Fame and Fortune
Name a few "rich and famous" authors...
J.K. Rowling. John Grisham. Steven King.
The sort of people you'd expect have to go down the street in big floppy hats and dark sunglasses if they don't want fans oggling and asking for autographs, right?
Apparently not. Mr. King stopped by a local bookstore during a visit to Australia not so long ago, and seeing his books on the shelf decided to sign a few. This is not as uncommon as you might think. Signed books tend to sell better than unsigned ones, so it's to the bookstores advantage, and the author's.
Only this time it backfired. One of the customers saw King signing the books and alerted the manager that someone was defacing his stock. Fortunately for Mr. King, the owner recognized him, so he wasn't slapped with a fine or hauled off to jail.
Must have been one very embarrassed customer!
Anyway, hearing this tale of anonymity in such a famous author make me feel a lot more comfortable about using my real name rather than a psuedonym on my writing. :)