Yay! It’s a rare occassion when I get asked about my name, so when it arises, I get quite excited and animated, mainly because my first name inspired my pseudonym!

My first name is Sabrina. My dad chose to name me after the smartest Charlie’s Angel character, Sabrina Duncan from Charlie’s Angels (1976). But no one has ever made that connection because when I was in school, the show Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996) was highly popular (I would know, because I was a HUGE fan). As you can expect I was called a witch a lot growing up.

(Now I take it as a compliment)

I’m sure I’m not the only one who is guilty of googling the meaning of their name when they were younger. I was quite charmed to know that one of the meanings of Sabrina was ‘princess’ or ‘goddess’ and/or associated with the River Severn. So I delved a bit deeper in my investigation and discovered there are many versions of this mythic (or legendary) story but I went with my favourite versions:

• Hafren is the Welsh Goddess of the River Severn (her latin name is Sabrina).
• John Milton’s poem called ‘Comus’ depicted Sabrina as a water nymph who drowned in the River Severn

WhenI got older and it became clear to me that writing was more than a hobby, I began thinking of an author name. Something very relevant to me as a person but not too far from my actual name (for personal reasons, I didn’t want to publish under my real name).

That’s when it came to me. My pseudonym could literally be the meaning of my first name. S. R. Severn = Sabrina River Severn.

And there you have it. I’m very proud of my choice, and even prouder to be named Sabrina – whether it be a smart-thinking spy, a witch, princess or nymph!