I Have a Confession to Make...
I have a small confession to make, which is going to cause some big changes.
See, here’s the thing. I want 2015 to be a year dedicated to serving my blog, my readership and my lovely online friends (and I regard those last two as one and the same) to the very best of my ability. From now on, I will be completely honest and transparent with you.
So I have a confession to make.
Skye Fairwin is not my real name. It’s a pen name I created way back when I was 16 years old because I was sharing my writing on the big, scary internet, and I was afraid to use my real name. If I did, people I knew might find my stories. They might laugh or, worse, be disappointed. If people on the internet criticised my writing, they would see it and know it wasn’t any good. At a time when the very thought of people close to me finding out about my writing gave me panic attacks, having an online alias made me feel safe and protected.
Fast-forward six years. A lot of things have changed. I’ve grown more confident in my writing and what I’m creating. I’ve put myself out there and made amazing friends. I know how supportive and kind and giving the community is. And as of late 2014, I finally told my friends and family about my writing and online career. Yes, it’s still scary, but I need to take the next step and stop hiding myself behind my pen name. So please allow me to introduce myself again.
I'm Faye Kirwin and it’s very lovely to meet you.
(Phew. See, Faye, that wasn’t so hard, was it? *Wheezes*)
If there's a lesson you can take from my battle with my fears, it’s this:
Be brave. Do something scary because that’s how you banish those fears.
All right. Now that you know my secret identity, what happens next? I get rid of you, of course. Muahahaha. (Just kidding.) There will be a few notable changes, though.
The first is that I’ll be gradually transitioning my name on my blogs and social media from Skye to Faye over the coming month. In my emails, I’ll start going by Faye too, and when I publish the ebooks I’m currently working on, they’ll be under my real name.
It may be a little confusing for a while, but please bear with me. Skye has been my second name for six years now. It feels as much a part of me as my actual name, so if you forget or would prefer to call me Skye, that’s fine. I don’t mind, as long as you know that Faye Kirwin is also me.