Joanne Rocklin: Hello. My name is Joanne Rocklin. That's J-O-A-N-N-E. All of the letters in my first name are the same size. I've always felt a bit sorry for other JoAnnes with that big awkward A in the middle of their names. I shouldn't really say that, maybe they like that A. And that's Anne with an E, like Anne of Green Gables. As for my surname, when I moved to California from Montreal a long time ago, I was surprised and excited to discover that there's a city in Northern California also named Rocklin. I wondered if people would think my relatives were big shots who founded that city.

The truth is, my name started off as Rocklinko in Russia, and my grandfather dropped the 'ko' when he moved to Canada. I believe 'ko' means son of in Russian. When I was a teenager, I wished I had the nerve to call myself Johanna Rocklinko. It sounded much more romantic and mysterious than plain old Joanne Rocklin, Johanna Rocklinko. I didn't have the nerve, and it's certainly too late now. Joanne Rocklin is on all my books, and now I guess I'm happy with my name just the way it is. Letters all the same size, not the daughter of big shots. Just me.