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Home / Book Publishing / Pen Names: How to Pick, Name Generators, and How to Publish
Pen Names: How to Pick, Name Generators, and How to Publish
By Dave Chesson
Last updated on January 3rd, 2022
A pen name, or nom de plume, is a pseudonym (fake name) used by authors who don't wish to publish work under their own name.
Authors use pen names for many reasons, whether it be for branding purposes or just for privacy. Regardless of why one chooses to use a pseudonym, creating a pen name can play an important part in your book's marketing.
In this article, you will learn:
What is a pen name
Why do authors use pen names
Whether it's legal to use a pen name
How to choose the best one
Let's dive into how to come up with cool pen names that will work specifically for your book.
Heads up: If you purchase something by clicking on a link in this article, I may receive a small commission. You don't pay a penny more, but it helps me write more content like this.
What is a Pen Name?
Why Do Authors Use Pen Names?
Is it Legal to Use a Pen Name?
Why & How to Choose Good Pen Names [Podcast]
Pen Names of Famous Authors
How to Choose a Pen Name [Step by Step]
Step 1: Identify the Right Age For Your Pseudonym
Step 2: Choose Options That Fit Your Literary Genre
Step 3: Check Your Pen Name's URL and Social Media Handles
Step 4: Choose a Name That's Easy to Spell, Pronounce, and Remember
Step 5: Make Sure Your Pen Name Isn't Similar or Identical to Another Author's
EXTRA: Choosing an Profile Picture For Your Pen Name
The Best Pen Name Generators (Including Anagram Makers)
How to Properly Copyright and Use a Pen Name
How to Create a Pen Name in KDP
A pen name is a fake name used by some authors to protect or disguise their real name for a variety of purposes. This name is used on book covers, as part of copyright notices, and in marketing a book — in place of the author's own name.
Pen names are also known as:
Nom de plumes
Literary double
Don't know what your pen name should be? We've got a pen name generator to help give you ideas, with genre specific conventions to help you pick something that's appropriate for the genre you want to write.Get Your FREE Pen Name Generator
What are pen names used for? Authors may use a pen name for many different reasons, including:
Fear of reprisal: Authors may be afraid of some sort of retaliation against themselves or their families. This is particularly true when writing on controversial subjects. To protect themselves and their family, an author may write under a pseudonym.
Separation of personal and professional life: Some authors have a day job and would like to keep it that way. If you don't want to mix your side projects with your professional or even private life, a pen name can help.
Similar name to someone famous: If my name was Steve N. King, you'd better believe I'd be choosing a pen name. Do yourself a favor starting out — have a unique enough author name to stand out online, and make sure no one confuses you with a more famous person.
URL and/or social media handles for their name have been taken: For an author, your name is your brand — so make sure you have access to the URL and social media handles you need.
Better marketing opportunities: Whether your name is hard to pronounce or has an overly complex spelling, simplifying it with a pen name may help you market your book(s) more effectively.
Gender changes: Female authors throughout history have chosen male pen names for novels they didn't believe would be as popular if readers knew they were written by a woman. This was especially common in the 19th century as women broke into literature but were still looked at as "lesser" writers. The Brontë sisters and J.K. Rowling are two famous examples. Even today, it's perfectly acceptable to choose a pen name of a different gender than your own.
A name doesn't fit the genre: Hamilton Butcher probably isn't a great name for spunky teen fiction novels about a 14-year-old girl. Penelope Thistle might not be a name befitting the author of detailed manuals on instructional design. Pen names can allow authors to choose names specifically targeted to their genre.
Writing in multiple genres without confusing fans: To keep things clear when writing in different genres, some popular authors choose a pen name to match each genre in which they write. J.K. Rowling chose to write her Cormoran Strike crime fiction series under the alternate pen name of Robert Galbraith.
Just for fun: I'll let you in on a secret — we authors enjoy our creativity and fun. You don't need a "legit" reason to pick a pen name instead of using your own name. If you want to do it, just do it!
I myself have published extensively under multiple pen names, although Dave Chesson is my real name. I started doing this because I used to work for a U.S. embassy and wished to separate the two worlds for professional reasons.
Should you write under a pen name? You should write under a pen name if you feel it's the right choice for you. Whether it's to choose a more memorable name, because you're concerned about what people may think about your work, or if you think it just sounds fun, it's up to you!
Pen name legality is actually pretty straightforward. Yes, it is legal to publish written work under a pen name. There is nothing illegal about using a pen name, and it's often a smart decision from a business standpoint.
Amazon and all major book publishing platforms allow authors to use pen names or their own names.
According to intellectual property attorney Matt Knight, there are several facts about using pen names that new authors should be aware of:
Authors are allowed to register copyrights for their created works under a pen name. However, this does reduce the length of time the copyright will be active. Plus, if you're being very careful about your anonymity and choose to register a copyright without using your real name, it can be harder to prove you own the material. These are both items to discuss with your attorney before publishing.
You may acquire a trademark for a pen name. Even though your own name cannot usually be trademarked, there are certain conditions under which you can trademark your pen name. Dr. Seuss, for instance, is a trademarked pen name.
You can technically sign contracts using your pen name. It's not done often, but it's technically legal (according to Mr. Knight). Using your pen name won't shield you from legal issues, though.
You shouldn't use another author's pen name or real name. Unless you've negotiated with an author to take over their established pen name, choose your own pen name. (Fun fact: This type of pen name swapping is popular among writers of romance novels.)
Using a pen name doesn't protect you from defamation lawsuits, taxes, or any other liabilities. Don't badmouth other authors, skip paying your taxes, or breach a contract you signed, period. And don't rely on your nom de plume to protect you from legal consequences of breaking the rules — it won't.
Let's take a look at some of the more well-known authors operating under pen names.
(Ready to pick your own pen name? Skip to the next section to get started!)
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There are many successful authors who write behind famous pseudonyms. Some of the most famous pen names are:
Richard Bachman
The Brontë sisters
Mary Westmacott
Real Name: Joanne Rowling
Why she uses a pen name: Her publisher wanted to disguise that she was a woman so her books would appeal to boys as well as girls. She doesn't have a middle name, so she chose "K" from Kathleen, her grandmother.
Famous Works:
The Harry Potter series and various additional works in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (1997-2018, plus future unpublished works)
The Casual Vacancy (2012)
The Cormoran Strike series (by Robert Galbraith, 2013-2020)
Additional Pen Names Used: Robert Galbraith
Real Name: Theodore Seuss Geisel
Why he used a pen name: Geisel was banned as editor-in-chief from a magazine for drinking during Prohibition, so he wrote under the alias "Seuss". He added "Dr." for his father, who had hoped he would get his Ph.D., though he dropped out before finishing his education.
Horton Hears a Who! (1954)
The Cat in the Hat (1957)
Green Eggs and Ham (1960)
The Lorax (1971)
Additional Pen Names Used: Theo LeSieg and Rosetta Stone
What do Harry Potter, Jack Reacher, and the Lorax have in common? Successful pen names. They work…if chosen correctly
What do Harry Potter, Jack Reacher and the Lorax have in common? Successful pen names. They work…if chosen correctly #selfpub #bookmarket #amwriting
Real Name: Stanley Martin Lieber
Why he used a pen name: Lieber wanted to save his real name for his more serious literary work, so he used Stan Lee for the "kid stuff". After achieving worldwide recognition for his comic books, he legally changed his name to Stan Lee.
Captain America (1941)
Real Name: Stephen King
Why he used a pen name: Horror novelist Stephen King wrote as Stephen Bachman for 8 years early in his career. He says he made the decision because it was not considered "acceptable" in the publishing world at that time to release more than one book per year — but he had more to write.
After creating a rich backstory for the writer of his pseudonymous novels, King chose to stop writing as Bachman when the alias was revealed to be a nom de plume. While the name has not been used since the 1980s, critics still marvel at the unique writing styles of the Richard Bachman pen name compared to novels attributed to Stephen King.
Rage (1977)
Thinner (1984)
Real Name: James "Jim" D. Grant
How he chose his pen name: Grant heard an American mispronounce the car Le Car by Renault as "Lee Car". Anything "lee" became a joke in his family. His daughter, Ruth, was "lee child."
Famous Works: Jack Reacher thriller novel series (1997-2020)
Real Name: Samuel Clemens
How he chose his pen name: Samuel Clemens was a licensed river pilot by trade. "Mark twain" is a river term that means two fathoms (or 12 feet), when water depth for a boat is being sounded. "Mark twain" means it is safe to navigate.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)
Real Names: Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë
Why they used pen names: The three Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, feared their literary works with obviously feminine names wouldn't attract readers. Instead, they chose the gender-neutral pseudonyms Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (respectively). Today, the sisters are famously known for their real names.
Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Brontë, 1847)
Wuthering Heights (by Emily Brontë, 1847)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (by Anne Brontë, 1848)
Real Name: Eric Blair
Why he used a pen name: Blair wanted to protect his family from the embarrassment of their time living in poverty. He chose George Orwell as a "good round English name" by which to publish his dystopian bestsellers.
Animal Farm (1945)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
Real Name: Agatha Christie
Why she used a pen name: Agatha Christie, already a famous author of Murder on the Orient Express (1934), used the pen name Mary Westmacott when she made the genre switch from crime and mystery to romance novels. Her Westmacott books include 6 semi-autobiographical books with a tragic and psychological take on the facets of love.
Giant's Bread (1930)
The Rose and the Yew Tree (1947)
Real Name: Mary Ann Evans
Why she used a pen name: Like many female authors of the time, Evans chose a male pen name, in part, to conceal that she was a woman. However, "George Eliot" was also a cover for her unconventional lifestyle: an unmarried woman living with a married man (whose first name was also George).
