Pen Pals

Kelton Wright and Krisserin Canary
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Join writers and parents Krisserin Canary and Kelton Wright as they navigate the journey of publishing their first novels. From California to Colorado, these friends share their experiences with first drafts, revisions, query letters, and the rollercoaster of rejection. Each episode offers an honest look at balancing creative ambitions with daily life, featuring candid conversations about writing craft, time management, and staying motivated. Whether you're a fellow writer or just love a good behind-the-scenes story, Pen Pals proves that every creative journey is better with a friend.Email us at: officialpenpalspod@gmail.comMusic by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

  1. 20 HRS AGO

    Our First-Draft Summer Pact

    Spring break writing wins, a faux lip ring verdict, and the announcement of a big summer challenge: both hosts commit to finishing their first drafts by Labor Day. Krisserin wrote three times this week and Kelton locked her gothic novel's timeline and finally wrote the prologue she didn't know she needed. They also get into Kazuo Ishiguro's “Never Let Me Go” (craft: yes, ending: no), Juliet Marillier's “Daughter of the Forest” series that BookTok surfaced from 1999, the screen-time-as-wealth discourse, and why a playwright's Japanese jail stint made them briefly reconsider their productivity strategies. Books mentioned: The Possession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Cañas Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier Unaccustomed to Grace by Lesley Bannatyne The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

    1h 2m

  2. MAR 30

    "No Agent Is Better Than a Bad Agent": Lauren Khan on Finding the Right Fit

    Krisserin attended Rachel Hochhauser's birthday book signing in Studio City and wrote 3,300 words on her middle grade love story. Kelton got a rejection with feedback from her dream agent — a thoughtful no that somehow made everything clearer, even if the proposal still needs a full rework. Both hosts are sitting with that particular in-between feeling: not stuck exactly, just parked on the side of the road with their thumbs out. Which makes the timing of this week's guest feel almost cosmically right. Lauren Khan is a literary agent at Fine Print Literary, host of the Prose Pros podcast, and a psychological thriller author currently querying her own debut novel The Gold Coast — which means she is simultaneously building her client list and watching her own query tracker obsessively. Lauren found her way to agenting after years as a corporate lawyer in Manhattan, a pregnancy, a move to Florida, and the realization that the skills she'd spent years developing in big law — contracts, negotiations, client communication — were exactly what the publishing world needed more of. The conversation covers everything: why Lauren queried before her manuscript was technically finished (and why she tells clients not to do this), how she accumulated 15 full manuscript requests by refusing to self-reject even the agents she was most intimidated by, and what it felt like to leave her first agent — going from agented author back to just a writer — and why she knew she had to do it anyway. She breaks down what she looks for in a query (comps, a one-sentence pitch, and a back-of-book-style summary), what makes her close her Kindle and not want to pick it back up the next morning, and why no agent is genuinely better than a bad agent, even when turning one down feels terrifying. Plus: Krisserin and Kelton compare their wildly different plot homework (one spider-web on an oversized Post-it, one color-coded Excel spreadsheet), both celebrate actually completing their goals this week, and Kelton gets perspective from a new therapist who knows the literary world — and had the receipts to put her timeline in context. Learn more about Lauren Khan: Website: https://www.laurenjpkhan.com Query Lauren: https://QueryTracker.net/query/laurenjpkhan Instagram / TikTok: @laurenjpkhan The Prose Pros Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-prose-pros/id1835741861 Books Mentioned in this episode: God of the Woods by Liz Moore In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead  One and Only by Maureen Goo  It's Different This Time by Josh Richard  Every Summer After by Carley Fortune  Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum  Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

