The Hybrid Author Path with Penn Cole

Thank you, Scrivener, for sponsoring this episode of The Prose Pros.Use coupon code PROSEPROS to receive a 20% discount on Scrivener for macOS or Windows when purchased via www.literatureandlatte.com before the end of November 2026.Katy Hays is a Californian, writer, and cake aficionado. She lives in the shadow of the Sierra with her husband and their dog, Queso. In addition to writing, Katy works as an adjunct Art History Professor teaching rural students from Truckee to Tecopa. She holds an MA in Art History from Williams College and pursued her PhD in Art History at UC Berkeley. Her academic writing has been published by Ashgate, an imprint of Routledge. Occasionally her humor writing appears in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. Her fiction explores what we’re capable of talking ourselves into, strange-but-real worlds, and unusual friendships. She also runs a substack called June Gloom where she writes (sporadically) about creativity, culture, and California. You can subscribe here. When not writing (or eating cake) Katy is a skier, cyclist, trail runner, Eastern Sierra enthusiast, and—well, reader.

Thank you, Scrivener, for sponsoring this episode of The Prose Pros.Use coupon code PROSEPROS to receive a 20% discount on Scrivener for macOS or Windows when purchased via www.literatureandlatte.com before the end of November 2026.J.T. Ellison, a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, crafts domestic noir and psychological thrillers that hook readers deep into the night. She created the Taylor Jackson and Samantha Owens series, alongside standalone hits like A Very Bad Thing, It’s One of Us, and Lie to Me. With Catherine Coulter, she co-authored six of the "A Brit in the FBI" novels packed with international intrigue—because a good spy twist never gets old. Her books span 30 countries and 18 languages, with millions sold and several optioned for TV. She’s received accolades including the ITW Thriller Award for The Cold Room, Indie Next picks, COSTCO nods, SIBA Okra Picks, LibraryReads selections, Amazon Editor’s Pick honors, and Book of the Month recognition, with Field of Graves and No One Knows hitting the SIBA Southern Book Prize longlist in 2017. She’s now at work on her 35th novel, ready to raise the stakes again.Ellison co-hosts A Word on Words on Nashville PBS, an Emmy-winning gig that shows she’s as sharp on screen as on the page. She founded Two Tales Press for her short fiction, runs The Wine Vixen, blending her love of food and wine with storytelling flair, and pens The Creative Edge blog to spark inspiration for fellow writers.A former political insider, she lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens—one of whom is a ghost—where she’s always chasing the next twist.

Thank you, Scrivener, for sponsoring this episode of The Prose Pros.Use coupon code PROSEPROS to receive a 20% discount on Scrivener for macOS or Windows when purchased via www.literatureandlatte.com before the end of November 2026.If you’d like to hear more from Penn, give her a follow on social media. She is @AuthorPennCole on all major platforms. Keep up with Penn’s latest news by joining her Discord reader group and subscribing to her monthly newsletter. The links for both, as well as a full list of upcoming appearances, can be found on Penn’s website, www.penncole.com.

Thank you, Scrivener, for sponsoring this episode of The Prose Pros.Use coupon code PROSEPROS to receive a 20% discount on Scrivener for macOS or Windows when purchased via www.literatureandlatte.com before the end of November 2026.Kathleen Schmidt is the founder and CEO of Kathleen Schmidt Public Relations and a respected leader in book publishing with three decades of experience spanning publicity, literary representation, acquisitions editing, and ghostwriting. She has worked on more than 50 New York Times bestsellers and led global media and branding campaigns for politicians, A-list celebrities, athletes, and other high-profile figures, securing consistent coverage across top-tier national outlets. Schmidt also publishes the fast-growing Substack newsletter Publishing Confidential, where she shares insider expertise to help demystify the book industry.

Kate McKean is a literary agent at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency in Brooklyn, New York. She is also an adjunct professor at New York University and earned her MA in fiction writing at the University of Southern Mississippi. Her work has appeared in Poets & Writers, Electric Literature, Catapult, and elsewhere. She writes the Agents & Books newsletter at https://www.agentsandbooks.com/.

Tara Goedjen writes atmospheric thrillers. Her forthcoming novel, PLEASE ENJOY YOUR STAY, set at a glamorous yet eerie hotel, is coming out with Atria this October. Before writing books, Tara worked as a tennis coach (in Europe), as a college lecturer (in Australia), and as a fiction editor for a global publishing house.She has a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Alabama, and is also the author of two young adult mystery novels: No Beauties or Monsters and The Breathless. Her short fiction has appeared in Agni, BOMB MAGAZINE, New England Review, and Fairy Tale Review, among others.Tara loves traveling the world and talking about books. She currently lives with her family in the misty Pacific Northwest, where she can usually be found hiking through a mysterious wood while dreaming up her next novel.And for rights inquiries regarding Please Enjoy Your Stay, contact Allison Malecha and Nicole Cunningham at Trellis Literary Management [[email protected] and [email protected]].

Marcus Kliewer is a writer and stop-motion animator. His debut novel, WE USED TO LIVE HERE, began life as a serialized short story on Reddit. Film rights were snapped up by Netflix, and it was acquired by Simon & Schuster in the US for publication even before it had been extended into a full-length novel. He lives in Vancouver, Canada. 

Carla writes smart, escapist fiction full of glamorous settings, questionable decisions, and plenty of RPBB (rich people behaving badly). Also: a tiny bit of romance.After years working at Goldman, Uber, Waymo then running her own startup, she finally returned to her first love—writing.When she’s not deep in fictional worlds, she share the behind-the-scenes reality of publishing—and loves yapping with readers—on social media @carlavassbooks.You can usually find her enjoying a great meal with friends and family, on the back of a horse, or in seat 4368C, heading off on her next adventure.

S.T. Gibson is the #1 Sunday Times and USA Today bestselling author of A DOWRY OF BLOOD. Her gothic romances and dark fantasy novels have been nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award and a British Fantasy Award, and longlisted for a British Science Fiction Association Award. She is a graduate of the creative writing program at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and the theological studies program at Princeton Seminary.

Juliet Izon is a New York City and Hudson Valley-based journalist and author. Her work has appeared in national newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and magazines like Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, and Architectural Digest (a full archive of clips can be found here). Her first novel, The Encore, was published by Union Square & Co./Hachette in March 2026.Born in University Park, MD, Juliet is a proud alumna of Sidwell Friends School and Trinity College, from which she graduated with honors in English Literature. Before becoming a freelance writer, she held editorial staff positions at Bauer Publishing, Niche Media, and Modern Luxury, where she wrote on a variety of lifestyle topics including entertainment, travel, restaurants, and design.In her free time, you can often find her traveling the world with her husband Mike and daughter Aveline. But when she’s home, she’s probably at the theater catching a new dance performance or off-Broadway show.