Eliot is highly regarded as one of the most influential novelists of the Victorian era. According to The Encyclopedia Britannica, he is credited with developing "the method of psychological analysis characteristic of modern fiction".
The Mill on the Floss (1860)
Silas Marner (1861)
Middlemarch (1871)
Real Name: Nora Roberts
Why she uses a pen name: Roberts is a New York Times bestselling author under her given name, but uses the pen name J.D. Robb for her suspenseful romance "In Death" series and science fiction police procedurals.
Naked in Death (1995)
Mirror, Mirror (Taken in Death) (2013)
Additional Pen Names Used: Jill March and Sarah Hardesty
Real Name: Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
How he chose his pen name: Dodgson, a respected mathematics lecturer at Oxford, chose the pen name Lewis Carroll for his romance and children's works. He first translated his first and middle names to Latin (Carolus Ludovicus), then reversed the order and re-translated them to English, resulting in his chosen pseudonym.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
Through the Looking Glass (1871)
Real Name: Daniel Handler
Why he uses a pen name: Lemony Snicket was the made-up name Handler used to request materials for an early book project when he wanted to protect his true identity from the organization. He reused the name for his pseudonymous Unfortunate Events series.
Snicket became both author and morose narrator for the series, while Daniel appeared "on his behalf" at book events, encouraging readers not to read the works with "unhappy beginnings, middles, and ends."
A Series of Unfortunate Events series (1999-2006)
When selecting a pen name, it's important to first remember the huge marketing value a pen name holds (particularly in the era of Amazon and Google search).
The pseudonym you use for your writing can have a large impact on your book and your platform because it:
Can become the domain name of your website
Stares your reader in the face on your book cover
Can impact whether your readers easily remember you as an author or simply remember the names of your books
In essence, your pen name is your author brand. You want to be sure to choose a pen name that evokes the right emotions for your target audience, is easy to remember, and doesn't resemble another author.
To choose a pen name:
Identify the right age for your pseudonym
Choose options that fit your literary genre
Check the availability of your pen name's URL and social media handles
Choose a name that's easy to spell, pronounce, and remember
Make sure your pen name isn't similar or identical to another author's
The age of a writer plays a huge role in the psyche of the readers. If you are writing an instructional book targeted at middle-aged adults, it isn't a good idea to choose a name that sounds like it belongs to a 21-year-old.
A name that sounds younger than your target readers is a fast way to kill a book project before you get started.
If you know a website where your ideal readers hang out, you can use Quantcast Measure to learn more about the visitors' demographics. You can see a step-by-step example of this over here.
Pro tip: Once you know the age of your ideal reader, use BabyCenter to find the list of top baby names from your pseudonym's birth year. Their lists of top baby names by year go all the way back to 1880 (although you're probably not going to pretend to be a 141-year-old author).
It's okay to pick a name a few years older than your target audience in most cases. Try to avoid sounding younger, if possible.
Let's say, for instance, your target audience is 35-year-old females. You'd like to select the name of a woman of about 40 (born around 1981).
In many cases, people choose two first names for a full pen name. For female names, a male first name can also serve as a great last name.
Using this list from BabyCenter, we can come up with age-appropriate pen names like:
Tiffany Michelle
Elizabeth Daniel
Rebecca Nicole
Names evoke emotion. The very structure and sound of a name might bring to mind anything from sci-fi adventures to erotic romance novels and anything in between.
A great real-life example of this is author Ali Knight, who changed her name to match her genre. Her real name, Alison Potter, felt too close to children's author Beatrix Potter (of The Tales of Peter Rabbit) and the fantastical tone of the Harry Potter series.
When Ali's publishers requested she change her name before her first book was published, they chose a name more sensible to the thriller genre. She needed something that was risky and dangerous — like her books. Ali Knight sounds much more fitting, right?
When choosing your author pen name, consider whether or not it fits with your genre. If you aren't sure, check the other books in your genre and category on Amazon and ask yourself:
Are there similarities to names in this genre?
Do the authors more often use initials or fully spelled-out names?
Are the author names primarily male, female, or a mix?
Do the names feel simplistic and basic, like "Christina Stone," or fantastical, like "Lemony Snicket"?
As an author who understands your target market and your competition, you'll more easily be able to come up with a pen name that fits the vibe and makes sense to your readers.
'Allison Potter' vs 'Ali Knight' for a thriller author…a perfect pen name example. What author name will jive with your readers?
'Allison Potter' vs 'Ali Knight' for a thriller author…a perfect pen name example. What author name will jive with Your readers? #amwriting #bookmarket
To promote your book, you'll probably want to own the internet domain and social media handles for your pen name.
You may or may not intend to brand your pen name or write more books under it. However, if your book takes off and you want to pursue it, it will help if your name's domain is already yours. Otherwise, you will be stuck with a second-rate URL or have to pay a boatload of money to get your name's URL.
Before picking your pen name, go to Siteground and check if the domain name is available. This one step could save you a lot of heartache in the long run.
To find if a domain is available using Siteground:
Type the pen name you're considering into the domain search bar.
Change the extension if you'd like to try something other than a .com. (In the last few years, as .com sites have become harder to find, there has been a surge in popularity for new extensions.)
Click 'Search'.
Siteground will tell you if that domain is available or give you alternative suggestions if it is already taken.
Pro tip: Domain squatters (cybersquatters) sometimes track search frequencies of URLs to snatch up domains they can turn around and sell for more. It's a good idea to be ready to purchase your chosen domain when you sit down to search, rather than searching for it several times over a period of weeks before buying.
Many domains are available for between $7 and $80 per year from domain providers like Siteground. If someone else owns the domain, even if they aren't using it, it can cost upwards of $1,000 to procure.
The good news is that, if you own the copyrighted and/or trademarked rights to a specific name, you may now have legal rights to a domain someone else purchased in bad faith.
You should also acquire the social media handles for your pen name. Consider signing up for the primary social media sites (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) with your pen name as soon as you can, even if you wait until later to use the accounts.
Try to choose a pen name that uses a simple and/or familiar spelling, is not difficult to pronounce, and is likely to be remembered.
This isn't a shot at all those difficult names out there, but understand that someone is more likely to remember you if your name is something that sticks out and is not too hard to spell.
Just imagine your fan struggling to remember your pen name. "Oh, what was it?" they say, scratching their head.
Or, worse, it's a name they can't even begin to spell. How will they ever search and find you on Google or Amazon?
A few rules of thumb for choosing an easy-to-understand pen name:
If you're picking a common name, such as Ashley, be very careful about going with an alternate spelling, like Ashleigh, just because you think it looks nice.
Say the pen name out loud. Now, ask 5 of your friends to say it out loud. Did they all pronounce it the same way? Did any of them stumble over the pronunciation?
Try not to pick a name so common that it's forgettable. Ashley Nicole is a pleasant-sounding name, but it's so common among millennial women that it might be easily forgotten.
Consider using alliteration, initials, or making up a creative name (if it fits with your genre). After all, no one has ever forgotten the name Lemony Snicket after hearing it once — it's even easy to spell!
Beware of choosing a pseudonym that's similar to a famous author, person, or character. Leeching off someone else's fame is not a good tactic. More than likely, you:
Won't get your author name URL,
Might get into hot water with the famous person, and/or
It will be nearly impossible to rank on Amazon or Google for your name
People who search for you will have to go through pages and pages about the famous person before they can even find your work or website. Having a name that's close to someone else who is more popular than you can be a real killer.
You can also search the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) for any existing trademarks using the name you want to use. Using someone else's registered trademark will earn you a fast cease-and-desist letter.
Before you choose a pen name, do a Google search and look through the results. When I do this for "Dave Chesson," it turns out there is a famous skateboarder in the UK who has the same name. Luckily, he isn't uber-famous — or else we would be in major competition for Google space.
We're safe on Amazon since he hasn't written a book. Hopefully, he doesn't get mad at me for overtaking the "Dave Chesson" search… sorry, bro!
You should also say the name out loud to make sure it doesn't sound like another famous author's (or another famous person's) name. Mark T. Wayne may not belong to another author, but it sounds a whole lot like "Mark Twain".
Choosing a profile picture for your pen name can be tricky. You might not want to use your own picture or else that defeats the point of choosing a pen name. Furthermore, you don't want to just grab someone else's image and use because that could be illegal.
Some authors will just purchase a stock image of someone using DepositPhotos or ShutterStock. However, it's usually obvious that an image is a stock photo image of someone and is usually a clear sign of being a fake.
So, how do we create a unique, authentic pen name image for our author that doesn't look fake or is illegal? By using A.I. generate image at Generated.photos/faces
Using this, you can select:
Hair and eye color
Now, while they offer a free version, those free versions can't be used commercially and you must provide a link to them for using it. Therefore, the free version isn't the right choice. Instead, you'll need to pay their $20 month subscription (I'd recommend only using once and then cancelling). This way, you can use it on your Amazon author page, website, social media, etc. and have no problem.
Still not set on a good pen name? Try a pseudonym generator or anagram name maker below to create cool pen names.
A pen name generator is a piece of software that randomly goes through a database and finds legitimate-sounding names. If you used the steps above, you likely have a first name in mind.
However, it can be difficult to figure out an interesting last name that doesn't scream "I'm a fake". This is where a pen name generator can come into play.
One that I like is the Fake Name Generator. This pseudonym generator is above and beyond any other. Not only will it generate legitimate names, but it will also create a real address, phone number, occupation, and even a fake credit card number so you can give your new persona supporting context and a backstory, if you like.
