Karla Oceanak: Hi. This is Karla Oceanak. Most people guess my last name is pronounced ocean-ak, and that's how I tell people to spell it, Ocean-A-K. But it's really Oceanak. Like the adjective, as in oceanic voyage. I was born Karla Anderson, but I took my husbands name when we got married. His grandfather emigrated to the United States from Russia, and the actual name was something like Oceanik. But at Ellis Island it was changed to Oceanak.

I like that it has an ocean in it. Writing seems like an ocean sometimes. You can feel lost at sea, or you can feel in awe of the ocean of possibilities around you. But remember, it's not pronounced ocean-ak. It's Oceanak.