Two questions in a row? Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. My name. Yes, there are many like it, but this one is mine. I came by it honestly. My mom and dad loved one another very much. They wanted a son and a daughter. They got two sons. And my mom conceded defeat.

I’m named after the Biblical Benjamin, because he was the second son of the beloved wife. My dad assured me if I had been a girl, he would have named me. It would have been Mergatroid.

That it’s my name is obvious? It’s in the mast? Sure. But authors are fond of making names up. It’s sort of a creature of the craft. The point is I did not choose my name. It was given to me. As it happens, I rather like it.

But there’s a problem. Every Tom, Dick and Harry is named Ben. I mean, there’s another author with the same name. And he writes history. I have two Alt-history novels in the can. It might get a little confusing to have Ben write both actual history and alternative history.

Enter the middle initial. I hope this doesn’t confuse you. I have a middle name. It’s Cash. Earlier I said dad would have named me Mergatroid. I don’t doubt him. You put my first and middle names together, and you get a hundred dollar bill. “It’s all about the Benjamins,” he said, decades before the song. I didn’t think to ask why I was named as I was until after he died. My mom said, “it was your dad’s favorite substance.” Except it wasn’t. That was his way of explaining away the joke without her catching on.

Why not a pseudonym? I have one that I love. But I also have a wife that I love. She’s rather fond of my name. And I’m rather fond of her.

So to the other Ben Wilson, should you ever read this—I was here first. Love your stuff.