K.M. Walton: Hello, my name is K. M. Walton. The K actually stands for Kathleen and the M is Mary, so Kathleen Mary Walton. But actually, people know me as Kate, and I changed my name when I went to college, just out of the blue. I decided on a whim to put my name as Kate on the door of the dorm. I remember my mom saying, "You can't just change your name from Kathleen to Kate," and I said, "Too late, I already did. Everybody at college already knows me as Kate," and it stuck.

My maiden name was Becker, so it used to be Kate Becker. But now it's K. M. Walton is the name I decided to put on my books, and I went the initial route with the K and the M ... I just liked the sound of it; it sounded official to me. K. M. Walton.