The Fake Name Generator is one of the only pen name generators that lets you specify gender and culture. How about them apples?!
If you want to try more alias name generators, choose from the list below one that best fits your genre and needs:
Reedsy's Pen Name Generator — Pick a first letter, gender (or neutral), and spoken language to find a fun author pen name.
Masterpiece Pen Name Generator – Get a list of pen name ideas after adding details and fun words from a few prompts. Masterpiece will give you multiple options by literary genre based on your answers. You can even choose zombie, vampire, or wizard names.
Fantasy Name Generator – This massive name generator has hundreds of types of fake names to choose from, whether you need a Victorian-era name or want to sound like one of the Marvel Eternals. Hover over the name types on the top menu, select a name generator, and then generate 10 random male or female names at one time.
Evil Name Generator – This creative tool gives random creepy names for all your evil naming needs. (This one is also great for coming up with fantasy or sci-fi character names, including for monsters and beasts.)
Finally, some writers like pen names that use the letters of a word, sentence, phrase, or name to create a pen name with hidden meaning. An anagram maker makes this super easy.
I like this pen name generator anagram tool because it lets you customize more and gave better results than the other anagram makers I tried. The results were actually really cool. The letters from David Chesson can be turned into:
Edison Chad
Vance Sho
Issac Devon
Vince Ash
Denis Vasco
Noah Vic
Neo Issac
Sho Davis
A similar tool, Igne's Anagram Generator, used the letters from "Jonathan Blackwood" to generate names like:
Janna Woodblock
Honda Bowjack
Jakob Landon
Landon Jackboot
Jacob Landown
Dalton Johan
Kahn Tojo Waldon
Jonah Town
Joanna Wonk
Johan Walton
We've also got our own pen name generator that you can download for FREE and brainstorm ideas for your pen name. It includes genre-specific names.Get it Here
Whether you call it a pen name generator, an alias generator, a fake name generator, a pseudonym generator, or an anagram maker, these tools can help you come up with a pen name that makes both you and your readers happy.
Get Your Book Discovered
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Choosing a great pen name to use for your books, poems, or short stories is the hardest part of this process (I promise!).
To properly choose, copyright, and use a pen name:
Do all of your research using the 5 steps above, ensuring that you're not choosing another well-known person's name. (Just a note: While it's okay to choose a pen name of a different gender, it's not as acceptable to choose a name specific to a different ethnicity than your own. There's no point in unnecessarily offending potential readers.)
Purchase URLs and secure social media handles for your pen name.
Legally set up a business using your pen name, especially if you plan to open bank accounts or other accounts using your pen name. Most authors choose sole proprietorship or LLCs, but you should discuss this with your financial advisor and attorney before proceeding to make sure you're doing what's best in your specific situation.
Apply for a Fictitious Business Name Statement (FBN Statement) if you plan to receive payments under your pen name. This is a type of DBA (doing business as) statement. Some places in the US require you to have a qualifying word, like "books" or "publications" after your name when setting up an FBN Statement. These registration websites differ by state. (Amazon will make payments to the account owner name of your KDP account, so if you're only selling on Amazon, this may not be necessary.)
Inform your agent and publisher of your real name for contracts and tax purposes, if possible. (There are a few exceptions to this rule — you can sign contracts with a pen name — but using your real name for official purposes makes things easier in most cases.)
Use your pen name on your book cover and copyright notice (like this: © 2017 [your pen name]).
Register the copyright for your work under your real name and/or your pen name. There are drawbacks to using only your pseudonym. In particular, it's harder to prove your ownership of the work with a pen name only — plus, it reduces the amount of time your copyright will be in effect. Attorney Helen Sedwick says, "I recommend that authors register their pseudonymous works under both their real names and pen names. This creates a permanent record of ownership, and few readers are going to research copyright records and find out the author's real name."
Once you finally choose a pen name, make sure you have it set up correctly in KDP.
To set up your pen name in Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for Amazon book sales:
Go to the KDP website.
Select a book already uploaded to your account or start the process of adding a new book.
Enter your chosen pen name in the author First and Last Name fields.
Press "Save and Continue" and finish publishing your book to KDP.
Because you entered the name within your KDP author account, which is under your legal name, Amazon knows you're the true owner of your book. There should be no legal concerns of someone with the same name claiming authorship or any other legal standing for your book with Amazon.
Amazon will make payments to the name listed on your KDP account, not your pen name.
You will also be taxed via your KDP account with your legal name. If your KDP is used to publish books by multiple authors, you will be responsible for ensuring they cover the taxes for their books — and that you pay them what they're owed for their book sales. Pen names won't help get you out of your dues to Uncle Sam.
Watch the video below to see how to set up a pen name in your Amazon author account.
Want more videos like this? Subscribe to my YouTube channel!
So, What's Your Pen Name?
As you can see, there are many steps that go into choosing a pseudonym.
A pen name shouldn't be something you carelessly decide because it can be an important part of marketing your book. Pen names can be your brand and your identity — and once you've established that brand, it can be costly to erase and restart.
Choose wisely using the tactics and criteria listed above.
Did the pen name generators give you any perfect or terrible pseudonyms? What about our pen name generator? Let me know your results in the comments below.
Dave Chesson
When I am not fighting dragons or chasing the bogey man out of my kids' closet, I like using my previous Online Optimization skills to help other authors with the 'technical' stuff and get the right authors to the top of Amazon and any other eBook service out there.
Posted in Book PublishingTagged Articles, Guides
Hi, I'm Dave Chesson
When I'm not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I'm a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I've even been called "The Kindlepreneur" by Amazon publicly, and I'm here to help you with your author journey.
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183 thoughts on "Pen Names: How to Pick, Name Generators, and How to Publish"
John Hudson March 30, 2021 at 11:19 pm
I noticed that in your children's picture books (The two I checked anyway) that you use a pen name. I won't stomp my foot and demand to know if you did it to keep a separation between the genres you write, or if you didn't think "Dave Chesson" would sell a children's picture book, but..wait a second..that's exactly what I want to do! haha
Most importantly the second one. With everything else equal, will a children's picture book sell better with a female pen name, over my real name?
Joy Roos Sephton March 4, 2021 at 1:11 pm
I chose a pen name for two slightly different reasons. As a child, I always disliked my surname, and I knew my husband I were heading for divorce, so didn't want to use my married name, although I have kept it for our children's sake. Joy Monette seemed to fit well with women's fiction and romance, so there we go.
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One World One Future: Tánaiste launches Ireland's New Policy
Tue, 08 Oct 2013 16:07:31 BST
One World One Future: An Tánaiste Launches Ireland's New Policy
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - 2/5/13
Aid Effectiveness, Speeches, Ireland, 2013
An Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore, launches One World, One Future: Ireland's New Policy International Development.
Speech by An Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade
Launch of One World, One Future: Ireland's Policy for International Development, 2 May 2013
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to welcome you all to the launch of the Government's Policy for International Development: One World, One Future. This policy is the result of the comprehensive review of the 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid, which was a commitment in our Programme for Government. It underscores our continuing commitment, as a Government and as a people, to making a meaningful contribution to the fight against extreme poverty and hunger in our world.
Let me, at the outset, express my appreciation to the Irish Aid Expert Advisory Group and its Chairperson, Nora Owen, for the invaluable role you have played in providing external oversight for the review process and the development of this new policy.
I also want to thank Joe Costello, Minister of State for Trade and Development, for his strong leadership of the process and his tireless commitment to the aid programme.
The world has changed dramatically since the publication in 2006 of the White Paper on Irish Aid. The reality of the changes are felt every day by families in Ireland facing huge economic challenges as we work to restore our economy and rebuild our international reputation.
Inevitably, aid budgets are under pressure right across the developed world. But I believe it is important that we recognise the real progress which has been made in the lives of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world as a result of the concerted international effort to fight poverty in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals.
The MDGs set the ambitious target thirteen years ago of halving world poverty by 2015. It is now clear that this Goal will be met. I am proud that Ireland has played its part in this achievement.
It is beyond dispute that international development assistance - aid - has been critical, even if it has not been the sole element in progress. In recent years, we have seen the emergence of renewed confidence in developing countries, as they generate more of their own revenues, and open up further to the world. This is particularly true in Africa, which is and will remain the focus of Ireland's aid programme. Our aim, and our partner countries' aim, must be to reduce their dependency on aid. We are working to empower governments and communities to drive their own development.
However, the picture is not uniformly positive. Far from it - as we heard very clearly at the hugely successfully international conference on Hunger Nutrition and Climate Justice, which we held in Dublin just two weeks ago. The global challenges are immense. The reality is that today, in 2013, despite the progress over the past decade, the lives of a billion people – one seventh of the population of the planet – are dominated by poverty and hunger. 870 million people suffer hunger. That is almost twice the population of the entire European Union. And seven thousand children under five are dying every day, principally because of under-nutrition.
People in the Horn of Africa and elsewhere on the continent are suffering the impact of ongoing and deep-seated conflicts. Some 27 million people are displaced within their own countries because of violence and conflict and there are more than 10 million refugees spread across the globe.
This global reality is one of suffering, injustice and denial of basic human rights. It is also one of cruelly wasted potential of girls and boys who could make a difference in their communities and in the wider world. We simply cannot afford this.
It is morally wrong that in the era of technology and interconnectedness millions of people still live in dire poverty and children die of illnesses that are entirely preventable.
This global injustice has to be addressed honestly – for reasons of morality and of self-interest. We no longer have the choice to avoid the challenge.
