How I Became Alicia Shine: The Story Behind the Name

When I started writing my first novel, Social Butterflies, there was one thing I knew for sure:

I didn't want to use my real name.

To be honest, I didn't want anyone to know it was actually me.

Writing a novel was new territory for me, and there was something about being able to write without everyone knowing who was behind the words that felt right at the time.

But there was another reason, too.

I believed God had given me the ideas, the creativity, and the storyline, and I wanted Him to receive the praise for what I was creating.

There was just one little problem.

If I wasn't going to use my real name, what was I going to call myself?

I Needed a Pseudonym

Around that time, I was sharing some of my book ideas with another friend of mine named Victor.

During our conversation, I mentioned that I needed a pseudonym for the book.

Victor took out a piece of paper and a pen.

He wrote down my name:

Felicia Johnson.

Then he started playing around with the letters of my name, scrambling them and trying different combinations.

Eventually, he looked at what he had written.

Alicia Shine.

I looked at him and asked:

“Why did you come up with that name?”

His answer was simple.

“Because YOU SHINE.”

And just like that...

Alicia Shine was born.

At the Time, It Was Just a Pen Name

There was no business plan behind it.

No branding strategy.

No website.

No bigger vision of what the name might eventually become.

I simply needed a name to put on my book.

So when Social Butterflies was published, the name on the cover wasn't Felicia Johnson.

It was Alicia Shine.

At first, Alicia Shine gave me a little separation between myself and the woman who was putting her stories out into the world.

But something happened along the way.

The name began to feel like mine.

And apparently, it began to feel like my name to other people too.

Even now, I'll sometimes run into people in my hometown who know me through my writing, and they'll call me Alicia instead of Felicia.

I always find it funny because I think, You do know that's not actually my name, right? 😂

But in a way, I understand it.

After all these years, Alicia Shine is no longer just the name I put on the cover of a book. She's become so closely connected to my writing, my creativity, and the work I do that people sometimes forget there's a Felicia behind Alicia.

And honestly?

I think that's pretty amazing for a name that started with a pen, a piece of paper, and a friend saying, “Because YOU SHINE.”

“Because You Shine”

When I look back now, Victor's explanation means even more to me than it did that day.

Because you shine.

Two simple words.

He couldn't have known what that word would eventually come to represent in my life.

Neither did I.

What started as a pseudonym for one novel became a name I would continue to write under.

Then it became connected to my creativity.

My books.

My speaking.

My encouragement of others.

And eventually, Shine became more than part of a name.

It became a message.

For me, shining isn't about being the center of attention. It isn't about pretending life is perfect or always having everything together.

It's about continuing to use what God has given you.

It's about allowing your gifts to have room to grow.

It's about not dimming yourself because someone else may be uncomfortable with your light.

And sometimes, it's simply about finding the courage to shine anyway.

Maybe the Name Found Me

It's funny how life works.

I thought I was simply looking for a pseudonym because I didn't want anyone to know I had written the book.

Instead, I walked away from that conversation with a name that would follow me into chapters of my life I hadn't even imagined yet.

Victor saw something when he wrote those letters on that piece of paper.

“Because YOU SHINE.”

Maybe Alicia Shine wasn't simply a name I needed for a book.

Maybe it was a reminder of something I still needed to discover about myself.

All these years later, I'm still writing under that name.

I'm still creating under that name.

I'm still growing into that name.

And I'm still shining.

Sometimes I wish I had kept that piece of paper.

The one where Victor first wrote my name, scrambled the letters, and somehow landed on Alicia Shine. But at the time, I had no reason to think that little piece of paper would ever matter. I needed a pseudonym for a book. That was it.

I never imagined that years later I would still be writing as Alicia Shine—or that the name would grow beyond the cover of a book and become connected to so much of what I create and do today.

Had I known, I probably would have framed that piece of paper. 😊

But maybe I didn't need to keep the paper. I kept the name. And I kept shining.

Alicia Shine.

Who knew two words written on a piece of paper would become so much more?