    1h 9m

  3. MAR 23

    Art Witch, Money B*tch: Courtney Maum on Writing Across Genres and Getting Paid

    Kelton's launching the Rewilding Spring Almanac and kicking off the first night of the murmuration, while Krisserin just landed back from Ohio—sick kid and 90-degree weather whiplash. Both hosts hit the reset button on goals this week: Kelton powered through a low mental health stretch by focusing on necessary work, and Krisserin squeezed in 400 words of writing between travel chaos. This week's guest is Courtney Maum, author of six books including the Vanity Fair-recognized publishing guide Before and After the Book Deal, the Today Show-selected memoir The Year of the Horses, and her upcoming novel Alan Opts Out (May 2026). Courtney brings twenty years of advertising experience, a trend forecaster's instinct for being "ten years early," and a take-no-prisoners approach to the writing life. She talks about deliberately going against her agent's advice to stay in one lane, why she thinks of herself as split between "art witch and money bitch," and how code-switching across genres is a professional joy, not a liability. Courtney gets candid about Substack strategy—who it works for, who should take a beat, and her prediction that old-school quarterly author newsletters are making a comeback. She breaks down her "anti-workshop workshop" Turning Points, a week-long retreat on a remote New Mexico ranch that combines MFA-level craft work with MBA-level industry strategy, and explains why the traditional fifteen-page workshop model fails writers. Plus: Kelton's goal for the week is to dive back into her novel's plot (inspired by Courtney's declaration that she knew Alan Opts Out was a Big Five book because "it had a plot"), Krisserin steals the same goal, and both hosts commit to sharing their plot structures with each other as accountability homework.  Books Courtney is reading right now: • Hemlock by Melissa Eno • Monster of a Land: On the Road in Search of Modern America by Lauren Hough   • Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood by Lisa Damour Ph.D.  Books mentioned by hosts: • Wired for Story by Lisa Cron • The Anatomy of Story by John Truby • Magic Maker by Pam Grossman • Wonderbook by Jeff Vandemeer Learn more about Courtney Maum: Website: https://www.courtneymaum.com/ Substack: Before and After the Book Deal Turning Points retreat applications close April 30th Pre-order Alan Opts Out from Oblong Books for a signed copy with lobster stickers Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

    1h 25m

  4. MAR 16

    Bad News at 5AM, Good News from New Mexico, and the Minimum Viable Writing Week

    Krisserin opens with a rollercoaster week: a 5 AM email from her agent pushing book submission to late spring, followed by the joyful news that she's been accepted to IAIA's MFA program in New Mexico. Kelton channeled a burst of creative energy into writing her novel's climax in a single marathon session and is preparing to launch the Spring Almanac of her Rewilding course. The conversation turns to Kelton's concept of the "living week" — the minimum your writing practice needs to survive, like watering a plant just enough to keep it alive. They explore what it means to differentiate between a thin week and genuinely losing steam, and Krisserin takes away a new goal: putting writing on her calendar for the first time. Plus: Rachel Hochhauser hits the New York Times bestseller list, Kelton pulls up her mom's birth chart mid-recording, Krisserin confesses her inability to read books without a love story, and both hosts set realistic goals for weeks that are already overflowing. Writing programs, classes and workshops mentioned: UCLA Extension Writers' Program: https://writers.uclaextension.edu/ Leigh Stein — Attention Economy (Substack newsletter + writing classes including Plot Curious): https://leighstein.substack.com/ Chelsea Hodson — Morning Writing Club (Patreon membership, writing accountability + classes): https://morningwritingclub.com/ Trust & Travel — The Practice (monthly writing membership, ~$40/month, weekly writing groups + monthly classes): https://www.wetrustandtravel.com/ Jessy Easton — The Inner Room (somatic writing community for writing about trauma, quarterly membership): https://www.jessyeaston.com/ Kelton's The Rewilding (self-guided creative practice course): https://www.keltonwright.com/rewilding The Murmuration (free guided journaling workshops): https://www.keltonwright.com/murmuration  Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

    47 min

  5. MAR 9

    The Co-Host Lore Episode

    Krisserin and Kelton finally answer the question listeners keep asking: who ARE these people? This week it's just the two of them — no guest, just origin stories, childhood chaos, and big three energy. From Krisserin's desert horses and Newport Beach culture shock to Kelton's Gettysburg ghost childhood and lunch money con, they dig into how they grew up, how they became writers, and why this podcast is the friendship neither of them knew they needed. Plus astrology deep dives, a secret project update, and goal assignments for each other. Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

    1h 3m

  6. MAR 2

    From Dramatically Quitting Writing to a Major Two-Book Deal: Rachel Hochhauser on Lady Tremaine