As the international community reviews progress on the Millennium Development Goals, and contemplates the new framework that will shape development efforts from 2015, Ireland needs to be clear about the type of world we want to help forge for our children. And about what we can do as a nation to support those countries that are emerging from poverty and which want a better life for their people.
Our new policy for international development sets out the vision which will guide our efforts. It is a vision of ... a sustainable and just world, where people are empowered to overcome poverty and hunger and fully realise their rights and potential.
Ireland's commitment to international development
Today's policy launch is an opportunity to restate in very clear terms what I firmly believe is a core value of our people: our commitment to, and solidarity with, those less fortunate than ourselves, those who struggle daily to secure the lives of their families in harsh and unyielding conditions. Our own history of famine, poverty, migration and resilience underscores this solidarity.
At its core, this policy is about Irish values. We are a country that has never colonised or come with invading arms to dominate another people. We have always come to help, keep the peace and give those who need it a hand up.
And because of our own tragic history, we have never been a people that could look the other way and ignore a dying child.
This is what it is to be Irish.
And we have found a number of ways of expressing that. Every time there is a crisis, Irish people put their hand in their pocket. And often it is those with the least who respond by giving the most. We see that sense of solidarity in our own communities and we have seen it expressed it internationally too over several decades through our missionaries – the many nuns and priests who dedicated their lives to the people of Africa – and through our international aid programme.
That is who we are, and that is why our NGOs are the best in the world. We are not just the best football supporters in the world – we are also the best development workers in the world.
It is recognised internationally that we, today, are implementing one of the most effective aid programmes in the world, managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and engaging organisations and communities in every part of Ireland. I have been struck by the continuing strong support there is for the positive role that we are playing as a country - through our official aid programme, our development organisations, our missionaries, our volunteers, and schools and communities who are involved in one way or another - in combating global poverty, inequality and injustice.
I am greatly assured that the national consultations on the Review of the White Paper affirmed that there is a strong support base across the country for Ireland's overseas development assistance programme, even at a time of immense economic difficulty for our citizens. And a clear understanding of the role we must continue to play in highlighting the fundamental crisis of hunger and undernutrition.
Opportunities from Ireland's contribution
The consultations also showed that Ireland's support for international cooperation makes sense not just because it is the right thing to do.
It is also the smart thing to do for a small country, dependent on the global economy, and connected in human terms and by technology with every part of the world.
One clear lesson from we have learned from the economic experience of the past decade is that our independence and sovereignty can only be built and sustained on the basis of our international engagement, including our international responsibilities. And in the decades ahead, the big challenges will be global. Whether it is coping with shifts in the global economy, the serious effects of climate change, the consequences of a growing world population or of conflict, insecurity and terrorism – we cannot address them in isolation, and we cannot leave them to others. Because our own security and our own development depend on the joint, international response.
The old definitions do not hold. No longer is it about a rich north or a poor south, a first world or a third world. We have to recognise that we all live in One World, and that the imperative is to forge together One Future for children from Europe, from Africa, from Latin America, from Asia.
This is not simple idealism. We in Ireland also need to seize this moment and build on the economic opportunities that are opening up in Africa and elsewhere. Our new policy makes it clear that our positive role in international development, in addition to helping fight poverty and vulnerability, is creating opportunities, which are important also for our own economic recovery.
We are supporting countries to address their own poverty and build their own economies. Stronger economies elsewhere mean stronger global growth. And as a small country on the periphery of Europe, we rely on that global growth to stimulate our own economy; to trade with the world and to have the world trade with us.
The economies of many African countries are flourishing – even if their economic growth is at times uneven. More African countries are at peace and building democratic institutions. Record numbers of children are going to school. The rate of HIV infections have fallen by up to three-quarters. Consumer spending will almost double in the next ten years. A new African middle class is emerging.
And many countries where our people went as missionaries are now countries where our companies are now going to build critical infrastructure. There is affection for Ireland because of the way we have expressed that solidarity with the poorest people in the world over the years. And now, even at our most difficult time, we must keep faith with the world's poorest.
Our aid funding will remain untied, and that is a fundamental principle we have long upheld. But as we have outlined in the Africa Strategy which I launched 18 months ago, we will use our strong partnerships overseas to identify trade opportunities and stimulate mutually beneficial relationships. This will be good for the countries that we are working with. And it will be good for Ireland.
That is why international cooperation needs to be central not just to our foreign policy, but right across Government. In assisting those most in need across the world, we are also investing the interests of the Irish people.
New policy commitments
The new policy for international development we are launching today replaces the White Paper on Irish Aid and presents a fresh and vigorous agenda for the coming years.
It sets out in very clear terms what our goals and our areas of focus are, and what we want to achieve by using our aid, our voice and our capacity.
This policy builds on the strengths of our existing programme, maintaining our focus on the world's poorest countries, ensuring all of our aid remains untied, and using a mix of instruments to ensure our aid is delivered safely and effectively.
It affirms the importance of the Government's expenditure on overseas aid with a determination to maintain it broadly at current levels, even in these difficult economic times. We remain committed to moving towards the 0.7% of GNP target for our aid spending when circumstances permit.
We are highlighting here areas of particular significance to Ireland in guiding our approach. These include a renewed commitment to addressing hunger and malnutrition; a sharper focus on responding to the impacts of climate change and on working in fragile states emerging from conflict, and an even greater attention to human rights, including gender equality. These priorities will also be reflected in our policy focus internationally, where we will work for a stronger recognition of the need to end extreme poverty and hunger in a generation, a stronger focus on the role of smallholder and climate-sensitive agriculture, and a much more specific focus on the rights and empowerment of women and girls.
As an indication of our commitment to fragile states, where the needs are greatest and where the means to meet them are least, I am today announcing that Sierra Leone will become a new Key Partner Country for the aid programme, building on and enhancing our work there, and in neighbouring Liberia, as we work with their people to rebuild their lives after appalling conflict.
We are also focusing more clearly on the role of inclusive economic growth, the development of the private sector, and fostering trade in order to enable developing countries to grow and to finance their own development.
We have recognised the need to reflect the changing and diverse relationships that exist in our Key Partner Countries which are benefiting from support through Ireland's bilateral aid programme. And we will respond to each context according to the needs and opportunities that arise.
A central aspect of our new policy is the strong commitment we are now making to full openness and transparency, to the Irish people and to our partners in developing countries. We need to be completely transparent on what we do, on how we work, and, crucially, on what we are achieving.
We will be accountable for actions across Government, through the publication of a biennial report to Cabinet and the Oireachtas. We will also be publishing our aid data under the recent internationally agreed format and standard by 2015.
We will expect all of our partners to adopt the same standards of accountability. In this way, Irish people will be better able to see where and how their money is being spent, and what results are being achieved.
And, importantly, we will deepen engagement here in Ireland on development, building on the strong foundation of the experience and potential that is represented here in this room today. This means working together to build awareness, develop links, and harness capacities.
Building on our strengths
I want to thank all of you who participated so vigorously in the Review of the White Paper on Irish Aid. We met with over 1,000 people across Ireland, and in our partner countries. And 165 groups and individuals went to the trouble of sending us thoughtful written submissions.
We have listened to you, and today we are responding.
We have much to build on: a world-renowned aid programme; a leading role in the fight against hunger and malnutrition; the unrivalled reputation of our volunteers, NGOs, and missionaries who are at the frontline in even the most difficult of situation; a growing engagement by the private sector.
We have a solid track record in innovation and inspiration which has the potential to change the lives of millions. We have, for instance, spearheaded new approaches to the treatment of severe child malnutrition, through a remarkable Irish not-for-profit company.
Together, we can continue to inspire, to break new ground and to give a voice to the voiceless. We can set ambitious goals for ourselves and our partners. And we can work together to meet those goals.
Ireland's new policy for International Development is about building One World, One Future. We start, together, from here.
Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade
Irish Aid

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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November 15, 2019 August 1, 2022 joynealkidney
Donald Wilson survived the sinking of the USS Yorktown (CV-5) at Midway in June of 1942. He helped bake out engines on the refloated battleship USS California (BB-44) at Pearl Harbor and at the Puget Sound Navy Yard on the west coast. He received a citation for being part of the attempt to savage the Yorktown and was promoted to Chief Electrician's Mate that fall.
After insisting that the Navy was no place for a married man, he married Rose, a Bremerton, Washington "woman of middle age" he wrote home to his folks in January of 1943.
Eight days after they were married, the keel the fourth USS Hancock (CV-19) was laid down in January 1943 by the Bethlehem Steel Company Shipyard at Quincy, Massachusetts.
Don was selected for a Naval Interior Communications School on the east coast. He and Rose traveled across the country by train and stopping in Iowa to meet all of Don's relatives.
After several months in Washington, DC, Don's graduation was January 24, 1944, the same day the USS Hancock was launched. When the graduated were assigned their ships, he chose the new carrier which was still in Boston, figuring it would take awhile before commissioning.
Plank Owner
A plank owner is crew member of a ship when placed in commission. This was the second time Donald Wilson became a plank owner of an aircraft carrier. CV-19 denotes that the Hancock was the nineteenth carrier built. The Yorktown was the CV-5, so you can see how quickly the U.S. began to build aircraft carriers during the war.
A new ship always goes through a shake-down cruise (theirs was held off Trinidad and Venezuela), returning for alterations, so Donald didn't return to the west coast and combat until the fall of 1944. The ship joined Admiral W. F. Halsey's Third Fleet in October at Ulithi atoll, where the fleet returned after several days of battle to refuel and reprovision, and the crew receive mail and relax.
