Pen Pals

The Capricorn and the Libra: Our Year in Review

• Krisserin Canary and Kelton Wright • Season 2 • Episode 13

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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 reveals her elaborate "Year of 40" planning document complete with astrological mapping and a manifestation app.

Looking ahead to 2026, Kelton unveils her ambitious plans—the Rewilding winter practice, a new monthly writing group called the Murmuration, and manifesting a business partner with a very specific JD. Krisserin's playing it closer to the vest, applying to an MFA program and hoping for a book deal she's still too protective of her heart to fully visualize. 

Between debates about who's more commercially-minded (Capricorn wins), pleas for listener ratings, and their characteristic mix of commiseration and ambition, this episode celebrates what a year of showing up—for your writing and for each other—can actually accomplish.

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The Rewilding

Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

Kelton:

Hi Krisserin.

Krisserin:

Hi Kelton.

Kelton:

How you doing?

Krisserin:

Oh, you know, getting into the spirit.

I'm Krisserin Canary. And I'm Kelton Wright. Follow our quest to publish our first novels from first drafts, to query letters through inevitable rejections and hopefully eventual success from California to Colorado. This is pen pals.

Kelton:

You look awfully festive. For our listeners, Krisserin is wearing not only a let snow sweater, but green glittering reindeer antlers.

Krisserin:

I just saw them as I was walking to the bedroom to ready to record and I was like, I'm gonna put those on. And Kelton now has a Santa scarf

Kelton:

Yeah, I have a Santa scarf. It's technically a Santa hat, but it was more important to me to show Krisserin the curtain bangs that I cut for myself.

Krisserin:

look really cute. I noticed'em the

Kelton:

Thank you.

Krisserin:

Yeah,

Kelton:

I'm also rocking a, Delia's catalog hairstyle. If you'll notice, I'm looking very 2001 today.

Krisserin:

it's very cute. It's

Kelton:

I'm. Feeling young. I'm feeling so young.

Krisserin:

Which is great because in less than a month you're gonna turn 40.

Kelton:

Mm. I can't wait.

Krisserin:

20 days.

Kelton:

Yeah. It's coming. It's coming for me.

Krisserin:

it's coming for you. As time comes for all of us.

Kelton:

Mm-hmm. Sand through the hourglass.

Krisserin:

I hadn't decided if I was gonna wear these the whole episode, but maybe I will. I'm kind of feeling it. It

Kelton:

I'm feeling it.

Krisserin:

It's.

Kelton:

fills the square. It's a really festive I like it. I'm here for it.

Krisserin:

Well, how was your week, Kelton? How did it go?

Kelton:

My goal was to use the first at least half hour of my three guaranteed hours to work on the memo. And I did do that. I finally fully succeeded on a call.

Krisserin:

Yay.

Kelton:

and it was really nice, to prioritize that time. I, yesterday did do something a little crazy though. I did do my 30 minutes on the memoir, and then I was just kind of in feedback purgatory on my clients. And so I wrote this Sunday's newsletter, the following Sunday's newsletter, the next Sunday's newsletter, and two of the paid newsletters. I just was like in the Fever state and was like, I know exactly what I wanna say for all of these.

Krisserin:

Amazing.

Kelton:

Yeah. So that means,

Krisserin:

some free time.

Kelton:

yeah, I bought myself time over the holidays to just work on the memoir. I did do some math. I was looking at the calendar of days of childcare. I have four days of childcare from now through January 5th. So,

Krisserin:

Wow.

Kelton:

so that means I have four days to do the rest of the memoir proposal. And I, I like, there's literally no way, obviously there's some time in there that, like Ben and I'll be swapping the kid. But a lot of that is gonna have to just be client work'cause they're not, there isn't not client work over the holidays,

Krisserin:

Really?

Kelton:

freelance. No,

Krisserin:

I would think that, most offices kind of like. Shut down around

Kelton:

they sort of shut down. But mine don't, I mean, one mine has an a huge January 1st launch,

Krisserin:

Hmm

Kelton:

they're like a really resolution driven kind of brand. And so there's just an enormous launch championing on the first. So there's a lot of things that I'm creating for that. The other one will be less work, but there will still be, still be some work I have to get done. But, looking at my calendar and counting how many guaranteed hours I had of work, I was like, okay, we gotta buckle. We gotta buckle in baby.

