Hello, My Name Is _____

Cielle is not the name my mother gave me, at least not directly.  What's more, nobody calls me by that name when speaking to me, and it's not even my outgrown childhood nickname.  It does link back to those times, however.  My sisters and I were all given names that start with "C", and since our last names were all the same, the only difference in our initials came with the middle names.  When we needed them for property marking or to distinguish our scores for a game, we were always C.A, C.L, C.B, C.F, and C.M.  Mine was just the only combination that sounded like a name of it's own, a sort of feminized version of the French word for heavens, le ciel.  Ever since that time, it has been my all-purpose nom-de-plume and secret identity; so, when I had to establish a user name for this blog years ago, it seemed a natural choice.  This was to be a collection of personal meditations and a way to reach out beyond street-level interactions.  It wasn't about making my name known, so the combination of thoughtfulness and anonymity while still being totally me was perfect.

Using "Cielle" was not like hiding behind a mask.  Many of you who read the blog regularly already know me personally.  Pretending I were someone else wouldn't work very well.  Cielle is me.  I am Cielle.  Same character.  Same ideas.  Just, as I expressed in my initial post, inclined to "speak" on things that don't often come up in everyday conversations.  Still me.  Still a very true me.

Then, what's the difference now?

The website I've built will be unveiled soon.  Anyone could view it all along while I was building it (though it wouldn't have looked like much,) but it's about ready, and I'll make its presence known so people can start looking at it.  This is more of an author's website than a blog.  It's a home for stories and information about our writing.  The goal is entertainment and promotion; so, it contains real world names to attach to the stories.  It also includes a link back here, and I anticipate there may be a little rise in traffic on the blog, people coming in with a different perspective and expectation.

Going-Inkless will remain the same with the same focus as before.  While everything changes, and the choice to run a website may affect some of the things I'm thinking about, these are still my personal thoughts, opinions, and comments.  It will still be the sort of quiet place of contemplation it has always been.  I appreciate your continued interest over the years, and since you have been with me all this time, I'd like you to be among the first to know about the new website.  Please feel free to explore Echoes of Ashes .

And, for those of you who don't already know me in another context, I'd like to introduce myself.

Hello, my name is Cheryl Clark.