What happens when one author writes under TWO names — and in two different worlds? | Books, Banter, & Beyond
Episode notes
In this episode, Donna R. Madden sits down with author Leslie Crowne, who also writes as Renee Regent, for a candid conversation about pen names, indie publishing, romance, fantasy, book marketing, tropes, and the realities of building an author career.
Leslie has been publishing as Renee Regent since 2016, writing contemporary romance and supernatural romantic suspense. When she decided to step into fantasy romance and fairy-tale retellings, she created the Leslie Crowne pen name — and discovered that managing two author identities wasn't quite as overwhelming as she'd feared.
Donna and Leslie dig into one of the questions many authors wrestle with: Do you really need a pen name when you change genres?
They talk about separating audiences, Amazon algorithms, reader expectations, spicy versus closed-door romance, newsletters, social media, author branding, and how Leslie successfully promotes both names without pretending they're two different people.
They also get into:
✨ Why Leslie chose indie publishing over traditional publishing ✨ Writing and marketing under two pen names ✨ How genre expectations affect the stories authors write ✨ Fairy-tale retellings, romantasy, and putting a new spin on familiar stories ✨ Why tropes have always existed — even before BookTok started naming all of them ✨ Reverse age-gap romance and writing from personal experience ✨ Why Leslie usually finds the tropes AFTER she writes the story ✨ Writing characters and experiences you've never personally lived ✨ The danger of chasing publishing trends ✨ Why authors should learn their genre and understand what readers expect ✨ Building and maintaining a newsletter with thousands of subscribers ✨ BookFunnel, StoryOrigin, influencer marketing, bookstores, and author events ✨ Why in-person book sales are currently working especially well for Leslie ✨ The marketing strategy every indie author needs to remember: keep pivoting
One of Leslie's biggest pieces of advice for writers is also one of the simplest:
Write what you want to write.
Trends change. Algorithms change. Marketing strategies change. But loving the story you're writing is what gets you through the difficult parts of an author career.
If you're an indie author, aspiring writer, romance reader, romantasy fan, or you've ever wondered whether you should create a second pen name, this conversation is packed with practical insight from someone who has actually done it.
📚 Find Leslie Crowne / Renee Regent: reneeregent.com
There you'll find both pen names, Leslie's books, upcoming appearances, newsletter signup, and more.
💬 Join the conversation: Would you use a second pen name if you started writing in a completely different genre? Tell us in the comments!
👍 If you enjoyed the conversation, like the video, subscribe, and share it with another author or book lover.
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