The Three-Name Effect

The Three-Name Effect

It works for Neil Patrick Harris. For Mary Chapin Carpenter. Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Edgar Allan Poe. George Washington Carver. Martin Luther King and Mary Tyler Moore. Hell, even Kathie Lee Gifford. Not to mention all three of the kids from Home Improvement (who, by the way, are all like 30-something now. Just let that sink in.)

Yes, folks, there is a countless number of three-name famous people across the entire celebrity spectrum. And when I first set out on this journey of being a real-life writer, I thought I’d add Matthew Aaron Browning to the list. It sounded all nice and grown-up and had a literary slant just perfect for snooty party conversations.

“Have you read the latest Matthew Aaron Browning?” she asked with her nose pointed toward the ceiling, passing early judgment in case the answer were no.

“You mean the novel that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?” he responded between slow sips of cabernet sauvignon. “Of course I have!”

Has a nice ring to it, no?

But, alas, I have changed my mind. After a switch-up in my website server, I decided to shorten my pen name to match the one I go by in everyday life – Matt Browning. It’s shorter, it’s sweeter, it’s probably better for a writer of teen fiction – you know, less pretentious, more relatable. Even though I am pretty stinkin’ pretentious in real life. Like, you have no idea. I’m sipping my own glass of cabernet sauvignon at this very moment. Okay, no I’m not. (It's a pinot noir.)

So, despite the fact that my Real Story Safe Sex Project submission, ONE WAY IN, is out there with Matthew Aaron Browning scrawled across the cover, I’m switching up my identity. Just call me Matt. Or Matthew if you really must. Just don’t call me late for supper.

For the legions and legions of you guys who have bookmarked my website, the old URL still works, but you may want to point it toward the new one, MattBrowningBooks.com. (Yeah, some other Matt Browning already snatched up the general dot-com version of the name. Whatevs.)

Wait, do people still bookmark websites? Eh, just do it anyway. Maybe we’re all just waiting for someone to bring it back.

Happy reading!

Matt(hew Aaron) Browning

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