THE KING HAS BEEN NAMED, LONG LIVE THE PERSONA

I didn’t even want to address this but I have to nip this in the bud because the rumors are getting way out of hand.



I am not, nor have I ever been, J.T. Leroy.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/10/MNGBHGL0F61.DTL


Whew, glad I’ve got that out of the way, aren’t you?

I do see that we have the same city in common as well as our punctation problems, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/10/MNGBHGL0E81.DTL but that’s about it.



There’s always been speculation in San Francisco as to that author’s real identity. Out of left field stuff from such as that it was Chris Van Allsburg all the way up through Amy Tan or David Sedaris. Everybody except Danielle Steele and Colonel Mustard in the library.

My guess was that J.T. was Danielle Steele but I based that on the few paragraphs of both that I’ve read in Chronicle book review section and a glass of red wine I had last week that was on the verge of turning to vinegar (ek, still woozy).

I have my pen name all lined up more or less, am still uncertain as to which surname to go with. Yet other than the usual online handle to make it slightly harder for the filberts and macadamias of the world to bother me, I’ve never seen the point to such an elaborate ruse. How could someone have so little faith in the quality of their work or in themselves that they have to immerse themselves completely into this publicity stunt just to be read (says the man who flogs t-shirts ever other chance he gets)?

I don’t think I could. My desire is to write fiction, not become it. My goal is to enjoy both writing and having as many people as possible enjoy it too, instead of being more famous for my public persona. But that’s just me and besides, Wynonna Ryder and Billy Corrigan won’t return my phone calls.