Why I’m Publishing Under My Full Name: Llianne Isabel Olivo Reyes

For over a decade, I thought I needed to hide.

Hide behind a pen name. Hide behind a shorter name. Hide behind something that sounded more marketable, more genre-specific, more… acceptable.

But I’ve finally made a decision:

I will no longer publish under pen names.

Every novel, novella, poem, song, or story I release from this day forward will be under the name I was given — Llianne Isabel Olivo Reyes.

A Name with a Story

When I was born in the Dominican Republic, my mother had a C-section.

She was handed a sleeping baby — me — and named me Luna Olivo Reyes.

The next day, my father came and added his piece: Llianne — a blend of his name and my mother’s.

They gave me Isabel after my late grandmother.

Olivo and Reyes come from both sides of my family — a reflection of Dominican, Caribbean, Spanish, and French tradition.

It’s long.

It’s beautiful.

It’s me.

Latinos have long names. This is not new. But in publishing? It felt like a risk.

Why I Almost Hid

I was afraid that my name wouldn’t “fit” the genres I wanted to write in:

Romance. Horror. Thriller. Poetry. Fantasy. YA. Memoir.

I worried people wouldn’t take a long name seriously. That it wouldn’t “look good” on a book cover. That booksellers and algorithms wouldn’t favor me.

I thought about using multiple names — one for each genre.

I even had contracts. Back in 2010, I paid Xlibris $1,500 to publish my Elementals series. It was called In Times of Elementals back then — now it’s Rose of Iron and City of Heart. I had big dreams.

But I also had big fear.

And that fear delayed me for over a decade.

What Changed

I’m 30 years old now.

And I’m tired of running from myself.

I realized that using my real name means freedom.

I only have to register one copyright name.

I only have to build one brand.

And when someone asks, “Is this your book?” I can say yes without hesitation, without layers.

Standing Out Without Hiding

Maybe my name takes up more space on a cover.

Maybe it’s harder for some to remember or spell.

But it’s mine. And it’s real.

I’m done worrying whether it’s “too ethnic,” “too long,” or “too unfamiliar.”

I’m not trying to blend in anymore.

I want to stand out — not despite my name, but because of it.

Because when someone picks up a book and sees Llianne Isabel Olivo Reyes, they’ll know it was written with depth, identity, and truth.

Breaking the Stigma Around Pen Names

I have nothing against pen names.

They are tools. They are armor. They are art.

They protect, they distance, they define.

But for me — a brown Caribbean woman who’s spent most of her life trying to shrink — they became a mask I no longer wanted to wear.

I don’t want to make myself smaller for someone else’s comfort.

I don’t want to whitewash or shorten or market-test my identity.

I want to build a legacy. Not a disguise.

This Is My Brand Now

From now on, I’m building everything — my covers, my social media, my blog, my poetry, my books — around Llianne Isabel Olivo Reyes.

Whether I publish myself, or one day partner with a traditional house, this is the name I will carry forward.

You can expect:

1. Romance, horror, and speculative fiction.
2. Spirituality and cultural essays.
3. Bilingual poetry and Caribbean stories.
4. Indie covers made by me (for now).
5. Authenticity, even when it’s terrifying.

If you’re a writer struggling with the name game, I get it.

It’s scary. It’s strategic. It’s exhausting.

But you deserve to be seen.

So do I.

And this is me, stepping into the light.

– Llianne Isabel Olivo Reyes

Pen Names I almost used and some of my up coming works, covers I made: