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Shelley Thomas is an artist and CEO of The Mystical Creative LLC. She is a visionary composer-producer, photographer, astrologer, and Dream Fulfillment Coach. Through her multifaceted work, she creates exquisite custom music and photos for client visual media needs. As a coach, she helps people gain insight, clarity, and confidence, guiding them to heal and activate their potential. She uses modern technology alongside astrology, tarot, and her gift of intuition to assist people in realizing their goals and dreams.

She specializes in working with multi-passionate entrepreneurs to support bringing their dreams to life: whether through coaching, creating beautiful music for film + tv uniquely branded with her magical sonic signature, or delivering elegant portraits that capture the special spirit of each person.

Shelley has a B.F.A. in World Music from CalArts and an M.A. from Berklee College of Music in Interdisciplinary Music Studies, as well as numerous accolades, international tours and multiple Grammy-winning credentials. She is a world-class vocalist and musician who plays oud, percussion piano, and guitar.

She also draws upon a depth of intense life experiences including heartbreak, addiction, illness, trauma, creative blocks, depression, and anxiety. These blessings in disguise have given her immense empathy and wisdom to share in her work with others. She learned to heal through 7 years of sobriety, deep spiritual work, self-love, and the power of artistic alchemy.

Her purpose is to uplift and inspire people through her work, shattering limitations and empowering others through creative expression.

Listen to Shelley’s singles, including her spring '26 release of "Infinite Sea" and watch her music videos on her website.

Shelley Thomas
www.themysticalcreative.com

www.instagram.com/themysticalcreative

Kathie’s note:
One day during a one-hour or three-hour Caveday session (www.caveday.org), I looked at all the people on the Zoom screen and saw someone playing an instrument. Was that a lute? It was definitely of the string kingdom, guitar class, but I had no idea what genus.

It turned out to be Shelley playing her oud. But without any audio, wah.

She's super chill, always a calming presence. So enjoyed talking with her on this episode.

Writers Rotation intro/outro recorded at Dynamix Productions in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Katie Fussenegger serves as Executive Vice President of the Kentucky Derby Museum, where she helps lead one of Kentucky’s most iconic cultural attractions with vision, creativity, and a deep love for the stories of the horse.

Before joining the museum, Katie spent more than a decade as President & CEO of ShelbyKY Tourism, where she built a reputation for innovation, collaboration, and community impact. She’s a proud University of Louisville graduate and holds her CTIS certification through Indiana and Purdue Universities.

Katie has held leadership roles across the state and beyond, serving as chair of the Kentucky Tourism Industry Association & KY Bourbon Horses & History Region, President of the Kentucky Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus, and twice as President on the international stage of Skal International Louisville. She’s also a graduate of Leadership Kentucky, Leadership Louisville, and Leadership Shelby.

Her work has earned her recognition as one of the Lane Report’s Top Women in Business, Louisville Business First’s 20 People to Know in Tourism & Hospitality, recipient of the Way to Go Woman in Leadership Award by Today’s Woman Magazine, and a 2024 Forty Under 40 honoree by Business First, chosen from over 600 applications.

A passionate advocate for tourism, hospitality, and community growth, Katie brings both strategy and heart to everything she does. 

Kentucky Derby Museum

https://www.derbymuseum.org/

https://www.instagram.com/derbymuseum/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/kentucky-derby-museum

Connect with Katie on Instagram @CocktailsandTeacups

Kathie’s note: You know how some people just remind you of sunshine? That’s Katie Fussenegger. Always happy, always smiling. I met her on a fam trip (which stands for familiarization, not family) with three other freelance writers in the fall of 2019. We toured a Saddlebred farm in Shelby County, a pumpkin patch and several other tourist attractions, and had some fabulous meals and camaraderie. I still think about those people and places!