Krisserin:

Yeah. Do you feel like the 30 minutes is a sustainable routine for you? Like this is something that you can do ongoing

Kelton:

I mean, unless someone has some like weird deadline that like pinches that exact point in my day, I don't see why I couldn't maintain this moving forward. So it was a great suggestion. I'm very happy with it. I will be. I will be using it moving forward.

Krisserin:

Amazing. That's great news.

Kelton:

Yeah,

Krisserin:

what a great, you know, thing to achieve in our last episode of the year.

Kelton:

totally. All right. Now hit me your goals. Last week were inner child clone, short story,

Krisserin:

Uhhuh.

Kelton:

grad school application essay and get your transcripts.

Krisserin:

Yeah.

Kelton:

for the next one, I'm just remembering, this is also a short story, but it was humans disappear from animals lives.

Krisserin:

I, I forgot about, thanks for reminding me.'cause I forgot about that idea. I do like that idea. I did write some of that story, not this last week, but I think, two weeks ago. So I didn't do great on my goals this week. I've been, of taking the time where I'm in limbo waiting for the book stuff to start, to just rest.

Kelton:

That's nice.

Krisserin:

yeah,

Kelton:

That's good.

Krisserin:

yeah, it was a, a pretty intense run of waking up at five every morning. It was like month, two months or

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

of doing that and it's a weird time of year and with the holiday coming and school winding down and all of that. I did, of all the things that I had on my list, did. Work on my grad school application. I didn't work on my essay, but I did send all my transcripts, so that's

Kelton:

Oh, nice.

Krisserin:

And I sent emails to my recommender, the people who are going to write my letters of recommendation, giving them the details on like how to do that and when to do it by, and all of that. I'm getting there. I'm like chipping away at my to-do list. The other things that I have outstanding for that, application is I have to have a, obviously an example of my writing, to have an academic essay and also my entrance essay. The good news is that I think writing sample, I can just pick something that probably part of my book that's been edited to infinitum. And then, and then for my academic essay, I did have two that I wrote while I was at Harvard. So I, one of them is on, Tommy Orange who is a graduate of that program. So I could probably pick that one and just make sure it's up to snuff. And then I just really only have my essay, so it's not this like herculean effort to

Kelton:

Yeah,

Krisserin:

together, which is good

Kelton:

that's great.

Krisserin:

I do have until February 1st, so I do have some time.

Kelton:

Oh, good. Good.

Krisserin:

and yeah, I've been, you know, I listening to you talk about how you just like out all those essays. I'm like, man,'cause I've been writing substack essays now and I'm getting ready to publish my, like on Saturday. it's such a different type of writing. It's

Kelton:

Yeah,

Krisserin:

scratching a different part of

Kelton:

I,

Krisserin:

And I wanted to say to you now that I've been on substack for a little bit and read a bunch of Substack, what you do on Substack I think is different than the content that I've consumed on Substack and the content that I feel like I'm writing on Substack, which for me is not, they're not really essays, they're kind of blog posts.

Kelton:

Yeah. Yeah.

Krisserin:

I've had blogs in the past and a lot of it is me just talking about something that was interesting or updates in my life. you write essays, you write lyrical, beautiful pieces of writing, and it's very unique, in my opinion, to what I see on that platform. And maybe I'm just following the wrong people.

Kelton:

I mean,

Krisserin:

Emily most recent Substack was beautifully

Kelton:

yeah, so good.

Krisserin:

Um. I just wanted to commend you because I

Kelton:

I,

Krisserin:

like you do write such beautiful essays and you write so many of them. Like

Kelton:

I know, I know.

Krisserin:

a pretty what an effort. What an accomplishment. So you should feel really good, not, I'm sure you already do, but I'm giving you more kudos. You

Kelton:

Yeah. I just wish, I wish the people yearned for essays, the way they yearned for blog posts. They just don't, but we, we carry on. I will say that my Wednesday editions, the ones behind the paywall, are more like blog posts most of the time. That is sort of the balance I strike is that like the Sunday is like lyrical essay work and the the Wednesdays more bloggy. But yeah, it's, it's a, it's an interesting ecosystem on Substack and I think that, you know, I obviously had my days on blog post blog Spot and Xanga and Tumblr.

Krisserin:

I had a

Kelton:

Hell yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Live journal. Of course. We've tried them all. And oh my God, blogger, there were so many.

Krisserin:

Mm-hmm.

Kelton:

But yeah, I, I, I, I, I mix. I mix. I'm really, I'm happy that that stuff is done because not only do I have clients and memoir for these four remaining days of the year that I get to work, but I have the class for winter. Which by the time this comes out, early bird pricing will be available. So head to kelton wright.com/rewilding if you're ready to root in the dark for your winter.

