My thoughts on pen names. Most of you know Caron Allan is a name of my own creation. And the first time I wrote it and used it, I felt weird and naughty, like I was telling stories in more ways than one but now I feel I have become and am in the process of becoming, something or someone different, a persona of my own choosing and my own growth. The word Persona means ‘a mask’. It’s not just a question of deception, it’s a bit like a cloche over a plant, that allows it to grow without being beaten by the storm. So here I am, working and as I sit at my desk, I leave Carrie wrestling with dishes and laundry and what to make for dinner, and I become Caron Allan, and the words flow…