Voici une interview en anglais de Robin Hobb. Elle évoque dans la première question sa décision de prendre un pseudo dans les années 90. 

Toute l'interview est ici. 

Extrait : 
Firstly, I would like to ask you about your pen-name: Robin Hobb. I read a few years back a really in-depth interview where you spoke about how and why you chose the name in the first place. I’m wondering now, years later, if you’ve ever looked back and kicked yourself – thinking ‘ah, I wish I had chosen that name instead’. And, to expand upon this question, let us say Robin Hobb was taken back in 1995, what would be your alternative? 

Oh, that’s a tough question. It took several weeks for me to come up with Robin Hobb. I still think a short name that will land in the middle of the shelf is important, but not as important as it once was. I’m saddened that brick-and-mortar bookstores enjoy less traffic these days. I suppose I could go the deceptive route, with something like Georgia R. Martine, hoping that I’d get lots of sloppy spellers finding me via the search engines instead of George RR Martin — you know I’m joking, right? 

I think it would depend a lot on what I was launching, and how I wanted to separate it from what I’d written before. Rowel Spur. Edek Axe. Ella Prod. Calendula Mahogany. Cedar Chimes. You can probably ferret out which slices of the fantasy genre each name would be for. Verde Hail. R.D. Carter. The problem with this game is that it’s too much fun. 

Essentially, the writer is given the opportunity to invent a character and then wear that character around in real life. I mean, Robin Hobb has a separate wardrobe, different perfume selection and earrings that don’t belong to me. I suppose that’s as close as I ever get to costuming.