legal consequences of pen names

* Note: This is a re-post of a post that originally appeared in December 2014. I’m out of town at the Left Coast Crime Convention this week (seahorse fans, never fear…my husband stays home to fish-sit), but the question “Should I use a pen name?” seems evergreen, so I’m running this post again. To clarify from the outset: I don’t think there’s a single answer to the question “should I use a pen name?” Use of a pseudonym involves multiple legal, business, and personal issues, and is a question each author needs to answer on his or her own (if appropriate, with the assistance