CEM Donald Wilson, age 26
Admiral McCain
The USS Hancock, or Hannah–as they affectionately called the carrier–took part in nearly every major naval battle during the rest of the war. She became flagship of Fast Carrier Task Force 38 on November 17, 1944, when Vice Adm. John Sidney "Slew" McCain came on board.
Admiral McCain asked CEM Donald Wilson to relocate his telephone on the carrier. While working on it, Don noticed quite a bit of tobacco on the carpet of the admiral's cabin.
Cigarettes on board the ship were only forty cents a carton, but Admiral McCain rolled his own.
Bull Durham.
The "Fighting Hannah": A War History of the U.S.S. Hancock CV-19 by E. G. Hines, USNR, 1946.
Uncle Don's letter to me about Adm. McCain.
Adm. John Sidney "Slew" McCain
Donald W. Wilson
USS Hancock (CV-19)
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shoreacres says:
I've never heard the phrase "plank owner." It was interesting to learn about that — and didn't I smile at "Bull Durham"!
Was Rose actually older than Don?
About five years.
I was wondering where Bull Durham was going to come in!
David Furneaux says:
This is great to see for the Hancock. Slew McCain, John the Sr. My Dad's ship was caught in same typhoon they were in … Jan '45 I think.
His son, Adm John McCain II, was my CINCPAC Fleet overall commander of Pacific forces when I arrived at Schofield on Oahu in'72. Then I got an autographed copy of John III's " Faith of my Fathers" when was here in 2000. In April 2009, my son got to hear John McCain address a luncheon put on by the American Chamber of Commerce… in Hanoi.
We have 3 generations of connection with the McCains.
Fascinating history with the McCains, Dave. Thanks for adding that. The typhoon was December 18, 1944. My blog post for a book about it about it is scheduled for December 11. Uncle Don put me onto that book, too.


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Barcelona-born John Talabot is one of the most quietly influential – and downright quiet – people working in electronic music today. Ever since his debut album ƒin reached a level of critical consensus few can scale in 2012, he has balanced a low profile with high output: touring the globe with Axel Boman as power duo Talaboman, running the much-loved Hivern Discs label, and enrapturing countless audiences with hypnotic DJ sets.


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Calum Johnston
ON THE RIVET
Dave Rayner Fund
This year for the 2019 season I am proudly supported by 'The Dave Rayner Fund'.
Dave Rayner was a professional racing cyclist from England in the 80's and 90's. At the time of his career he was very successful by dominating the British scene which led to a pro contract with the Interent-Yugo team in 1987. Following from this were three very successful seasons with Raleigh-Banana and Banana-Falcon.
At the peak of his career he was ready to take on the 'Tour de France' but unfortunately had to miss the start due to injury. Dave then wanted to take on a different approach and head to the USA for a season before returning home in 1994. In November of that year, during a night out in Bradford with friends, he was the victim of an assault that led to his death four days later.
Almost immediately, Dave's grief-stricken friends were working on plans to set up a fund in his memory. Its goal would be to support young British riders wanting to get experience of racing abroad, in just the same way that Dave had done in Italy in the mid-1980s. It first started in 1996, and suddenly the 'Dave Rayner Fund' backed four riders racing internationally.
After the first year success, each year the fund grew and grew with new up and coming cyclists wanting to make a living abroad as a professional cyclist. The fund has managed to back in total 250 riders including olympic champions and winners of huge races such as the Tour and many more. Through its annual dinner, the Étape du Dales cyclosportive and other activities, the fund has raised more than £1million.
For me, to be a part of the Dave Rayner Fund is a huge honour given it's amazing history and I hope I can do it justice in 2019!
Make sure to head to there website to learn more about the organisation and get to know the riders who will be supported. https://www.daveraynerfund.co.uk/
calumjohnston.CJ@gmail.com


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It's been a while – sorry about that. I've been posting very nearly every day on my other site UKNatureBlog so check that out for wildlife including lots from my own garden.
I've also been busy preparing for the imminent arrival of my first child, which is exciting and already life-changing. For instance I've now joined my wife in not drinking alcohol as I may be required to rush her off to hospital at a moment's notice. Hence I have entered the murky world of low alcohol beer! So far we've sampled Becks Blue (zero alcohol), Cobra Zero (zero alcohol) and Clausthaler Classic (< 0.5% alcohol). And I must say that Clausthaler has been a revelation that wins out over the others. It doesn't taste watery and overly bitter (like the Becks) but it's not cloying and overly malty (like the Cobra). In fact it actually tastes like a fairly normal weakish French bottled lager to me, which is a fair feat when it leaves your head clear. I know it's German but it reminds me of Kronenbourg or St Omer in stubbies when camping in France for some reason.
Actually it's truly quite wondrous stuff as you can savour a cold beer or two on a summer's afternoon and not be in the slightest bit muddled or woozy for the rest of the day. It's just refreshing, tasty and beery. I picked it up in Waitrose on a whim, but I now know that it's actually the most popular alcohol-free brand in Europe and I can see why.
I learnt a lot about it from this very good and fact-filled review by a beer-craving pregnant lady, a few notables from which I'll expound upon here. Apparently they brew it in the same manner as other German purity-law beers, but with a special yeast that doesn't generate nearly so much alcohol. This sets it apart from most other low alcohol brews that pass normal strength beer through an osmosis process that knackers the flavour. Clausthaler claim that the small amount of alcohol in their beer is just enough to make it properly 'beery' compared to those with none. Anyway – Clausthaler is thoroughly recommended, though I'm still hoping to find some low-alcohol bitter in the supermarkets. The 30p a can 2% generic value bitter you see in the low-end supermarkets doesn't count as the alcohol content is clearly just the result of penny-pinching.
There are great non alcohol or very low alcohol beers all over Europe. It's just England which seems to produce truly awful ones. Clausthaler is nice, but I also recommend some of the Hungarian brands (Soproni, Borsodi), also Buckler, SchlossGold and in Spain the San Miguel san alcool is good.
Waitrose sell it – or order it from Ocado if you do your super-market shopping with them.


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Reverb Articles
Gear History
Tips & How-To's
Tone Report
The Signature Models We Want to See
Published March 08, 2021 by Reverb
Left: Carol Kaye, 1970. Michael Orchs Archives, Getty Images.
Center: Frances Carroll & Her Coquettes Featuring Drummer Viola Smith Live 1939.
Right: Sister Rosetta Tharpe "Didn't It Rain?" Live 1964.
Some artists are so closely associated with their instruments of choice that the combination becomes iconic: Bob Marley and his Les Paul Special, Mary Kaye and her Blonde Stratocaster, or Thundercat and his 6-String Ibanez Bass. Often, brands from Fender to Ludwig will work with artists or artists' estates to turn these instantly identifiable instruments into signature models.
This signature gear honors a musician's artistry, gives fans a chance to own an instrument with the artist's own specs or modifications, and can even become so popular that it grows beyond the association with any one player and becomes part of the musical instruments lexicon. For example, say, the Gibson Les Paul.
Many influential women in music have collaborated on signature models, especially in recent years, like Ibanez's Yvette Young YY10, Blackstar's Carmen Vanderberg CV30, Ernie Ball Music Man's St. Vincent Signature, and Fender's H.E.R. Stratocaster and Billie Eilish Ukulele.
But there are many other influential women from music's past and present who have had close associations with particular instruments but so far have not received the signature model treatment. So we're thinking of some of our favorites, and imagining the signature models that could be.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe performing "Didn't It Rain?," live 1964
Sister Rosetta Tharpe's
Gibson SG Custom
Think of a three-pickup SG Custom and there's a good chance you're picturing it in Rosetta Tharpe's hands. While she played numerous guitars throughout her career, pictures and videos of her early-'60s performances have created a strong bond between the godmother of rock 'n' roll and the devil-horned rock machine. A period-correct SG Custom with the sideways Vibrola and gold hardware in that regal white finish? That would be a great signature guitar.
Tina Weymouth's
Hofner 500/2 Club Bass
Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club could truly have several signature models: the racing stripe Fender Mustang Bass, Musicmaster Bass, or others in her arsenal. But the Hofner 500/2 Club Bass—which she first bought in 1977, used on many Talking Heads records, and played during some of the funkiest moments of the Stop Making Sense concert doc—is perhaps the top contender. Maybe Hofner could even include a strip of gaffers tape as case candy.
Tina Weymouth, 1980. Michael Orchs Archives, Getty Images.
Wendy Carlos, 1979. Photo via Moog.
Wendy Carlos'
Moog Minimoog
Wendy Carlos' first Moog system was custom-built, "a gorgeous walnut cabinet with many additional adjunct devices and wiring," she later wrote. Carlos used this early Moog to create Switched-On Bach, the overnight sensation that propelled synthesizers—and Moog synths in particular—into the public eye. While it would be unwieldy to recreate Carlos' entire system from that time, maybe a new walnut-encased Minimoog reissue could come with some Carlos-inspired appointments, or a book of patches in the style of Carlos' classic works. In the same way Moog has recently released the Claravox theremin for Clara Rockmore, a Minimoog (or, truly, any Moog) for Carlos could honor one of the primary pioneers of electronic music.
Viola Smith's
Elevated Toms
12 drums, 13 drums, 17 drums—Viola Smith had a penchant for multi-shell setups. The jazz drummer, who rose to fame in the 1930s with her swinging big band and passed away in 2020 at the age of 107, was the first female drumming star. As a longtime WFL and Ludwig artist, she stood out in a roster otherwise full of men. And with her trademark setup of two 16-inch floor toms decidedly not on the floor, she was bound to stand out on any stage. While there's not much of a market for super-sized drum kits these days, a pair of 16-inch floor toms—with expandable stands—would make a fitting tribute.
