Why I’m Rebranding and Moving My Books Off Amazon
For a long time, I wrote under the pen name D.L. Heather.
It was the name I chose when I didn’t feel quite ready to be seen—when grief and chronic illness were the only stories I could bear to tell, and even those felt too tender to share under my real name.
But that voice still belonged to me. And now, years later, it’s time to bring her home.
Starting this month, I’ll be gradually re-releasing my earlier books under my real name—Debra King. This rebrand is part personal, part practical… and also part unexpected.
Recently, Amazon KDP removed the Kindle edition of one of my books without warning. No email. No explanation. Just gone. Nearly 400 reviews vanished overnight after the book had been live and selling for almost three years. The only “violation”? I had changed the book’s category.
After a long chain of emails, I realized something important: these systems don’t always protect the writer. And to make it clear—I will not receive any payout for sales already made from that book. That’s 47 copies. Not a huge number by industry standards, but for an indie author, it’s a lot.
The past seven months on Substack—bleeding my soul out in poems, personal essays, and reflections have given me the confidence to come out of my shell. To stop hiding behind a name I chose out of fear. To stand fully in my own.
So, I’m choosing to take back that control.
This rebrand is about unifying my work under my real name. But it’s also about reclaiming what I’ve built—on my terms. My newer writing explores themes like the mother wound, inner child healing, and memory recovery, but the thread of grief still runs through it all.
If you’ve been with me from the beginning, thank you for walking beside me.
If you’re new, welcome.
I’ll share more updates soon and reflections on how it feels to revisit old poems with a new name. In the meantime, you can still find my books on Amazon—until they’re ready to be moved to their new home.
Debra 💕
Ways you can support my work
Sharing my personal essays and liking the ones that connect with you
Ordering my poetry books through Amazon
Checking out my print shop for unique pieces
Choosing to write under your real name is such an important and powerful step. It was something that definitely changed the game for me, although in my case, I was rebranding my professional copywriting business under my own name. (I used to use a pseudonym to separate that work from my creative work.) Wishing you the best of luck!
Your rebrand is so inspiring, Deb.