In this episode, Krisserin and Kelton sit down with author and Halloween historian Lesley Bannatyne, whose short story collection Lake Song won the Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction. Lesley shares her unconventional path to publication—winning major contests without an agent—and the craft lessons she learned along the way. They talk writing community, finding inspiration in spooky places, and why the best stories linger like ghosts long after you close the book.

Learn more about Lesley at lesleybannatyne.com

Get 20% off Lake Song using promo code "LAKE" from Ohio State University Press here: https://ohiostatepress.org/books/titles/9780814259542.html

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The Rewilding

Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

Krisserin's broadcasting from Scottsdale, Arizona (after getting two speeding tickets in the same spot) while Kelton's racing to finish her memoir proposal. But the real star of this episode is their first Season 2 guest interview: Chelsea Hodson, author of Tonight I'm Someone Else, founder of Rose Books, creator of the Morning Writing Club, and now a musician releasing her debut single.

Chelsea shares her unconventional path to publication—from studying journalism when professors warned "this career is dead," to cold-emailing Sarah Manguso to become her personal assistant in exchange for editing help. Her breakthrough came through daily discipline: a Tumblr project called "Inventory" where she photographed herself with every object she owned and wrote one paragraph. Posting every day for two years, she went from 10 followers to 20,000—and caught the attention of a literary agent.

The conversation digs deep into the hard parts of being a writer: the editor who dismissed her essay with "girls always write about camp," the MFA instructor who told her to throw away a piece and start over, the agent who quit publishing the week her manuscript was due. Chelsea reveals how these crushing moments actually strengthened her work—teaching her to double down on what makes her writing different instead of conforming to others' expectations.

Practical wisdom abounds: Why Chelsea wakes up at 2:30 AM to write before her toddler wakes up. How she used exposure therapy (posting on Tumblr daily) to overcome her fear of publishing. Why she spent her book advance touring instead of waiting for her publisher. The importance of reading work aloud to know when it's truly done. And why publishing a book won't solve your inner perfectionism—it might actually magnify it.

Plus: Krisserin finishes revising both books and sends them to her agent, Kelton gets marketing advice from author Emily Halnon about bolstering her memoir proposal, and they both reflect on the importance of engaging with writers you admire as peers, not pedestals.

Learn more about Chelsea Hodson, sign up for the Morning Writing Club and listen to her single here: https://chelseahodson.com/

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The Rewilding

Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

Krisserin's fighting off sickness while crushing her revision goals, and Kelton's Rewilding class just sold out. So why do they both feel like frauds? This week, they tackle the tricky bitch that is confidence—how to build it, maintain it, and why it's so much harder for women to claim it publicly.

Kelton reflects on a childhood spent being told she couldn't do things (seriously, fuck you, John from high school), and how that "no you can't" turned into rocket fuel. Krisserin shares how the world beat down her fearless younger self, and why the scary moments—the public readings, the vulnerable asks—are exactly when we grow the most. They discuss the double bind of being a woman: too humble and you're annoying, too confident and you're full of yourself.

The conversation gets practical about what actually builds confidence: doing the work, over-preparing until you can perform, separating your worth from your work, and finding the ease in what you do. Krisserin reveals she's been actively writing for nearly 20 years—a realization that hits different when you say it out loud. Kelton admits she walks through the woods rehearsing podcast interviews where she talks about making $100,000 in a month, just to make it sound normal to herself.

But the real confidence builder? Community. Whether it's Kelton's coven from doing The Artist's Way together or Krisserin's classmates from Harvard Extension who celebrated her agent news, having people who fan your flame makes all the difference. They challenge listeners to find their person, take a class, join a group—because your dream will die in the dark if you don't tell anyone about it.

Plus: Why successful women need to stop being so humble already, the importance of "casting a line" even when you'll probably get rejected, and Kelton's direct plea to actually rate the damn podcast.

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The Rewilding

Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

Kelton's exhausted from weeks of sleepless nights with a teething toddler, and Krisserin is deep in revision mode—235 pages edited and counting. But the real topic of this episode is one every writer dreads: major editorial feedback that you don't know how to fix.

Krisserin shares her agent's note that her manuscript lacks authorial voice despite having strong character voices and excellent pacing. Is it because it's YA? Is she too afraid to inject her own beliefs into the narrative? Or is her deep-seated fear true—that she's just a good mimic without a distinct style? Kelton offers perspective: maybe the screenplay-like quality of the book means Krisserin needs to think like a director, not just a camera.

The conversation expands into the bigger question: how do you choose the right form for your story? Kelton explains why she chose memoir over research-heavy journalism (spoiler: she hates research and loves writing about herself). They discuss the practicalities of genre constraints, like Kelton's realization that her novel's main character probably needs to be 19, not in her thirties—which might make it YA whether she wants it to be or not.

Plus: manifestation walks where Kelton practices saying "the month I made $100,000," the difference between hard work and good work, why putting down projects might be the right move, and Krisserin's plan to spend her 41st birthday alone in an Airbnb reading her entire manuscript aloud.

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The Rewilding

Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

Big news drops in this episode: Krisserin has an agent! After manuscript consultations with longtime friend Kima Jones from Triangle House Literary, what started as friendly feedback sessions turned into official representation. Krisserin shares the whirlwind week from reading her book aloud to receiving editorial notes and submission timelines—all organized with Virgo precision.

