Pen Pals
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.com
Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios
Episodes
54 episodes
The Untold Women Who Shaped the American Outdoors with Heather Hansman
Kelton brings on one of her favorite outdoor writers: Heather Hansman, award-winning journalist, contributing editor at Outside Magazine, and author of Downriver and Powder Days. Heather's newest book, Fierce Country, uncovers the stories of th...
The Case for Abandoning Your Book (For Now)
📋 WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Pen Pals has a listener survey and we need your feedback to make the show even better. Fill it out at: https://form.typeform.com/to/kIosWT3L — it takes just a few m...
What Breathwork Unlocks for Writers with Amanda Fletcher
Krisserin and Kelton are running on fumes — sleep-deprived, burned out, and staring down a summer deadline that feels impossible. Enter Amanda Fletcher: writer, breathwork practitioner, PEN Center USA Emerging Voices fellow, and one of the most...
ER Visits, Cozy Reads, and the Grace of Not Writing
Krisserin checks in from a Kansas City hotel room fresh off an unexpected ER visit in St. Louis — chest pains, a CT scan, and a lot of unanswered questions — while Kelton battles a household plague of sickness, broken blow-dryers, and postpartu...
Alli Hoff Kosik on Writing Christian Influencers with Heart in Too Blessed to Stress
This week on Pen Pals, Krisserin and Kelton sit down with debut novelist Alli Hoff Kosik to discuss her buzzy new novel, Too Blessed to Stress — a sharp, funny, and unexpectedly tender story about Christian influencers, megachurch culture, and ...
The Compulsive Liar at Your Desk: A Conversation About AI and Reading
Krisserin and Kelton are running on fumes—and they're honest about it. Both hosts arrive at this week's accountability check-in feeling ragged: Krisserin is limping toward summer with a fried brain and a work trip on the horizon; Kelton is two ...
Rachael Maddux on Self-Publishing a Book You Can't Let Go
Krisserin and Kelton sit down with writer Rachael Maddux (Life Expectancy: A Memoir, The Void, Third Person) to talk about what happens when a book you’ve spent 14 years writing never sells through traditional channels — and how you decide to m...
Who Are We Writing For—And Who Are We Reading?
Krisserin and Kelton barely make it to record — 15 minutes late despite trying to be 30 minutes early — and that kind of week sets the tone. Kelton's survived two weeks of Colorado spring break without daycare, while Krisserin's mom is in town ...
Ramona Ausubel on Getting Unstuck
Kelton is on a record-breaking week — 5,563 words across three chapters — after ditching Scrivener for the freedom of a Google Doc. Krisserin finished two short stories and sent them to beta readers, though she's staying up until 1:30 AM to do ...
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 timel...
"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, ...
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 p...
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...
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...
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 i...
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 Flande...
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 Pre...
What Debut Authors Actually Get Paid (And Why We're Mad About It)
What does a debut author actually get paid? Krisserin and Kelton dig into Emily Zips' survey data and don't love what they find—average two-book deals for $50K, most authors working day jobs, and advances that won't cover daycare. Plus:...
Mark Sarvas on Writing Novels That Can't Be Ignored
Krisserin panics her way through a grad school application (wrong link, wrong deadline, wrong page numbers), while Kelton enters the querying trenches—19 Google Docs open, three agents contacted, and the immediate certainty that something went ...
When a Miracle Slides Into Your DMs: On Agents, Advances, and Anxiety
Kelton's inbox delivers a dream: an agent from a respected agency slid into her DMs after discovering her writing on Substack. The excitement is real—but so is the anxiety of navigating what comes next. Do you query other agents simultaneously?...
Paper Prototypes and Publishing: Vicki Tan's Non-Traditional Book Deal
What happens when a designer walks into a Manhattan publishing office with paper prototypes that look like children's toys? In this episode, Kelton reconnects with Vicki Tan, a former colleague from Headspace turned author, to explore her uncon...
"Never Save the World": JT Ellison on 30 Books, Citrine Magic, and Writing Through the Darkness
Krisserin and Kelton kick off 2026 by getting real about the challenge of creating art in turbulent times—from doom-scrolling to feeling like your work is too small for the moment. Then they're joined by New York Times and USA Today bestselling...
The Capricorn and the Libra: Our Year in Review
In their final episode of 2025, Krisserin and Kelton reflect on a year that transformed them both—32 episodes of accountability, pivot points, and hard-won victories. While Krisserin celebrates landing an agent and finishing her duology, Kelton...
Writing Through December Chaos
In this episode of Pen Pals, Krisserin and Kelton confront the reality of December's chaotic energy—where seasonal disruptions, holiday stress, and looming daycare closures threaten to derail their writing routines entirely. While Kelton grappl...
Stop Tap Dancing in Your Query Letter: Ali Gordon's Path to Publication
Krisserin and Kelton sit down with Ali Gordon, author of "We Have Reached the End of Our Show," to discuss her unconventional path to publication without an agent. Ali shares how she wrote her debut novel during the pandemic as a "cozy treehous...