Emily
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Did you ever debate what your "author name" would be? I'm assuming the "J" is to distinguish you from other Michael Sullivans, but did you ever consider a variation of that or using a pen name?
Michael J. Sullivan
Hey Emily...thanks for asking. Boy did I have a long debate about the name I write under. My Irish Catholic roots are showing, and man there are a ton of authors named Michael Sullivan. I did indeed add the J. to try to differentiate myself but even that doesn't help because there are at least 4 Michael J. Sullivan's that I know of who write!
Here are just some of the examples of the "other" Sullivans
* A mathematician that has written dozens of college text books on statistics, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus.
* An author of boy's fiction similar to the Goosebumps franchise
* The author of Necessary Heartbreak (who was using Michael J. Sullivan but now goes by Michael John Sullivan to try to keep the two of us from being confused).
* An author of eastern art books
* A sports author
* An author who writes about beer and wine
* An author who wrote about U.S. Presidents
* An author who writes about Digimon
* A non-fiction author who writes about the mentally ill and substance abuse
* An author who wrote a reference book about Clinical Denestry
* An author who writes about Russian History
* An author who writes about Political and International Relations
So yes, when I finally got published I had to think long and hard about what name I should do it under. At the end of the day, I've always wanted to be a writer and in some deluded portion of my mind I hoped that my name would be remembered once I was gone. So, ultimately I went with keeping the name my parents bestowed on me. If search engines can be believed, I've pretty much risen to dominate that name from a writing perspective, and even hold my own with the Michael Sullivan who was a former U.S. District Attorney and Director of the ATF. It's a tough name to stand out with, but it's mine so I'm going to keep it.
Here are just some of the examples of the "other" Sullivans
* A mathematician that has written dozens of college text books on statistics, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus.
* An author of boy's fiction similar to the Goosebumps franchise
* The author of Necessary Heartbreak (who was using Michael J. Sullivan but now goes by Michael John Sullivan to try to keep the two of us from being confused).
* An author of eastern art books
* A sports author
* An author who writes about beer and wine
* An author who wrote about U.S. Presidents
* An author who writes about Digimon
* A non-fiction author who writes about the mentally ill and substance abuse
* An author who wrote a reference book about Clinical Denestry
* An author who writes about Russian History
* An author who writes about Political and International Relations
So yes, when I finally got published I had to think long and hard about what name I should do it under. At the end of the day, I've always wanted to be a writer and in some deluded portion of my mind I hoped that my name would be remembered once I was gone. So, ultimately I went with keeping the name my parents bestowed on me. If search engines can be believed, I've pretty much risen to dominate that name from a writing perspective, and even hold my own with the Michael Sullivan who was a former U.S. District Attorney and Director of the ATF. It's a tough name to stand out with, but it's mine so I'm going to keep it.
More Answered Questions
Peggy Hartfiel
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
It appears that you aren't planning more Ryria for a really long time. The problem seems to be the time period, I mean you're saying that you could either write pre Ryria or post Ryria. ? My idea is this: You have written about some of their adventures in a particular time period but they must have had more within that time. They weren't always involved in world changing events.
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