Maggie, I, too, avoided using my real name as my Mudcat handle for fear of being spammed. [ I sometimes sign my real first name in posts, and, if I understand correctly, Mudcat members have access to my real name and at least one of my email addresses.]

Why "Genie?" Well, it's a homophone of a real nickname I have occasionally been given by folks, as well as a 'corruption' of "Jeanene" used by those who seem to find the latter hard to pronounce.
But I could also say it's because my magic powers are much more evident when I'm away from the bottle!

Genie §;-)

BTW, Maggie, being a bit dyslexic (or just a careless reader sometimes), I tend to read your moniker as "Silly River Stage" (am I kin to the Rev. Spooner?) or "Silly River Sage!"