Krisserin:

Root in the dark. I love it. How is it, how is the winter over there? It's, I've seen some pretty beautiful, it's 80, it was 84 degrees here yesterday. So please tell me

Kelton:

Oh my gosh.

Krisserin:

what is, how beautiful is Colorado right now?

Kelton:

I mean, it's getting there. We in this specific region, even though I live really high, I live really far south in Colorado, and so we are just outside of the desert. So we have some interesting weather patterns up in the mountains. So we've had some snow and you can go skiing, but it's not like, it's not winter yet. You can still see some dirt on the road. I'm having my couch that I bought in September delivered next week, and they called me and they were like, so tell me about how we get to your house. And I was like, wow. Are you ready for a tale? Um, but uh, you know, it's very like, get put your chains on. We're putting our snow tires on this week. I mean, it is starting to be really beautiful. Unreasonably warm this week, high thirties, but I'm ready. I'm ready to get snowed in. I'm ready. Avalanche me and baby, lock me into this town. I'm ready.

Krisserin:

This episode we're really gonna talk about our year in review. We started this podcast at the beginning of this year. I know we're in season two, but we started season one in January of 2025.

Kelton:

are you shitting me? I, you said this to me last week and like I got off the call and was like, that can't be true.

Krisserin:

It's, it is True. This is our 32nd episode.

Kelton:

Cool.

Krisserin:

Right.

Kelton:

Yeah.

Krisserin:

it's quite an accomplishment. That's over 32 hours of us yapping at each other. Who

Kelton:

Good for us.

Krisserin:

much to talk about?

Kelton:

We did, apparently

Krisserin:

Yeah.

Kelton:

some faith in ourselves. I'm, I'm amazed it feels like we've been doing this for several years, but I do feel good about the numbers, knowing this is our very first year of podcasting.

Krisserin:

Yeah. I mean, here's the thing. The thing that I get excited about is just the fact that we are consistently getting people writing into us. And yesterday, someone on Substack wrote an essay and tagged us in it, talking about our interview with Olivia. And um, yes.

Kelton:

that wrong.

Krisserin:

Yes, I think so. I think you're correct. And just having people talk about our episodes and the things that we're talking about is so thrilling, you

Kelton:

Oh, she also made me really reflect on how I've been portraying my life, which is like, you know, and I told her in the comments, I was like, you know, I feel so comfortable with Krisserin Air that I can, I can complain, you know, and you can see through the facade that like, there's still enjoyment and, and you know, nice things in my life. But when I was reading her piece, the hesitant woman, she was comparing Olivia's kind of bucolic almost experience of writing where it's like slow and romantic and there's like candles in her beautifully renovated old home with books and post-it notes strewn about just a writer in their element. And as I was reading this piece, I was just sitting at my desk with a candle burning with my beautiful cup of decaf coffee and my favorite Yeti mug. No one was here. I have a view of the mountains. And I was like, I get that. I just have to schedule it.

Krisserin:

Mm-hmm.

Kelton:

Can't choose when it happens. That's the only difference. And it's like I do only have nine hours a week where I could choose for that to happen. But I still get it and oh my God, I, I have to tell you this, I have to tell everyone this last night, last night, woods had some trouble in the beginning of the night, but then he slept from 10:30 PM to 5:30 AM and when he stirred at five 30 and I woke up, I, I, like I knew immediately. I knew immediately. I was like, I slept, I slept, I slept for seven hours and it was incredible. And you know what, you know what we did before that? We literally, we went out on the town and I ate all of the foods that I had cut out of my diet.'cause I was like, this isn't fucking working. So I ate cheese and I ate tomatoes and I ate garlic. And then he slept through the night. And I was like, I don't understand what is happening. But I will take it. I will take it, I will take it, I will take it.

Krisserin:

I just had this vision of you last week when you were talking about how you're just like a, like a cheese hog was just like sitting in front of the fridge, like, like a block of cheese. But I'm so glad, you know what's so funny is I had the worst sleep of my life on Monday where I, I was having, I think I took some Sudafed because my sinuses have been all blocked up and I took it right before bed, which I should have known better than to do that. But I couldn't breathe, so like, pick, pick one, you know? And I woke up so many times in the middle of the night and had light sleep and literally my watch was like, you're asleep. Score is shit. It was really bad. And I was like, this is what Kelton feels like all the time.

