Trish Marx: Hello, my name is Trish Marx. Marx is my married name. My maiden name is Winchell but I don't use that name in my writing.

The usual nicknames for Patricia are Pat, Patty, or Patsy, but my mom wanted me to be called "Trish." Since I was shy when I was younger, I would be afraid to tell my teachers to call me Trish instead of Pat or Patty or Patsy, so my mother would come to school and tell my teachers that my nickname was Trish. I really liked that. It made me feel special to have a name that was a little different.

I'm not shy anymore, but back when I was, I learned that our names are our own. That they say something special about us, and that we should be called by our right names.