they're Northerners and worse, they're civil rights advocates almost a decade too early. The American South is deeply segregated.

At first their daughter, May, can pretend they're the same as everyone else. It means keeping quiet when she knows she should speak up, but it's worth the sacrifice to win friends. Unfortunately her parents are soon putting their beliefs into action. And when they wake to find that they're the only family on the block with a Ku Klux Klan cross blazing on their front lawn, the time comes for them to finally decide between what's easy and what's right.