Writers Rotation intro/outro recorded at Dynamix Productions in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Patty Pell is an 80-year-old new playwright. She has written snippets all her life, including poems, short stories, two children’s theatre programs, sales training videos, radio spots, and the finest, most talked about obituary tribute that the P-burg Sentinel ever published.

Patty and her daughter, Laurie, wrote Momma Won’t Die based on the last weeks they spent with Gigi in the summer of 2021. Those days of living with three generations of Southern women became the most important time in Patty’s life. Everything else seemed a footnote.

Like the characters in her favorite plays, Steel Magnolias and Crimes of the Heart, Patty hopes audiences will see the characters in Momma Won’t Die and say, “I know these people.” Patty gives special thanks to the Del Shores Writers Workshop for their suggestions and support. She brought in a revised scene every week for two years. She could not have finished this play without them. Momma Won’t Die became a true collaboration of love!

Follow Patty and “Momma Won’t Die” on FB and IG.
https://www.facebook.com/mommawontdie
https://www.instagram.com/mommawontdie

Join the Kickstarter campaign (March 17 to April 16, 2026) to fund the stage premiere of the play in June in Dallas.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pattypell/momma-wont-die-a-world-premiere-play

Kathie’s note: Patty and I were roommates and workmates a thousand years ago! She is quite entertaining, and always gracious.

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Patty McGee is a nationally recognized literacy consultant, speaker, and educator with a passion for transforming classrooms into spaces where language and learning come alive. 

With decades of experience as a teacher, coach, and advocate for delightful literacy practices, Patty has worked alongside educators across the country, partnering to unlock the full potential of their students through innovative and practical teaching strategies. 

 Not Your Granny’s Grammar is her third book. Connect with Patty at www.pattymcgee.org.

Kathie’s note: Patty sent me an email out of the blue! What a delightful note it was, and I said absolutely yes to inviting her on the podcast. My mom was a teacher, so I've always had a soft spot in my heart for them. Yay for teachers.

Writers Rotation intro/outro recorded at Dynamix Productions in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Kelly Erickson leads Wild Horse Heart Consulting & Creative, where she helps mission-driven teams turn complex ideas into clear plans, simple systems, and meaningful learning experiences. 

At her core she’s a connector of people, ideas, and words, using sketchnotes and visual maps to align teams, invite collaboration, and make hard things easier to talk about. 

She lives in North Central Washington, where she tends a small orchard and keeps a stack of horse books close by.

Connect with Kelly through her website and on LinkedIn.

www.wildhorseheart.com

www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-erickson-pmp

Kathie’s note: I met Kelly through Caveday.org, where she is a guide and a participant. I can't remember which title she was using, haha, the first time I saw her smiling face, but she is known in that community for beaming out a lot of positivity. And I do love a good beam! Plus, she's a multifaceted entrepreneur, so what's not to love?

Writers Rotation intro/outro recorded at Dynamix Productions in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Sara Lieberman is a writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in legacy media. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, AFAR, Travel + Leisure, and more, and she's edited at The New York Post and The Daily Beast, as well as for a variety of nonfiction lifestyle books. 

In her spare time, she practices yoga, gets lost on hikes, eats, and thinks about eating. She documents much of this on her Substack, Overthinking It, and also helps other people document their own musings as a self-declared Word Doc, also on Substack. Follow her on Instagram @saraglieberman.

https://www.saralieberman.com

https://overthinkingit.substack.com

https://worddoc.substack.com

https://www.instagram.com/saraglieberman

Kathie’s note: Sara is a guide at Caveday.org and at first I thought she was an actual Parisian because her Zoom screen said Sara, Paris. And I wanted to brush up on my high school French, like À quelle heure part le train? or some other useful phrase on Zoom, but then she turned out to be an American in Paris, which is still super cool. Plus she’s fun and definitely has a way with words on her Substack pieces.