Frances Carroll & Her Coquettes, featuring drummer Viola Smith, live 1939
12 drums, 13 drums, 17 drums—Viola Smith had a penchant for multi-shell setups. The jazz drummer, who rose to fame in the 1930s with her swinging big band and passed away in 2020 at the age of 107, was the first female drumming star. As a longtime WFL and Ludwig artist, she stood out in a roster otherwise full of men. And with her trademark setup of 16-inch floor toms decidedly not on the floor, she was bound to stand out on any stage. While there's not much of a market for super-sized drum kits these days, a pair of 16-inch floor toms—with expandable stands—would make a fitting tribute.
Jlin, 2019. Drew Gurian, Red Bull Content Pool.
Jlin's
Back in 2016, Jlin selected percussion sounds for Native Instruments' Komplete Sketches series. Her ear for Cuban timbales, West African djembes, and other hits created an evocative collection that could be used in NI's software suite. The producer's imaginative sonics and elastic rhythms have resulted in a uniquely boundless discography, from footwork beats to her choreography score with Wayne McGregor. Which got us to thinking… Could Jlin and NI team up again, but this time with a full firmware takeover of the Maschine+, akin to Novation's Aphex Twin collaboration, the AFX Station?
Carol Kaye's
No one besides Motown's James Jamerson has contributed more to how the electric bass is heard and played than Carol Kaye. The first-call session musician and "Wrecking Crew" member contributed basslines to an unbelievable amount of pop hits and film soundtracks. In the '60s, on sessions for The Beach Boys, Ike & Tina Turner, Simon & Garfunkel, and more, the muted and picked tone she got on her Fender Precision Bass filled the country's radio airwaves. Known for using a piece of felt at the bridge and placing her own shim under the neck, her P-Bass wasn't far from stock. But collaborating on a signature model that feels exactly right for her would surely feel right in other player's hands too.
Carol Kaye, 1970. Michael Orchs Archives, Getty Images.
Lianne La Havas, 2017. Rich Polk, Getty Images.
Lianne La Havas'
Harmony Stratotone
When Lianne La Havas was making her third, self-titled album, she gravitated toward a vintage Stratotone. She told Guitar.com, "I was immediately familiar with it when I bought it. It felt like it had been mine for a really long time, and I didn't know that an instrument could feel like that." That feeling is all one can ask for when looking for an instrument, and her 1964 Harmony is just the type of vibey, vintage guitar you can still find for a steal. But recent years have seen a full relaunch of the Harmony brand, which is once again making new models of retro favorites like the Juno and the Stratotone-like Jupiter. A Lianne La Havas Signature Stratotone could re-introduce the guitar to a new generation of players.
Laura Jane Grace's
"Darth Vader" Rickenbacker 370
Laura Jane Grace is a Rickenbacker superfan. But in a collection of mean-looking Ricks, one in particular is the meanest-looking of them all. She calls this Rickenbacker 370 "Darth Vader," and it's easy to see why. Unlike other 370s, which sport the standard white pickguard and chrome-topped knobs, hers has a blackguard and black knobs on a fully black finish. One last modification—a Mastery bridge in place of the stock Rickenbacker—offers tuning stability, even amid Against Me's punk assault. A production-run signature model of Darth Vader would be sick, and its sleek, mean look could appeal to any number of other punks and aggressive players.
Laura Jane Grace, 2012. Eddy BERTHIER, Wikimedia Commons.
Joni Mitchell, 1974. Paul C. Babin, Wikimedia Commons.
Joni Mitchell's
Martin D-28
The Martin D-28 is a classic acoustic, and in the hands of Joni Mitchell, it was a vessel for her rarefied songwriting and alternate tunings. The story behind her particular 1956 D-28 was that she received it as a gift from a Marine in 1966. When he was in Vietnam, it survived an explosion that ruined the rest of his belongings. Mitchell used the D-28 on all of her early records and later wondered to Acoustic Guitar if "the explosion did something to the modules in the wood" that bestowed its special sound. Unfortunately, the guitar was stolen in the '70s, and, while she has replaced it, she said she's never found another that compares. Could Martin work with her to create a signature D-28 that would?
Possibilities Are Endless
While we've thought up these particular signature models above, there is really no end to worthy contenders. Just in the bass-playing world alone, Kim Gordon, Gail Ann Dorsey, Esperanza Spalding, Kim Deal, and Laura Lee could have killer signature basses. Could Sennheiser make a witchy Stevie Nicks 441? What next-level instruments could Holly Herndon or Björk create with a manufacturer willing to give them free reign?
Earlier this month, we asked Reverb's social media community what signature model they'd like to see, and we got too many great responses to list in full. They included: Bilinda Butcher's Mustang with the Jazzmaster tremolo, Gail Ann Dorsey's Jazz Bass, Meg White's red-and-white drum kit, Poison Ivy Rorschach's Gretsch 6120, Phoebe Bridgers' Danelectro, and Memphis Minnie's National.
The possibilities are truly endless, and, if the responses we received on social media are any indication, there's a large desire to see more signature models for women artists put into production.
Building a More Inclusive Future
In January of 2020, Spotify sponsored a study conducted by USC Annenberg titled "Inclusion in the Recording Studio? Gender and Race/Ethnicity of Artists, Songwriters & Producers across 800 Popular Songs from 2012-2019." It found that though women in music are gaining ground, male artists outnumbered women 3.6 to 1. The ratio of male to female producers across 500 popular songs was 37 to 1. Averaging data from the length of the study, only 12.5% of songwriters were women.
With numbers this low, is it a surprise we don't see more women's signature models at our local music stores? What steps can we take to build a more diverse industry where well-deserved signature models aren't just a dream but a reality? How can we contribute to an inclusive environment that leads to a future full of signature models like the ones above?
To start, youth music education organizations like Willie Mae Future Sounds, countless Girls Rock camps across the globe, Chicxs Rockerxs Southeast LA, the NVAK Foundation, and Women's Audio Mission, are actively providing young women with the guidance they need to envision themselves in the roles needed to break the mold. With the help of grants from Reverb Gives, they're also getting the gear they need to make music.
After conducting their own study in 2018, Fender found that over 45% of new guitar purchases were driven by women and are taking steps to introduce more women's signature models than they ever have before. An encouraging stat as we look toward the future paired with thoughtful action to help ensure more women players feel represented in guitar.
Learning how you can help support organizations like these in your own community helps immensely. Mentorship, being vocal about who you'd like to see represented by the gear companies you love, and uplifting women artists not just in March, but always, goes a long way. Maybe, with your help, we'll start seeing some of these ideas, or even your own, come to life.
Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Dr. Katherine Pieper, Hannah Clark, Ariana Case & Marc Choueiti "Inclusion in the Recording Studio? Gender and Race/Ethnicity of Artists, Songwriters & Producers across 800 Popular Songs from 2012-2019," January 2020.
A portion of every sale on Reverb supports youth music education programs.
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Edmonton puts on an amazing folk fest. 20,000 people and a lot of amazing music makes for a good time. Here it is in a nutshell.
The time I got to meet Patrick Watson! His music as one friend put it, "will put a lump in your throat and change your life."
Have I told you how much I wanna be in his band!? Through my blubbering, "I LOVE YOUR MUSIC" I voiced that sentiment.
Patrick Watson's Wooden Arms. A-MA-ZING!
Sarah Harmer, you write great songs!
A whole lotta Folk Fest lovin'.
Oh, these bright shiny lights. They'll be shining so bright!
Edmonton Folk Fest, you've done it again. Thanks for everything. See you next year!
Sweet! my bro was there - wish i could go to it sometime... :( i heard a little bit on CKUA but not much unfortunately.
That looks like so much fun! and don't even get me started on Patrick Watson....oh the love I have for that man.
I found your blog on The Doe or the Deer's link up, I love it!
Nice pics, you! I bet Sarah Harmer was AMAZING! ooo hoo! miss you!!


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Was Christ Jesus A Myth Derived from Mithra, the Persian Sun God?
A Competing Religion in Rome
A scant fifty years before Jesus was born down in Israel a version of a Persian cult was imported into the city of Rome, capital of the Roman Empire. Mithraism was the worship of Mithra, the Persian sun god, along with the adoration of a number of other related greater and lesser deities. Possibly originating as long ago as 1500 B.C.E. the religion, and its associated deities, underwent some degree of evolution in concept, name, and form.
In its Roman form during the 3rd Century A.D. the sun god was said to have been born of a virgin goddess in an off-earth celestial cave, though in its more original Persian form Mithra had been said to have been born from a mother rock without need of a father. Roman tradition sets the time of year of Mithra's birth (or deliverance from the rock) as the winter solstice, December 25. Various traditions list the sun god as being surrounded by either eight or twelve celestial bodies, perhaps calling them zodiac symbols would be more accurate, as his constant companions.
Mithraism hit its greatest zenith of popularity in Rome during the 3rd Century, and is thought to have even found favor among a few Roman emperors. Of course, a zenith implies a decline to follow, and Mithraism did quickly fade. The upstart Jewish offshoot cult, Christianity, was sweeping across the world and was directly involved in driving Mithraism into obsolescence in Rome. Christianity became dominant not just in Rome proper, but throughout and beyond Rome's empirical borders in Europe, England, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
One Myth Is Theorized To Have Spawned Another
In the past decade it has become popular in atheistic circles and on the websites of religious skeptics to focus on the similarities between Christianity and Mithraism with an eye toward asserting that Jesus is a myth that was evolved from out of the Mithra myth. While this makes for an interesting bull session in a college student lounge, it is almost always accompanied by misstatements and withheld information leading to faulty conclusions.
