What's in a Pen Name

I've been asked lately by a few new writers why I chose to write under a pen name and how I came up with it.

There are lots of reasons to consider a pen name if you're a writer. Privacy was a consideration of mine. After all, I have aspirations of being a NYT bestseller eventually. ;) I also wanted a separation between my writing career and my day job and a certain degree of anonymity because of the steaminess of some of my books.

After making the decision to have a pen name, here's how I picked one. Jami was a no-brainer. My father's name was James. My parents had wanted to name me "Jami," but my sister liked Pam, so my real name is Pam.

For a last name, it was more difficult. I got out a family tree, wrote down some of the last names I liked, and went to a couple bookstores. I checked out where I'd be placed on the shelves. I wanted to be next to some good authors that would attract customers to that area on the shelves. I also wanted to be near the beginning of the alphabet. When I'm browsing, I start at the beginning and usually don't get to the end before I find a book.

Davenport was the last name of a great-great grandfather of mine. Anyway, I chose that last name based on the above criteria.

If you're a writer with a pen name, how did you choose your pen name?