Writers Rotation intro/outro recorded at Dynamix Productions in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Fiona Young-Brown is a writer and historian. Originally from England, she has lived in Lexington, Kentucky, for more than 20 years with her husband and rescue dogs. She is the author of more than a dozen books, including A Culinary History of Kentucky and Secret Lexington: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure. When she's not going down research rabbit holes, she is probably cooking, painting, or planning her next trip.

Fiona is on the board of directors of the Lexington Writers Room (https://www.lexwritersroom.com), a coworking space for writers in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. 

Follow Fiona on Instagram @fionayb30

www.fionayoungbrown.com

Kathie’s note: Fiona and I were members of a local group of writers called the Coffee Consortium back in the late aughts, early 2010s. A dozen of us, give or take, would meet at the library or a coffeeshop and talk shop, and usually bitch and moan about editors and assignments, hahaha. It was wonderful. Camaraderie is one of my favorite things in life! 

Writers Rotation intro/outro recorded at Dynamix Productions in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Brian Powers is a legal marketer, a recovering attorney, a musician, and a podcaster. He is the Marketing Director of the McBrayer law firm, and he has been a freelance writer for such publications as Business Lexington and ACE Weekly in Lexington, Kentucky, earning a third-place Kentucky Press Association award somehow. 

He lives with his wife, his three youngest kids, and the devil's own pug in a haunted house in Versailles, Kentucky. When he isn't writing for or recording his dad-joke-filled podcast on odd and obscure American history, American Esoterica, he is the bassist and a singer of the band Witness Protection, a band made up almost entirely of lawyers. He enjoys long walks on anywhere but the beach because he grew up in Florida and would be thrilled to never see sand again.

Kathie's note: I met Brian in the 2010s through a loose network of nonfiction writers in Lexington, Kentucky. He's been a great resource for legal questions (thanks for the free advice, Brian!) and general shoptalk. 

Oh, in this episode, I learned what comes after primary, secondary, tertiary. Yep, today years old when I heard the word "quaternary" for the first time. A quick dive into a shallow rabbit hole produced the next adjectives in the sequence: quinary, senary, septenary, octonary, nonary, denary. Stop it! (Meaning, don't ever stop using cool words.)

Writers Rotation intro/outro recorded at Dynamix Productions in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Sandy Hausrath is a former scientist and recovering lawyer who now helps people find the right words as a freelance writer and communication coach. She’s written everything from ebooks, white papers, and research reports to manifestos, mission statements, and thought leadership articles.

When she’s not working, she’s probably hiking with her dogs, admiring very handsome birds, crocheting emotional support hippos (with at least one cat on her lap), throwing axes, or talking with strangers and turning them into new friends.

Sandy’s primary love language is lists, but questions are a close second. Need a list of questions? Please get in touch!

You can find Sandy at sandyhausrath.com or on LinkedIn.

Kathie's note: Sandy is another fun person I've met through Caveday.org. She's an  encouraging and acknowledging soul. And an on-screen smiler. As Buddy the Elf told the Gimbel's manager, "I just like to smile; smiling's my favorite."

Mine too!!!!!!!!!! 

Writers Rotation intro/outro recorded at Dynamix Productions in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Degna Stone is an award-winning poet and poetry editor. They are co-founder and former Managing Editor of  Butcher’s Dog poetry magazine, a Contributing Editor at The Rialto, and an associate artist with The Poetry Exchange. Currently, Degna is Project Manager for the Rebecca Swift Foundation, an organisation dedicated to the craft, creativity and wellbeing of women poets. You can also find them leading Caves with Caveday.org.

Proof of Life on Earth, Nine Arches Press, is their debut poetry collection.

Kathie’s note: You know how some people are so calm, so centered, they just exude warmth and safety? That’s Degna. My impression of Degna, anyway. They are one of the lovely guides at Caveday, all of whom are pretty fabulous and individually unique. I loved this discussion about poetry and being a poet. 

Writers Rotation intro/outro recorded at Dynamix Productions in Lexington, Kentucky.

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