Which Religion Came First?
First of the errors or misstatements about the Mithra myth is that it was the oldest of the three religions of Mithraism, Judaism, and Christianity. This claim of greater antiquity for Mithraism is false. The earliest postulated date for Mithraism, in any of its varied forms, is about 1500 B.C.E. in Persia. There is absolutely no archeological or extant literary evidence to confirm such an ancient date, but we will let it stand unchallenged.
Judaism was begun when Abram (Abraham) was given a covenant by YHWH, the God of the Jews. Abram became the father of the Jewish race and instigated the worship of YHWH among his family. This happened at about 2000 B.C.E. However, it was not until between about 1500 - 1400 B.C.E that Moses formally codified the doctrines, theology, rituals, and laws of Judaism, committing them to written form. The last entries in the Judaic sacred texts (the Hebrew Bible which is now called the Old Testament) were penned about 400 B.C.E. by Malachi.
Unlike Mithraism, Judaism does have some extant literary and archeological evidence to substantiate its ancient date claims. One such fascinating piece of evidence is the victory stele of Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah. It mentions Israel by name and dates back to 1300 B.C.E. Israel was the name of Abraham's grandson for whom the nation of Israel was ultimately named. Since an Egyptian pharaoh was aware that the area of Canaan had been renamed for Abraham's grandson by 1300 B.C.E it gives strong testimony that Abraham's religion, begun in 2000 B.C.E., was also well entrenched. The very name "Israel" means "God/YHWH will rule" or "prevails with God/YHWH." This too speaks of the established religion of Judaism, the worship of the God, YHWH, having been internationally recognized by 1300 B.C.E.
Since Judaism is such an ancient and continuously practiced religion, its fame frequently makes it the target of atheist critics who claim that nothing about the Hebrew Bible is historically valid. Even historical figures such as King David are unfairly rejected as mythology or figures of fiction. Such allegations against the historicity of biblical figures are without evidentiary support, and therefore are without merit. For example, the 9th Century B.C.E. Jordanian Mesha Stele artifact boasts that King Mesha, of Moab, gained a military victory over Israel's King "Omri," over the "House of David," and over "YHWH," the God of Israel. By naming the name of specific Israelite kings (Omri and David) and Israel's God, YHWH, such extant archeological evidences affirm the antiquity of Judaism, YHWH as God, the national nature of Israel, the historical reality of King David, and therefore the general authenticity of the contents of the Hebrew Bible.
As established above, since Judaism has evidence it arrived on the planet at about 2000 B.C.E. while Mithraism came into existence about 1500 B.C.E.(though no evidence exists for such a distant date) it is apparent that Judaism easily predates Mithraism by at least five centuries. Judaism is a far older and more mature religion. Judaism was also codified in written form beginning in 1400 B.C.E through 400 B.C.E., whereas Mithraism has no such equivalent extant written codes or theological expositions of a similar age. Moreover, since Jews moved throughout the Middle East, Persia/Asia, Europe, and Africa between 1400 B.C.E and the 1st Century A.D. carrying their ancient written codified religion with them on scrolls, it is entirely likely that Judaism had some impact on the younger evolving pagan mythology of Mithraism.
Interestingly, from about the 7th Century B.C.E. some documents hint that some amount of Mithraism may have been codified in writing. However, none of those hinted-at writings have survived or have yet been found by modern researchers. This lack of B.C.E. canon for Mithraism stands in stark contrast to Judaism whose laws and writings have withstood numerous invasions, exiles, and national disasters.
Jews took great care to ensure the survival of their sacred texts. For example, between 200 B.C.E. and 50 B.C.E. a group of Jews collected the whole of the Jewish canon, preserved it in jars, and hid the jars in caves at Qumran. The Jewish canon remained there, preserved from destruction, theft, and would-be redactors until they were found, displayed, and published in the late 1940's A.D.
These original versions of the entire Hebrew Bible were literally buried in the ground where they remained out of reach and "lost" during the launch of the Christian church in 33 A.D., the inception of the common Christian era in the 1st Century A.D., the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 A.D., the fall of national Israel under the swords of the Roman cohort, and the attempted Nazi extermination of Abraham's entire race. Not until more than 2000 years later, when an independent Israel was reestablished in 1949 A.D., did the hidden Qumran scrolls come out of the ground. One major significance of these Dead Sea Scrolls is that they confirm that the Hebrew Bible underwent no editing or tampering by the Christian church. Whatever content the Hebrew texts of the Old Testament had in the 1st and 2nd Centuries B.C.E. is what they still contain today.
Did the Mithra Myth Spawn A Jesus Myth?
False claim number two is that the Roman version of the Mithra mythology spawned a new mythology called Jesus and Christianity. While it is likely true that Mithraism migrated into the Roman empire, specifically Rome, beginning about 50 B.C.E., there is no archeological evidence that the Jews adopted this religion down in Israel where Christ and Christianity were first revealed.
Strict Judaism was well entrenched in Israel during the 1st Century A.D. meaning paganism and idolatry were utterly detested. In that environment paganism for a Jew could be a capital offense, making Mithraism an undesirable religious model. Any Jew who proposed a new religious school of thought that appropriated any part of paganism, such as from Mithraism, would have been instantly rejected or persecuted out-of-hand. Jesus was scrupulously orthodox with regard to Judaism, but even He was viewed with some suspicion when He purged the temple of crooked vendors and later introduced the doctrine of the Eucharist. Had he, or His followers been overtly pagan in any respect it is likely that His career would have been instantly and disastrously ended long before His execution.
Of most importance is the fact that no written Mithraism ritual code, theological doctrinal exposition, or even a book of liturgies has ever been found that predated Christianity. All Mithraism orders of service or theological explications originated in the 3rd Century A.D. or later (the lone exception is one brief generic prayer consisting of several lines of text in one book of the Parsees). Since everything that is known about the religion / mythology of Mithra comes from documents that were written at least 200 years after the birth of Jesus, and 100 years after the New Testament canon was completed, and since the Jews in Israel had not embraced Mithraism, it seems there is little credibility for the theory that Christianity in any way was based on Roman Mithraism.
Though the authorship dates for Christian literature are hotly disputed by liberal and atheistic elements, conservative scholars generally agree that all the extant manuscripts of the Christian New Testament were completed by the end of the 1st Century A.D. These include the letters of Paul (among the first Christian Scriptures penned), letters from James, Peter, and others, the gospels (in Greek biographical format) of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, the historical narrative of Acts, and lastly the future-predicting book of Revelation by John which he wrote while imprisoned on Patmos. All these were written and were in circulation among the various churches before 99 A.D.
Given that the Christian canon was closed and already in common circulation by 99 A.D., and that the Hebrew canon was closed by 400 B.C.E., and that the Mithraism canon does not arise until after 200 A.D., serious doubt is cast on the theory that Christianity borrowed or copied anything from Mithraism. In fact, the early Christian theologians became incensed that more than a century after the Christian canon went public that the Mithra priests began plagiarizing words, concepts, practices, and rituals from Christianity. Consider the following objections and observations by the various Christian theologians of that time who witnessed the plagiarisms for themselves.
Early Church Theologians Charge Mithraism with Plagiarism
Justin Martyr (110-165 A.D.) in his famed Dialogue with Trypho, chapter 70, states that he had encountered some of the then-recent claims of the Mithra cult. He masterfully identified some of the passages of the Hebrew Bible from which the followers of Mithraism freely plagiarized, namely from Daniel and Isaiah 33. In chapter 66 of his First Apology (which means "defense of the faith") Justin accused the Mithraism leadership from the 2nd Century A.D. of plagiarizing the 1st Century Christian Eucharist ceremony and grafting it into their pagan rituals. Since there is no mention of a Mithraism Eucharist prior to Justin's complaint of plagiarism, the charge that the pagans pirated their form of Eucharist from the earlier Christian Eucharist carries immense credibility.
Similarly, Tertullian (died 240 A.D.) also wrote an apologetic in which is a major section about crowns, entitled The Chaplet. In chapter 15 of The Chaplet he exposed how the 3rd Century practices of Mithraism had begun to steal from the Christian New Testament the symbol of the crown. Specifically, Mithra priests forced their converts to wear special crowns on their foreheads as an external symbol that they renounced Christ and fully identified with Mithra.
There is no way to put too fine a point on Justin's and Tertullian's charges against 2nd and 3rd Century Mithraism that they plagiarized from ancient Judaism and from 1st Century Christianity. In his Prescription Against Heretics, chapter 60, Tertullian entitled the chapter, "No Difference in the Spirit of Idolatry and of Heresy. In the Rites of Idolatry, Satan Imitated and Distorted the Divine Institutions of the Older Scriptures. The Christian Scriptures Corrupted by Him in the Perversions of the Various Heretics." It is key to note that his charge is bolstered by his observation that the Christian Scriptures were already older than the new practices being implemented into contemporary 3rd Century Roman Mithraism.
Origin (about 185-230 A.D.), in a refutation of the broad ranging anti-Christian accusations from a man named Celsus, noted that 3rd Century Mithraism identified Mithra's "disciples" as not being human followers but were merely symbolic astrological bodies (chapter 22, Against Celsus Book 6). This is in sharp contrast to Christianity's twelve apostles who were real men and were living followers of Jesus; some of those human apostles penned their own eyewitness accounts of Jesus; copies of these accounts are extant to this day.
