A topic that came up during the Book Festival:
Should an author who has established themselve as a certain genre writer use a pen-name (or, in some cases, a DIFFERENT pen-name) when they write in other genres? What if it's a very different voice and genre?
Personally, I think no – why dilute the brand of your name? A good book is a good book regardless of the genre. While some fans of your work might not crossover into the new genre, some might, and they might be pleasantly surprised. Some might read it and dislike it; but will that reduce their interest in your other works? Only if it's really, really horrid…
I suppose there might be an issue if I was a well-known sci-fi author if I suddenly tossed out a Romance novel. (It's been done, though!) I suspect my usual readers might shake their heads a bit, and Rida, well, she'd probably faint.
But hey, Robert Allen will grace the cover of those books regardless.
Uh, the name, not the bodice-ripping picture, that is.
–Robert