Bright & Ambitious - Writing, Revising, Sharing Your Next Novel

This writing podcast has always hosted tons of advice that YA fantasy author Kailey Bright has learned while on her personal writing journey, but this episode is the culmination of an entire year’s worth of one-on-one mentorship.

Join Kailey and her author mentee, Natalie Gale, for a discussion about how they found each other, the lessons they learned, and how a mentorship program helped them both become better writers.

LINKS:

Check out The Un Series By Kailey Bright

Also available on Kindle Unlimited

Music by Stream Cafe

Shownotes:

Every author dreams of having their books in store shelves across the country, but some have made that dream a full-on life mission. Romantasy author Whitney McGruder has archived her adventrures on social media as she works to visit every single independent bookstore in the states of Texas and Utah, garnering an impressive numbers of likes and comments along the way.

In this episode of Bright & Ambitious, indie author Kailey Bright talks with Whitney about how she started this viral social media series, how she’s been able to keep it ongoing for so long, and what other authors can learn from her Instagram excapades.

Links:

Check out Whitney’s books or her Instagram series

Referenced in the episode:

American Booksellers Association

Check out The Un Series By Kailey Bright

Also available on Kindle Unlimited

Music by Stream Cafe

Many authors try to surprise their readers with big reveals and plot twists, but oftentimes they feel underwhelming, predictable, and even frustrating. When indie author Kailey Bright read Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez though, she was surprised at how much the twists and turns impacted her, even after she predicted one of the book’s biggest reveals. What made this book so different?

In this episode of Bright & Ambitious, Kailey explores how to effectively surprise your audience through the examples of Graceless Heart, Once Upon a Broken Heart, and how these stories can help you write a successful surprise yourself.

LINKS:

Check out The Un Series By Kailey Bright

Also available on Kindle Unlimited

Sign up for Kailey Bright’s monthly newsletter

Music by Stream Cafe

Whether you’re an aspiring author, or planning your next Dungeons & Dragons campaign, worldbuilding is often one of the first and most difficult challenges to overcome. But with years of playing table-top RPG’s for a living comes with the advantage of wisdom and insight.

In this episode of the Bright & Ambitious Writing Podcast, Noah Woodyard (professional dungeon master and host of the live-play podcast “The Bastard Children of Everil”) talks through the 5 things every fictional world needs, the pitfalls to avoid, and how you can make your audience (or players) get invested into your world.

Links:

Listen to The Bastard Children of Everil: An UUN BARDUN ADVENTURE

Plan a visit to Polaris Gaming

Check out The Un Series By Kailey Bright

Also available on Kindle Unlimited

Sign up for Kailey Bright’s monthly newsletter

Music by Stream Cafe

When writer Daniel Waters and director Michael Lehmann released their teen black comedy "Heathers" into the theaters in 1989, they were likely hoping for critical and financial success, and a devoted fanbase for their work. What they likely weren't expecting was for others to find inspiration in their work and transform it into an off-broadway musical nearly 30 years later. While "Heathers: The Musical" (adapted by Laurence O'Keefe and Kevin Murphy) shakes the story up through an incredible soundtrack, their adaptation also hides seemingly small revisions that brilliantly transforms the way their audience experiences the tragic tale of Veronica Sawyer. In this episode of Bright & Ambitious, young adult author Kailey Bright walks us through the differences between editing and revising, how Heathers the Musical utilize both to improve upon the original cult classic film, and how aspiring authors (or screenwriters!) can use its example to perfect their own work.

Links:

Watch Heathers (1989) on Tubi

Check out The Un Series By Kailey Bright

Also available on Kindle Unlimited

Sign up for Kailey Bright’s monthly newsletter

Music by Stream Cafe

With so many social media options, authors may be tempted on skipping out on a newsletter. But as it turns out, newsletters are actually one of the most important resources indie authors have.

In this episode of Bright & Ambitious, Kailey Bright talks with Rachel A. Greco (author of The Firebird and The Gift of Dragons series) about how to make sure you release newletters consistently, get your audience engaged, and why newletters are one of the most important tools authors can utilize.

Links:

Read Greco’s Books or sign up for her newsletter

Check out The Un Series By Kailey Bright

Also available on Kindle Unlimited

Sign up for Kailey Bright’s monthly newsletter

Music by Stream Cafe

When you’re building a whole new world from scratch, it’s easy to get lost in all of the small details. But when your characters are literally inhuman, how do you make sure they are still relatable to your readers?

In this episode of Bright & Ambitious, Kailey Bright talks with Sophia L. Hansen, author of Water’s Break about how she came up with her narrative, developed her aquatic world, and the best tools authors can use to make their stories come to life.

Links:

Read Water’s Break

Read Sophia’s articles and short stories

Referenced in the episode:

gohavok.com

nietz.com

Check out The Un Series By Kailey Bright

Also available on Kindle Unlimited

Music by Stream Cafe

YALLfest 2025 may be over, but we’re still not over the experience! In this episode of Bright & Ambitious, indie author Kailey Bright shares her experience of the two-day extravaganza, as well as the exclusive mini-interviews she recorded with authors like Marissa Meyer, Victoria Aveyard, Rebecca Ross, and more!

Links:

Check out the other BookTok pages we interviewed!

Tay’s Cafe

SBU English Club

Mikayla’s Meadow

The Un Series Paperbacks

Also available on Kindle Unlimited

Music by Stream Cafe

Some scary movies use jump scares as a cheap trick to get a startle out of you, but if you’re writing a horror novel, you don’t get the same luxury. How do you make your writing actually scary, and why would you want to in the first place?

In this episode of Bright & Ambitious, Kailey Bright talks with horror novelist Gaeli Love Weiss (Stagnant Water) about the role scary stories have played in her life, how she’s developed terrifying monsters, and how they can be used to explore terrors scarier than fiction.

Links:

Read Stagnant Water by Gaeli Love Weiss

Check out The Un Series By Kailey Bright

Also available on Kindle Unlimited

Music by Stream Cafe

Gaeli’s horror suggestions:

(WARNING: Some of these books get real graphic!)

Sharp Objects - Gillian Flyn

The Terror - Dan Simmons

The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson

How High We Go in the Dark - Sequoia Nagamatsu

The Boatman’s Daughter - Andy Davidson

It - Stephen King

Rosemary’s Baby - Ira Levins

Maeve Fly - CJ Leede

We’ve all heard the advice “write what you know,” but what happens when you want to tell a story about a character with different life experience than your own? How do you make a diverse story, and how can you make sure you do so well?

In this episode of Bright & Ambitious, Kailey Bright talks with indie author and editor Whitney McGruder (The Throwaway Queen, The Destiney Seeker duology) about how to develop diverse stories, why diversity matters, and how sensitivity readers can be essential to the success of your story.

Links:

Pre-order The Vindicated Queen or check out Whitney’s other books

Referenced in the episode:

Aparna Verma (The Burning Queen)

Salt and Sage Books (Book Consultants)

Check out The Un Series By Kailey Bright

Also available on Kindle Unlimited

Music by Stream Cafe