In contrast to the charges made by Christian theologians, there are no known plagiarism charges from Mithra scribes or priests against Christianity. This lack is particularly significant because the zenith of Mithraism writing was in the 3rd Century A.D., long after the Christian canon had closed. The pagans had the last word regarding their own religion. It seems abundantly obvious that in a desperate effort to save and reenergize their dying religion that Mithra's priests stole shamelessly from the better documented and more powerfully dominant growing religion of Christianity. It did not ultimately help, of course, as Mithraism very quickly faded away in the 4th Century A.D. Christ's predictions that the fledgling Christian church would grow from the size of a mustard seed (a few hundred followers at that time) to the size of a tree (a global presence) has been dramatically realized.
Author's personal side commentary on the early church theologians: It is to my sad personal amusement that I have observed many skeptics of the Bible deride men such as Tertullian as being utterly intellectually bereft for having credited satanic influences in the 3rd Century Roman Mithraism plagiarisms of Christianity. Apparently if a great learned man acknowledges a genuine belief in spiritual warfare then he is automatically relegated to the slag heaps of stupidity. Why is this amusing to me? Atheists cannot see that their blinding biases have forced them to equate spiritual faith in God with an absolute lack of mental capacity and an abject lack of schooling regardless of the glaring evidence that many God-fearers, such as Tertullian, possessed an immense and superior intellect and education. That kind of bigotry is a true and volitional blindness.
but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. (2 Corinthians 4:2-5)
Judaism is documented to be five centuries older than the postulated inception date of Mithraism. Both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures predate virtually all writings of Mithraism. Christianity is a cultural and spiritual extension from out of Judaism--Christians are Abraham's spiritual children, Gentile followers of Christ are grafted into the spiritual vine of Israel, and Jews and Gentiles are united into a single metaphorical temple by their faith in Christ. Christianity is born out of Judaism, not paganism.
Knowing that the Mithra scribes copied words, concepts, and rituals from the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Bible, and from the Christian church, it is not a surprise that the surviving 3rd Century A.D. self-descriptions of Mithraism have similarities with Christianity. In fact, similarities are virtually necessary. How can one religion plagiarize from another without showing similarities between them?
Yet, even the similarities, plagiarized or not, are not as compelling as some commentators assert. Jesus was never a sun god whereas Mithra was always a sun god. When Jesus called himself the morning star in Revelation 2:28 and 22:16, it was not some oblique reference to the sun being a star, as if that would make Jesus a sun god, but was a direct reference to Numbers 24:16-17, where a rising (morning) star is Jewish poetic imagery for deity and the sovereign authority to reign.
Mithra was born from out of a celestial rock-mother, or a celestial virgin goddess, depending on which variation of Mithraism you are researching. In either case, Mithra was not human and not born on earth. By way of contrast, Jesus was a real human born to an actual human girl, born right here on planet earth, lived an authentic human life, and died an agonizing human death at the age of 33. The town of His birth can be visited today, the town where His friends lived can be walked through (Bethany), and the city where He worshipped is still the holy capital city of Judaism. Though the month and day of Jesus' birth are unknown, the year of His birth is known just as is the year of His death is known.
Jesus chose twelve living human students whom He trained for three years, according to the Judaic rabbinic custom. These men, when trained, carried on the building of the religion when Jesus left and trained the next generation of leaders and followers. By contrast Mithra was surrounded by eight or twelve satellites, planet bodies, or zodiac figures--different traditions identify them differently. In any case, these celestial bodies were not disciples in the ordinary sense and so could not carry on the work of Mithra on earth.
A feature common to virtually all religions is the fellowship of a mealtime. However, Judaism celebrated a unique meal called the Passover, a very structured ceremonial meal of gratitude to God for salvation. Jesus, while celebrating the Passover during the last week of His life, reformulated the Passover meal into the Christian Communion, or meal taken "communally." In the Christian Scriptures (the New Testament) the Communion meal was also called the "breaking of bread" and the "love feast" in which the celebrants are expressing gratitude toward Christ for their salvation. Gratitude is "eucharist" in Greek, and so oral tradition favored calling the Communion meal the Eucharist. Justin Martyr logged the charge that 2nd Century A.D. Mithraism had plagiarized the name and practice of the Eucharist from the Christian church.
A few critics of Christianity allege that Mithraism and Christianity shared the cross as a common symbol. They did not. Christians recognize the Roman instrument of execution, the crucifix, as the symbol of Christ's death. Opposite that, Mithraism honored an image of Mithra's fictional sword as its distinctive symbol. The sword of Mithraism is indicative of the ceremonial priestly cutting practices that have long plagued such pagan cults. Biblical Christianity embraces no such horrific cutting rite in its worship services, nor does it embrace the sword as a symbol of Christ.
Jews and Christians practiced ceremonial cleansing by immersion in water (baptism). By way of contrast Mithraism sprinkled its devotees with the blood of a freshly sacrificed bull. Mithraism's practice of sprinkling the worshippers with animal blood is best associated with pagan idolatry than with Judaism or Christianity.
Judaism and Christianity worship and recognize only one true God, YHWH. Christianity understands YHWH to be three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) while being just one Spirit, one substance, one nature, one God--the Trinity. Mithraism is polytheistic. Mithra is one of many gods, some greater than Mithra, some lesser. Some persons fancy Mithra to have had a loose contractual association with two other god-like figures, a sort of solar mutual defense pact. This pact was with his fictional mother (the virgin-rock) and his fictional brother, thus forming some kind of pagan triad. That contractual triad is entirely unlike the Trinity in every respect, but especially in regard to the matter of one God being of one substance.
It has been asserted horses were used as images in both Mithraism and Christianity, thus making the religions similar in this matter. Yes, and no. It is true that horses are a means of conveyance for both Jesus and Mithra. For Mithra, he is often depicted riding in a Romanesque chariot pulled by horses; sometimes he is shown as just a sun orb in the back of a chariot. By way of contrast Jesus never rode on a horse while on earth and never rode in a horse drawn Roman chariot. John's prophecies indicate that one day He will return riding on a white horse to wage war with evil doers. Does that demonstrate a significant similarity in religions? Not really. Until the past two centuries, horses were about the only form of land transportation available to anyone, so the comparison is virtually meaningless.
Mithra and Jesus were both worshipped on Sunday. This is something of an irony. In fact, Sunday was literally named for one of the pagan sun-gods, just as Monday was named for the moon god and Thursday named for the pagan god Thor. The primitive Christian church usurped Sunday away from the sun gods to use as the day to meet in the common worship of Jesus because that was the day of the week He rose from death.
16th Century B.C.E. Judaism Source for Much of 3rd Century A.D. Mithraism
Without beating an already dead horse, it should be pointed out that much of Asian and Middle-Eastern paganism, like Mithraism and Samaritanism, were perverse imitations derived in part from the true and more ancient religion of Judaism. Judaism had been practicing such rituals as ceremonial cleansing (i.e. water immersion or baptism), prescribed feast days, ritual meals, a priestly hierarchy, animal sacrifices, altars, incense burning, formal liturgy, and wearing signs / phylacteries on their foreheads from as long ago as 2000 - 1500 B.C.E. Christianity did not borrow similar concepts from pagan religions, but merely carried them forward from Judaism.
Moreover, Judaism had long ago codified such original doctrinal concepts as: a "son of God" who went into and out of heaven (Psalm 2:2, 30:4), angels ascending and descending into and out of heaven (Genesis 28:12), twelve founding human-historical patriarchs (Genesis 35:22), depicting God as the good shepherd (Psalm 23:1, Micah 5:4), portraying God as a lion (Isaiah 31:4, Hosea 11:10, Amos 3:8), and YHWH being the original God of covenants / contracts (Genesis 15:18). Hebrew Scriptures also state that YHWH had the way of truth (Psalm 86:11) and light (Psalm 18:28), was the creator of all life (Genesis 1:1-31), and is the owner of everlasting spiritual life (Daniel 12:2). Indeed, YHWH has always been known as the Redeemer and Savior (Isaiah 60:16) at least five centuries before Mithraism was dreamed up by pagan men.
In short, YHWH (God) was recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures as the reality of everything that the Mithra myth would later aspire to imitate. Mithra was not the role model for Jesus, rather, YHWH was the model for both Jesus (the real historical man who was also God) and for the Mithra myth. In fact, as the Son of YHWH whose virgin birth was predicted in the Hebrew Bible some 800 years before He was actually born (Isaiah 7:14), Jesus had to be like YHWH in behavior, character, and nature. The fact that the Mithra myth borrowed blatantly from the Hebrew tradition necessarily means that Jesus and Mithra would have similarities.
In spite of the fact that the Mithra myth imitated the Hebrew God (YHWH) and borrowed many concepts found in the Hebrew-Christian Bible in no way sanctifies the myth; it was always a counterfeit of earlier originals. Jesus, on the other hand, being the human and living continuation of the story of Abraham, Israel, and David, does have corporeal and historical authenticity. This sets Jesus apart from Mithra and highlights the all important and necessary differences between a well documented human-divine life which changed the world, and a myth that was constantly adapted to and changed by the world.
The story of Jesus' life changes lives, makes men holy, and promises redemption from sin, even to this day. Mithra is today exposed as an all but forgotten myth which changes no life for the better. That is the eternal difference between Jesus and Mithra, between a genuine original and a counterfeit, and between reality and fiction.
Page Last Revised: February 28, 2011