From Mark Kelly to Tom Railin: Why I Blog Under a Pen Name.

Copyright © Mark R Kelly 2025

It's 23:50hrs and I'm sat here tapping away at my keyboard in an effort to rationalise - and in some respects, remind myself - as to why I chose to post on my blog under the pen name of 'Tom Railin'.

Why do this? Primarily to remind myself it's my way of escaping the 'clone zone' on the internet - in terms of my birth name, 'Mark Kelly'. I also feel anyone arriving on my blog, be it intentionally (bless you for doing so), or accidentally (Please stay! I beg of you! Stay! - only pulling your leg.), deserve an explanation. Relax, I'm not laying low from any Law Enforcement or other Government body - but in today's social media climate within the UK, you never know?

So, back to my 'name clones' - below is a short list of the most popular 'Mark Kelly's' as revealed by the wonderful ChatGPT at my request. Hopefully this will highlight my dilemma:

1. Mark Edward Kelly – Astronaut and U.S. Senator for Arizona.
2. Mark Kelly (keyboardist) – Irish‑British musician, keyboardist for Marillion.
3. Mark D. Kelly – Retired U.S. Air Force general, former commander of Air Combat Command.
4. Mark Kelly (Australian general) – Former major general in the Australian Army.
5. Mark Kelly (hurler) – Irish sportsman, played for Kilkenny senior hurling team.
6. Mark Kelly (author/journalist) – Occasionally appears in books or journalism circles (less widely known).
7. Mark Kelly (business executive) – Listed in corporate directories, active in professional networks.
8. Mark Kelly (filmmaker/producer) – Some presence in film festival circuits and IMDb.
9. Mark Kelly (academic/researcher) – Publishes papers and maintains professional profiles online.
10. Mark Kelly (technology entrepreneur) – Founders or executives of start-ups, visible through media coverage and LinkedIn.

So now you understand the position I was in. Originally I'd be looking at the viewing numbers per post, some hitting in excess of 600, and some as low as 20 - but still regular traffic. I was chuffed under a false impression of blog popularity. How's that old expression go, now? Ah yes, "Pride comes before a fall" - and what a fall it was.

Since the switch, my average post view count is 4.7 (don't ask about the .7, maybe Snow White is missing one of her Seven?). I was mortified. I thought I'd killed off my blog, even though I'd made a prior blog title and name switch, I still left my birth name in the copyright section and bio, I felt like the guy at a jacuzzi party with an explosive bout of diarrhoea. I'd turned what was an active blog of readers into a wasteland more or less over-night.

I'm not a social media person, and I know in today's electronic communications world, the various social media platforms are the best (and worst) platforms of announcing your presence to the 'world'.

The best I could do was Instagram, and there I drew the line. Stubborn, I hear you say. Yup, that I am. It's a naturally affinity I have of pushing in the opposite direction to whatever is trying to force me to go the other way. Pig-headed, I know - but come on, after 61 years on this planet, some habits are near impossible to kick, especially those hardwired into my psyche.

So, every now and then I might mention in passing to folks who know me, or are close to me and enquire, "So what are you up to these days?" And that's when I might mention my little piece of blogging heaven, my bolt-hole in a dark place, the sanctuary of my chaos roaming through the inside of my skull - my piece of guilty indulgence. And I adore it.

Each post, no matter how small, can take the better part of three-to-four hours to write, including any edits and checks (though I sometimes miss the odd couple - so sue me), not to mention time taken in hunting down suitable music tracks to include at the end of each post. These I try to fit in with the mood / vibe of the post, plus I like to think, that on occasion, I might introduce something folks enjoy and not heard before - which places a small smile inside my head.

As for 'Tom Railin'? Well, I created the name quite some time back with the intention of using it for writing my first novel - as people do. But then I thought, well, let's break him out and start exercising his proverbial legs, and introduce him to the 'world' as a writing persona.

I'm happy to report I am - at time of writing this - at the start of chapter 11, and engaged in a quietly fierce love-hate relationship with my story. But I wouldn't give it up for anything. As to whether it will ever see the light of day in published form, who knows? But one thing I can guarantee, it will never be released to the world via vanity press or any other form of self-publishing. I like to think I have some integrity.

So, if you are one of my rare visitors, I sincerely thank you for your time and effort in reading my rambling posts. Even if I only ever get one person on a regular or semi-regular basis, it will make my efforts worth it. And to close, time for some music. Enjoy. I hope to see you in the next posting.

Here's the brilliant Tom Waits and "Tom Traubert's Blues".