Susan and John Ruff, Fantasy Authors

In our upcoming book, John and I will do something different from our previous novels. We’re writing under a pen name.

Why switch to a pen name after four years of publishing fantasy novels?

We’re doing it to avoid confusion.

Up until now, our novels have fit mostly into either the epic fantasy or sword & sorcery genres. They have been sweeping tales with courageous heroes, sword fights, dangerous magic, nasty villains, and serious consequences if the protagonists fail.

Our latest book is still high fantasy (set in an entirely different world), but we are trying a relatively new subgenre called cozy fantasy. Cozy fantasy stories are gentler than epic fantasy and focus on things like friendship instead of saving the world.

A pen name seemed like a good way to separate our new cozy fantasy books from our epic fantasy series. While there are undoubtedly readers who like both subgenres, we want to make sure that each series is reaching the right audience.

Can you imagine what would happen if a reader wants a heartwarming tale about two best friends who open an eatery in a remote village, but instead mistakenly buys the book that starts with a guilt-ridden apprentice hiding from the assassins who just murdered his master in cold blood?

I can’t say for sure what would happen, but I suspect it would not result in a five-star review.

To avoid any problems of that type, our cozy fantasy will be published under the pen name “J.S. Ruff.”

Yeah, I know — as far as pen names go, it’s not very clever. It’s just our first initials and our last name. But, we can’t all be Mark Twain.

-Susan 9/6/2024

p.s. And if you decide that you want to try the epic fantasy trilogy that opens with the guilt-ridden apprentice hiding from the assassins, the ebook version of the Doorway to Magic is available on Amazon, at: Doorway to Magic.