    Kelton wraps up her Rewilding winter class and launches something new—a free monthly writing practice called the Murmuration—while Krisserin confesses she's started a secret new project (2,400 words and counting, but she's not telling us what it is). Both hosts are taking a beat from their main manuscripts, and this week's interview is the perfect reminder of why stepping away can be the most important part of the process. Then they're joined by Rachel Hochhauser, author of Lady Tremaine, a reimagining of Cinderella from the perspective of the so-called evil stepmother. Rachel shares how the idea struck her in a hospital waiting room during her husband's health crisis—a season of sacrifice that made her see the "villain" with entirely new eyes. She opens up about writing a first novel in grad school, querying unsuccessfully for years, dramatically walking away from writing, and then returning to draft Lady Tremaine in just seven months. The conversation covers her preemptive sale to St. Martin's Press, the surprising depth of copy editing, defending her book's carefully calibrated romance against market pressure, and the reality of two-book deals (hint: it's not a salary). Plus: the Bridgerton timing is almost too good, and Kelton coins the pitch "hawks and hotties." Find Rachel Hochhauser: Website: rachelhochhauser.com Instagram: @hochhauser Book: Lady Tremaine from St. Martin's Press Books Mentioned in This Episode: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer Uprooted by Naomi Novik Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald Light Years by James Salter Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

    1h 5m

  7. FEB 23

    Cait Flanders: From Blog Experiment to Bestseller (and Back Again)

    Kelton gets her first agent rejection and refuses to sugarcoat it—while Krisserin shares what she learned about advances, deal structures, and editor wish lists from her meeting with agent Kima Jones. Then bestselling author Cait Flanders joins to tell the unlikely origin story of The Year of Less—how a blogged shopping ban went viral on Forbes, attracted six literary agents, and became a Wall Street Journal bestseller now resurfacing on TikTok a decade later. Cait gets refreshingly transparent about advances, earning out, switching publishers, and the real tension between maintaining a SubStack audience and carving out space to write her third book. Plus: middle grade fiction advocacy, a genre-busting reading challenge, and why Kelton’s only goal this week is to read a book. Find Cait Flanders: Website: www.caitflanders.com Substack: caitflanders.substack.com Instagram: @caitflanders Books by Cait Flanders: The Year of Less (Hay House) — Wall Street Journal Bestseller Adventures in Opting Out (Little Brown Spark)  Books Mentioned in This Episode:  “October, October” by Katya Balen  “The Names” by Florence Knapp  “The Housemaid” by Frieda McFadden  “Annihilation” by Jeff VanderMeer  “Lady Tremaine” by Rachel Hochhauser  “The Ogress and the Orphans” by Kelly Barnville  Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

    1h 14m

  8. FEB 21 ·  BONUS

    Bonus Episode: Inside the Debut Author Survey with Emily Zipps

    We couldn't just talk about Emily Zipps' debut author survey — we had to talk to her. Krisserin and Kelton sit down with Emily herself — author of Alice Rue Evades the Truth and the forthcoming The Two Lives of Amelia Waxler (both from Dial Press) — to dig into what inspired her to survey 60 fellow debut authors, what surprised her in the results, and what she found genuinely hopeful. Find Emily online: Instagram & Threads: @emilyzipps Website: emilyzipps.com Substack (Fun Announcements and Sporadic Thoughts): emilyzipps.substack.com Emily Zipps' Debut Author Survey: https://substack.com/home/post/p-185355080 Books: Alice Rue Evades the Truth (available now) | The Two Lives of Amelia Waxler (forthcoming 2027) Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

    23 min
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About

Join writers and parents Krisserin Canary and Kelton Wright as they navigate the journey of publishing their first novels. From California to Colorado, these friends share their experiences with first drafts, revisions, query letters, and the rollercoaster of rejection. Each episode offers an honest look at balancing creative ambitions with daily life, featuring candid conversations about writing craft, time management, and staying motivated. Whether you're a fellow writer or just love a good behind-the-scenes story, Pen Pals proves that every creative journey is better with a friend.Email us at: officialpenpalspod@gmail.comMusic by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

Information

  • Creator
    Kelton Wright and Krisserin Canary
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Pen Pals
  • Show Website
    Pen Pals

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