Kelton:

Yeah. Ben the other day was like, I, I actually am starting to not understand how you're doing things with how little sleep you have. And I was like, I, I think it's just like, I'm like drunk. I'm drunk on a lack of sleep. Um, and then I'm sure one day it'll catch up,

Krisserin:

Yeah.

Kelton:

but not today. It's just surfacing in moments in the bathroom where I'm like, I'm gonna cut my hair. You know, that decision happened. The, from, from me having the idea to cutting my hair was a span of 15 seconds,

Krisserin:

I love it.

Kelton:

so,

Krisserin:

what she wants,

Kelton:

yeah.

Krisserin:

a Libra. Do you know how long it would,

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

over that choice. Um, I will say, um,'cause the question that Megumi posed in her blog was like, can you not have Olivia's life and that kind of romantic writing life or fulfilling writing life if you are a parent, we've talked about this

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

and it is true, and like any close girlfriend, when you get together, you're not gonna say. I love my husband. He's the best. Like he supports me. He is such a good partner. My life, like, I'm so grateful. No, you're not. Am I grateful for my children? No. You're gonna be, you're gonna bitch about the things

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

you can't

Kelton:

Hmm.

Krisserin:

about with your family or your

Kelton:

Yeah. This is not an NPR podcast.

Krisserin:

for us to do talk about how we really feel and we're letting you guys in on that. So to, to be, I don't wanna discourage people and have them think that, you can't have a writing life if you're a parent, but it, it does make things different. It's going to change fundamentally the way that your life is structured and you have to fight for the time write. And that's why I get up at five o'clock in the morning and I have my own little ritual in the dark and it's my special time. But, you can't go to sleep at midnight reading your favorite book, which is my favorite thing to

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

up whenever you want the next morning with the birds chirping, and then have your coffee and sit down and write for as long as you want. I mean, I feel like I will have that. I'll just be like 60

Kelton:

Yeah.

Krisserin:

you know?

Kelton:

You know, what I have though, instead that I did not have before is, material. I also have a completely different understanding of time, not as a person moving through an individual day, but like generational time. I understand in a completely different way now, there are, I, I, I do not feel like parenting is a universal experience in that a lot of things people have said to me have not resonated at all, and I have not felt, but you will experience things. In such a novel way that there is so much more material. So if that entices you, that's not a good reason to have a child. But if you're a writer, afraid of having a child, let me tell you, you're gonna have some ideas. They might just be like a year and a half out.

Krisserin:

Yeah. I mean, listen, we all go through seasons in our life, and it doesn't have to be children. It could be for health things or whatever. You don't know what life is gonna throw at you, and you, you, you navigate them and you figure them out. I think if you want, if being a parent is something that you want, then you should do that, you know,

Kelton:

Yeah. Yeah.

Krisserin:

be you. I think like the thing that I always try and upon people is that we were taught 10 years ago that you could do everything and you could have it all and you could make it work, and, but the, that path leads to ruin that

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

Expectation of yourself that you can, you're superwoman and you can do everything no matter what. With no help or whatever. It's just very difficult. And there are people out there who, who can do it. But I think, we've entered an age where we understand that you can exhaust yourself and make yourself sick if you try and do that. So it's just about acknowledging the season of life that you're in and the limitations that you have in being gentle with yourself. And sometimes you can, you know, sit down and write 3000 words and sometimes you're not gonna get to sit down at all. And that's okay. And you

Kelton:

Yeah. And maybe you can just move to a different country where there's an entirely different care system where you are, afforded some luxuries that we as Americans are not.

Krisserin:

I mean, I'm, I'm very lucky to have my in-laws in my house, which has its pros and cons, but

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

part they're very helpful. And it has, it's been, a very different experience for me to have family in the house. I mean. Compared to my friends, I grew up with my grandmother in my house, so

Kelton:

Mm.

Krisserin:

Very normal for me to live in a multi-generational household. But yeah, it's just, it's different for, it's different for everyone. And I hope if Megumi is listening, and I hope she is listening, don't, don't listen to us bitch and think that the life that you want is not within your reach. Just because our experiences, because we're also like, we're just, we're being, you know, we're making it seem probably worse than it is on the day to day.'cause there is so much joy in it too.

Kelton:

Yeah.

Krisserin:

you get a lot out of it. So,

Kelton:

Husbands though, I don't know.

Krisserin:

yeah. I mean, honestly um, I wanted to, I was looking at our episode, our very well organized because Kelton is very well organized episode tracker, of our show. I don't know if you've looked at any of that old content.

Kelton:

uh.

Krisserin:

Um. You were working on your novel. You were trying to write 2,500 words in a week of your novel, I was reworking the first chapter of, my Gustafson novel.

Kelton:

Mm,

Krisserin:

And here we are at the end of the year and I have completely abandoned that novel and

Kelton:

have I.

Krisserin:

and, and finished my second book in the Duology that I was working on. And you've started a memoir.

Kelton:

Yeah. And that memoir proposal is in like, pretty good shape. I was listening to, an agent interview the other day. And you know when people ask you the same question over and over and over again and it just takes the right phrasing for it to finally snap into place in your brain. She said that in your memoir proposal you need to include, here's why. Someone who doesn't know me would wanna read this. And her phrasing of that just sank right into the pit of my stomach. And I immediately went to my memoir doc and wrote that at the top of it as the, like the positioning that I needed to kind of really like drive it home. I think I'd mentioned last week that I'd gotten kind of caught up in some of like the research elements. I think I have to include some of the research elements in the book. I think it's like calling my name. I don't like doing it, but I think it strengthens the book. And I think that that's like why someone who doesn't know me would want to read it because it is such an exploration of finding. You home, like the search for home. And so I've really come a long way, but I keep, I keep reaching these forks where I'm like, oh, I thought this, I guess false summits, I'll call them. I keep reaching these false summits where I'm like, I've made it. This is what I'm working on. And then I get to the fall summit and I'm like, oh, there's more, there's more up there. Oh, there's more up there, there's more. And as I was writing against that question the other day, you know, I had to kind of just like step back and be like, maybe the memoir proposal is done at the end of January and not at the end of December. And that part of what I am doing in January in tandem with dialing it in is making that agent list.'cause the more I have opened myself to be being curious about agents, the more I see how much work it is and how tactical it is. Like that particular agent who said that quote. I want to query her, but when I went and looked at her query guidelines, she works for an agency where you don't get to query her, you send it to a general submission pile with her name in the subject line, and you don't send the proposal. You only send a query letter.

Krisserin:

Mm.

Kelton:

there's like all these like, specific instructions for every single agent.

Krisserin:

Mm-hmm.

Kelton:

And I think that that is part of why it's like you need to have your like top 15 and then think about the work that goes into querying each of those people and like look them up on social media and like see how they're operating in the world because like, this person's supposed to be like your advocate, your, your, your person. You know? And I don't just want, I don't, I mean, I, I want an agent I think is the most important thing, but I don't want one that doesn't like me and doesn't. Operate in my vein, but there, that's a possibility that they read the proposal, the query letter, and they're like, I can sell this. And then they're like, yeah, I, I'll talk to you when I need to talk to you. And you're like, bye. Not, I thought you were gonna be like my guardian agent.

Krisserin:

It's interesting that you say that because I was on Instagram and there is a new account that is up in my feed about different. Agents that are open for querying and their guidelines and the things that they're interested in. And one of them was memoir, so I was looking at it for you. And, a couple of them were like, I love memoirs that include really well researched nonfiction. I was like, that's not for Kelton. But I think it could be. And then the other thing is that when I, when we first started talking about the idea of you writing a memoir, the idea of finding home was one that really resonated with me and one that I feel like is a very natural path for you to take is that whereas the memoir proposal that I read wasn't exactly that.

Kelton:

Yeah,

Krisserin:

exactly that, but is that where you've landed now?

Kelton:

yeah, yeah. It's hard to tell'cause it's like, because you know, the, the, the change in tacks that I've, I've taken in the course of this, it's like I'm still sailing south, you know? And it's like I'm making these micro adjustments and the, the thing is with sailing, it's like you make a micro adjustment, you're gonna end up in a totally different country. You know, I'm like, I'm so far out from that finish line that I just don't really know yet.

Krisserin:

Mm-hmm.

Kelton:

and to me, the thesis feels like the search for home and the conditions that make a place feel like home, and that is the through line. But how I, how exactly I get there is still up for debate. So it's like every time I outline a new chapter, I'm like, well, we could go this way.

Krisserin:

Yeah.

Kelton:

Uh, so, and I also, I, I do want an agent and hopefully an editor to help me shape that narrative and like think about what is like market viable. Like I'm not writing a book to not sell it.

Krisserin:

right, of course. I, I do. When I think about your story, having, you know, in Ohio and gone to New York and Los Angeles and on a boat in the Caribbean, and then finally to Colorado, I guess the second, this is the second time you've lived in Colorado,

Kelton:

That's, yeah, that's not even all the places I've lived. There's like five others.

Krisserin:

I just think that there is such an interest staying through line there also, and finding home is very relatable. But then the way that you talk about what makes a home a home is very, I think, applicable to people's lives. So I feel like the, the proposal that I read. There was the one line that stood out that I was like, yes, this is, this is the meat of the story. And everything else was like, okay, well, I don't know how I'm gonna living in Los Angeles feel about this material because I'm of course just thinking about myself. But the search for home feels broadly universal, feels broadly applicable.

Kelton:

Yeah, and obviously it's told through my experiences of where I've lived and, and how I've,

Krisserin:

Mm-hmm.

Kelton:

I felt there and what I was looking for. But I, you know, I, I am thinking about my book in like a, a book club way

Krisserin:

Mm-hmm.

Kelton:

it's like, if five friends read this book, how would they talk about it?

Krisserin:

Mm-hmm.

Kelton:

I don't want them to talk about, yeah, I never wanna chop wood in my life. I want them to be like, do I feel useful in the place that I live now? Could I feel more useful somewhere else? Or those, whatever the condition of growth is that they attach to, I want to provoke those questions so that people can take a deeper look at their lives and think about, do I live here because this is just where I ended up? Or do I live here because this feels like home?

Krisserin:

That's really interesting because you're, you were talking about a construct of home that exists outside of the physical structure that you're living in,

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

I feel like a lot of us are kind of locked into a physical structure that we're living in, and it could be anywhere really. so that's, I think I'm excited. I, I feel like that's really an incredible jumping off point, and I'm glad that you're giving yourself a little bit more time. To work on it.

Kelton:

Yeah, I mean, I have mixed opinions about that. But I also, have a toddler. So

Krisserin:

Yeah.

Kelton:

what, whatever, you know, we'll get it done. I'll query in the first part of the year and, and everyone will cheer.

Krisserin:

Everyone will cheer. Everyone will cheer. The thing that I I I, I totally understand and relate to you wanting to do all of this research for these agents that you are, you are considering, will say that I had a very similar experience to Ali Gordon, which is, you go, you find your, your top agents

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

you start romanticizing them in your brain.'cause you're like, oh, this person loves this book. I love this book. She's gonna be, she would be perfect for my story. And like, oh, we have the same background, or whatever it is. And then you get a form rejection and you just want to like to use Ali's words, jump off a building. So I would say yes, do all of that research. But don't go too far down the rabbit hole with these 15 people

Kelton:

No, I, I, um, I think in the end it's like I'm still a Capricorn. It's like as soon as someone doesn't like me, I move on.

Krisserin:

Yeah, that's

Kelton:

Like I just, I don't attach to that. I'm like, oh, we saved each other some time.

Krisserin:

That's even if you even get to that stage and you don't just get a form rejection that's

Kelton:

Totally. I think, I honestly feel like a form rejection is more up my alley than a personalized rejection.

Krisserin:

Yeah, yeah, yeah,

Kelton:

you know, the goal will just be to get one,

Krisserin:

yeah.

Kelton:

so,

Krisserin:

I just think about like, that one who requested three page, three pages, I, I should have known then, and then said that it was too exposition heavy. I was like. But then that's also the agent that got into the scandal because she had read someone else's submission and it was like, I really want someone to write this book, but this way.

Kelton:

wow.

Krisserin:

just tore her apart. She got canceled online for that. and there were, or the other agent that wanted you to create a Spotify playlist for your book. So here I'm sitting fucking making a Spotify playlist, and then it's like, thanks, but no thanks. Cool. I just wasted an hour doing something

Kelton:

Wow.

Krisserin:

was completely tangential to my, my book.

Kelton:

Yeah, I mean, I think there is like a list of requirements where you gotta be like, ah,

Krisserin:

Hmm. Red flag. Red flag.

Kelton:

yeah. I mean, I personally would love to make a playlist for my book. I have one for the novel, but I do not have one for the memoir. I feel like that's harder.

Krisserin:

Would it be like a playlist of your life something, you know?

Kelton:

Yeah. I'm like,

Krisserin:

The,

Kelton:

like, is,

Krisserin:

listening to when you lived in those different places?

Kelton:

I'm like, here's all the songs I listened to and I was on cocaine. Okay. Are we happy about this chapter? Like

Krisserin:

no. Oh, no.

Kelton:

here's a Avicii levels,

Krisserin:

Oh, no.

Kelton:

uh, days of your,

Krisserin:

Days of your Days of your What? So you're, you're turning 40.

Kelton:

yeah.

Krisserin:

How are you feeling about it all?

Kelton:

I love it. I love 40, one of the pieces I wrote, in my Fever Dream yesterday was, a reflection piece on, turning 40. And it was, six things I will not be caught dead doing in my forties. And you know, I just, it's interesting'cause I don't know if it's cultural influence or if it's authentic, but for your entire thirties and your twenties, people are like, oh, once you turn 40, you don't give a fuck. And like, that's the narrative. Like leading up to that point has been, at least for like, the decades that I've lived in. And I, I haven't given a fuck about a lot of things for a long time. But I do feel I, you know, like I am fully embodied, you know, and who I am and very comfortable in who I am. There are some things that going into 40, I'm like, we're not doing that ever. We're not doing that ever.

Krisserin:

Mm-hmm.

Kelton:

Um, so I feel good. It also, I've like relieved some of the pressure of being like, you know, like a sparkling young star.

Krisserin:

Mm-hmm.

Kelton:

You know, like the 30 under 30,

Krisserin:

Yeah.

Kelton:

it's so gone. Like you just don't have to worry about it.'cause like, once you turn 40, it's like no one, there's no like diff no one says your age when you publish your debut novel. You know, no one's like, she published her debut novel at 41. Like that's not part of it.

Krisserin:

70.

Kelton:

Yeah. You have to wait until you're much older. But from 40 to like 65, the number is no longer there. Nobody cares. You're just a writer.

Krisserin:

Mm-hmm.

Kelton:

it's not like 27-year-old publishes incredible book of essays, and you're like, okay, all right. All right. Easy, easy. Does it?

Krisserin:

I remember I had said something to that effect to my teacher, Mark Sarvas, that I wanted to be on one of those lists, and he just like rolled his eyes at me. He didn't say anything. He was just like, okay, Krisserin,. Not that I couldn't do it, just like it's such a hollow achievement.

Kelton:

Yeah. And I think what, what I really want is like for people to read the book. It's not that I wanted to achieve success at an age, I just wanted the publicity that came with those lists, you know? So I think there's other ways to achieve that. And I feel relieved to shake that shackle,

Krisserin:

Shake

Kelton:

to, um, shake that shackle.

Krisserin:

Well, I'm excited for you. I think, I feel personally like 40 is a very, self-assured year

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

just, I think you just know who you are

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

than anything else. And there is something about releasing the, I don't know, the fixation of wanting to appear young or be young or, whatever that is, is there's less pressure, I think after you turn 40. I'm

Kelton:

Yeah.

Krisserin:

41. I feel great. I feel

Kelton:

I will say I don't feel the, I don't feel pressure to look young, but I do feel the desire to look hot.

Krisserin:

Interesting.

Kelton:

I looked really hot the other day and I could just like tell that the barista agreed. I could just feel it emanating off him, like in a, like a flashback to being 29 years old. I could feel that he was looking at me that way, and I was like, yes. Fuck. Yeah. I got a baby in my arms.

Krisserin:

MILF

Kelton:

That's right.

Krisserin:

to Mil status,

Kelton:

Milk. I'd like to, it's like a mom. I'd like to give free coffee to,

Krisserin:

did you get a free coffee?

Kelton:

uh, I did get a free cup of milk for the toddler,

Krisserin:

Okay. A win is a win, you know?

Kelton:

and win is a win.

Krisserin:

Yeah, I get that. I mean, I, I, I definitely feel like that is hard to shake. That like desire to feel attractive to other people is definitely hard to let go of. Saw a woman in Trader Joe's like a month ago, and she was so fucking hot. Like I was turned on. She had to have been in her mid fifties and she just had like a cute, like a very small tank top and these like high waisted wide leg jeans and was tatted. But she had this beautiful head of bouncy, gray curls and red lipstick. And I just went up to her and I was like, your hair is fucking magnificent. And she's like, thanks. Like she knew it. She knew

Kelton:

yeah,

Krisserin:

that's what I

Kelton:

that's what I channel,

Krisserin:

Yeah, a

Kelton:

what I'm channeling. I think it's, you know, coming off of like the postpartum thing, you know, to like reenter, like who you see yourself as. It's just so satisfying.

