Anna Henrik is not my real name.
Well, this is awkward. :) :)
I wish I could give you the information you expect—what else I’ve published, a bit about my family, some funny line about my hobbies or pets that lets you know I’m a likable person (because I’m reasonably sure that I am). I can’t do that right now, but I would like to share with you some of my reasons for publishing this book under a pseudonym.
First, this book is a departure from other books I’ve published. Young adult readers are not my usual audience. It’s likely that some readers will be upset by the choices my characters make, and I don’t want this book to interfere with other work that’s important to me. I’m not looking for a fight.
But the main reason has to do with my family. When Gabrielle makes her decision, she considers not just her own needs but the needs of her mother and sisters--she worries that having the baby would make their lives more difficult. That’s how I feel about Absolute Value. At first I was concerned about how it might impact my own children, who were just entering adolescence when I finished the manuscript. Now that they’ve launched, I am mostly trying to protect my elderly mother. She lives in a small, conservative community, and it’s a safe bet that Absolute Value wouldn’t go over well there. My mother is kind and selfless and in no way deserves to be subjected to the stress that would come her way if I openly promoted my book.
So why did I write Absolute Value in the first place? Why did I throw myself into this story when I knew from the start that it would never fit easily into my life? Good question. To find out more about how the project got started, take a look at this page: Writing Absolute Value.
For now, I’ll just say this: I would like any attention that comes my way to be focused on the story I've created, not on me. I feel strongly that Absolute Value needs to be out in the world at this time. We live in a divided world and we need to start talking. We need to find common ground. Maybe this book can help.