But this episode isn't just about celebrating—it's about the magic that got them here. Kelton and Krisserin dive deep into the role of ritual, intuition, and intentional practices in their writing lives. From Krisserin's elaborate morning routine (three beverages, garage sanctuary, two-hour focus blocks) to Kelton's tarot-guided newsletter writing, they explore how creating sacred space around creativity actually works.

The conversation touches on everything from Bulgarian evil eye protection and coffee ground readings to the difference between prophecy and intuition. They discuss why "magic" as a concept might feel inaccessible to some, but argue that writers are already believers—we create worlds from nothing, after all.

Most importantly, they tackle the power of speaking your dreams into existence. No more treating book deals like lottery tickets or apologizing for wanting to make money from their art. As Krisserin puts it: "We're gonna make money from our writing... we gotta dream big here, you know?"

Whether you're skeptical about tarot or already burning sage, this episode offers practical wisdom about creating rituals that support your creative practice and the importance of believing in your work enough to make it real.

Plus! This is your last chance to sign up for Kelton's class. There are a couple more spots so snag one of them here: https://www.keltonwright.com/rewilding

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The Rewilding

Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

Krisserin and Kelton are back for Season 2! They dive into their summer writing goals with the brutal honesty that only true accountability partners can provide. Kelton reveals why she convinced her therapist that her novel is "seasonally inappropriate" for summer writing, pivoting instead to a memoir proposal that practically wrote itself in three days. Meanwhile, Krisserin confesses to feeling overwhelmed by alpha reader feedback and discovers the humbling truth about her editing skills while reading her speculative novel aloud to an agent friend.

Between tales of COVID summers, PTA obligations, and toddler daycare transitions, they explore the reality of fitting writing into lives that refuse to pause for creative pursuits. The conversation takes an illuminating turn as they discuss eye-opening insights from Krisserin's manuscript consultations, including why multi-book deals might be financial suicide and the uncomfortable question every writer should ask: what's your monetary goal for this book?

From Kelton's new "Rewilding" class to their shared revelation that they've been treating book publishing like winning the lottery instead of a achievable career goal, this episode captures the messy, non-linear reality of pursuing publication while living full, complicated lives. Plus: why over-editing exists, the art of pivoting to projects that energize you, and their ambitious fall goals that just might change everything.

Learn more about Kelton's class: The Rewilding here.

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The Rewilding

Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

It’s the season one finale! We’re talking endings—what makes them work, what makes them fail, and how we’re both rethinking the ends of our own books. Krisserin gets real about the feedback that’s forcing her to rewrite, and Kelton opens up about moral ambiguity, memoir structure, and what she’ll be working on over the summer. Plus: North & South yearning, Romantasy fatigue, and the rise of the goddamn.

We’ll be back after Labor Day with Season Two—new guests, new books, and (hopefully) new success.

Stay in touch with us over the summer! Subscribe to the Pen Pals Podcast substack here: https://penpalspod.substack.com/

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The Rewilding

Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

Krisserin and Kelton dive into the often soul-crushing world of querying literary agents, where finding representation feels like a high-stakes marriage proposal to strangers who might never write back. While Krisserin reflects on her 70-query journey that yielded more silence than success, Kelton discovers that her friend's surprise pitch to an agent might offer a shortcut she's not sure she wants to take. The duo unpacks the brutal mathematics of modern querying—where 44 queries is just the average—and debates whether Kelton should pivot from her novel-in-progress to the essay collection that's been hiding in plain sight across 160+ newsletter issues.

Between tales of agents with closed inboxes, the networking advantages of MFA programs, and the particular challenge of writing query letters that somehow capture your book's essence in marketing speak, they explore the tension between authentic connection and mass-market approach. Krisserin shares wisdom from her AWP conference panel while wrestling with whether to circle back to contacts from her first querying round, and Kelton contemplates the difference between luck and strategy in a publishing world that often feels rigged toward the privileged. Plus: Woods turns one, Apple Notes fails spectacularly at transcription, and the friends assign goals that might just change everything about their approach to the writing life.

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The Rewilding

Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

Krisserin and Kelton dive deep into the art of character creation, exploring what makes fictional people compelling, memorable, and real. From their shared love of Murder Bot's sarcastic inner monologue to their hatred of clumsy coffee-spilling protagonists, they dissect the elements that make characters stick with readers long after the last page. The duo discusses developing well-rounded villains (because nobody likes a mustache-twirling baddie), the importance of character interiority without falling into exposition traps, and how everyday details like bathroom habits and eating styles can reveal everything about a person. Plus, Kelton shares her character-building technique of people-watching in real life, while Krisserin reflects on her love for underdog stories and characters fighting against injustice. Whether you're crafting heroes, villains, or that annoying neighbor who chews too loudly, this episode offers practical insights for bringing fictional people to life.

Abby Wolfe's Sounds About Write: "I Wrote Nothing This Week" 

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The Rewilding

Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

Kelton and Krisserin dive into their complicated relationship with artificial intelligence—which they lovingly refer to as "the devil." They share personal stories about how AI has affected their writing careers, including a heartbreaking moment when Krisserin discovered one of her alpha readers had unwittingly fed her novel manuscript to an AI tool. The hosts explore ethical boundaries, debate when AI use is appropriate versus exploitative, and discuss the environmental impact of this rapidly expanding technology. They also offer practical advice for writers navigating this new landscape, including the importance of developing a personal AI policy and having transparent conversations with collaborators. Whether you're embracing AI as a research tool or cautiously keeping it at arm's length, this candid conversation tackles the hopes, fears, and hard realities of creating in an AI-saturated world.

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Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com
The Rewilding

Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios