Okay, pop quiz: What do the following people have in common: (A) Nora Roberts; (B) Elizabeth Peters; (C) Susan Wittig Albert.

Certainly, all are successful authors. But more specifically, they all write under more than one name.

Nora Roberts, queen of the romance novel, also writes the highly successful "In Death" series as J.D. Robb.* Novelist calls the "In Death" books "futuristic romantic suspense." They follow the exploits of police detective Eve Dallas and her husband, Roarke. The combination of strong police storylines and the Dallas/Roarke relationship have made these a favorite with both men and women. They are found in our general fiction collection. A new J.D. Robb title, Creation in Death, is due out in November.

As "Nora Roberts," she has written dozens upon dozens of romance novels. We have a staggering 187 Nora Roberts entries in the library catalog. The latest is High Noon.

Elizabeth Peters's real name is Barbara Mertz, and she has a Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago. She has written books on Egyptology under her real name, and as "Elizabeth Peters," she uses that knowledge as fodder for the popular Amelia Peabody Emerson mystery series. The series features the adventures of Victorian-era Egyptologists Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson. It begins with Crocodile on the Sandbank. Mertz has also written many modern romantic suspense novels as "Barbara Michaels."

Susan Wittig Albert writes the China Bayle mystery series, which started in 1992 with Thyme of Death. More recently, she has written a series of mysteries centered on Beatrix Potter. The first is The Tale of Hill Top Farm. The latest in the series, The Tale of Hawthorn House, is due out in September.

Beatrix Potter also appears in Death at Gallows Green, part of the series that Albert writes with her husband, Bill, under the pseudonym "Robin Paige." (Death at Gallows Green was published several years before The Tale of Hill Top Farm.) The Paige books are also mysteries, featuring Kate Ardleigh and Charles Sheridan as Victorian-Era sleuths. (They are shockingly modern in the equality of their partnership, and eventual marriage--something they have in common with Peters's Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson.) The Robin Paige books start with Death at Bishop's Keep.

In search of more authors' pseudonyms, I ran across an interesting list at the St. Charles, IL Public Library web site. Among the authors they featured were:

M.C. Beaton = Marion Chesney
Jayne Ann Krentz = Jayne Castle = Amanda Quick
Heather Graham = Shannon Drake
Ed McBain = Evan Hunter
Ruth Rendell = Barbara Vine
Donald Westlake = Richard Stark

There are countless others. Have a favorite? Drop us a comment!

* Nora Roberts's J.D. Robb is not to be confused with the J.D. (John Donald) Robb, born 1892, who wrote Hispanic folk songs of New Mexico.