Krisserin:

Mm-hmm.

Kelton:

And like to be like wearing, wearing clothes the way I want to wear them and not just like a spit up rag on my shoulder, you know?

Krisserin:

I do know,

Kelton:

you know, you know.

Krisserin:

know it was a long time ago, but I remember, I, I distinctly remember those

Kelton:

what's happening in 2026 for us Krisserin?

Krisserin:

God, I don't

Kelton:

You are going to

Krisserin:

mean

Kelton:

sell a book?

Krisserin:

ideally what is happening in 2026

Kelton:

I mean, we're not there yet. Let's talk ideals.

Krisserin:

ideals? Yeah. Well, I think we've talked about this in the past where I am so maybe protective of myself and my heart, but also fantasy land with the book that I, I'm like, if it happens, that would be really cool,

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

even have, it's like not registered as a realistic possibility for me and my brain.

Kelton:

Yeah.

Krisserin:

It hasn't. I, so I'm, I'm kind of putting a, a wall up me and that future potential, but I do know that I'm going to apply for this grad program,

Kelton:

Good.

Krisserin:

I am, hopefully will be accepted. I don't wanna like, assume

Kelton:

Yeah.

Krisserin:

happen, but if I do get accepted, I think I would, I wouldn't even start that program until July.

Kelton:

Okay.

Krisserin:

But my plan for that program, my hope is that will, use my time there to work on my Gustafson novel. I think that, like, that would be a good use of my, my studies, et cetera. beyond that, I really, I guess I'm just not a great manifester of things because I am not thinking about it yet.

Kelton:

Mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

I know. What about you? I'm sure

Kelton:

Well, I'm a,

Krisserin:

You have it all planned out.

Kelton:

I have a manifestation app. I've mapped my year astrologically.

Krisserin:

Geez, let's

Kelton:

I have a, I have a document called Kelton's Year of 40 that like maps out the accomplishments I wanna achieve and like the trips I wanna take and like how I wanna feel day to day, the things I wanna say yes to, the things I wanna say no to, and like, income I wanna hit. I mean, going into the year, I'm gonna be polishing the proposal and beginning to query. I also. The Rewilding winter practice starts February 4th, and so I'll be selling that now through January. My hope is to sometime, hopefully early next year, like find a business partner to work with me on that. I really wanna turn that into something bigger. And I, I am, man, I am manifesting that partner. I have a JD loosely written about it, about like the kind of woman I'm looking for to partner with. I have like a very specific vision of who she is. I am so, I am so inclined with my work to go out on an island and do it by myself, and I'm really trying to incorporate more people into my life next year and like trust people and share the burden and like build something with someone. So that is huge on my list. I am launching something in the spring called the murmuration, which is a monthly seasonal influenced writing group. So I'm getting together all the assets for that. I gotta like build the website and like figure out all the Zoom and that kinda stuff. Like I have a logo, so like there's, you know, there's things moving. I, I think I'm trying to just be like, the novel is tabled because the right thing to happen is to query successfully the memoir and then, and then get a book deal, and have to write it. So, so like, I'm like the novels waiting until that is, that is done. I'd like to keep the two clients that I have. I really like working for them and they've provided great, like stable stability in this household. And, wanna go, I, big trip. I wanna do an international trip next year with, with the child. So, I think it's gonna be a good year. And I just, I gotta really think through when I do things and how I do them. It's gotta be like a scheduled year now that we know exactly when daycare is and those sorts of things. And it's just a matter of like sitting down and doing it.

Krisserin:

Yeah. I think also as Woods gets older, things get easier. Like the more self-sufficient he is, the, it's gonna get a little bit less difficult.

Kelton:

I'll wean next year. He'll be weaned at some point next year. Some point.

Krisserin:

At some point

Kelton:

I'm not saying it won't be like a year from now, but. Uh, but he will be weaned.

Krisserin:

he will be, he will be weaned.

Kelton:

Yeah, he'll be weaned. Um,

Krisserin:

it.

Kelton:

sorry, Adam Levine. Um, but

Krisserin:

that's exciting. That's quite, I feel like maybe I need to go sit down and start writing some plans for the year. I'm like, I have my personal budget mapped out for the year. I have the, my job, by the way, someone on TikTok called it their survival job, which I love. I have my survival

Kelton:

mm-hmm.

Krisserin:

out for the whole year. It has been since August. But I haven't thought about like my personal, my personal life and my writing life and what that looks like. I think, um, you know, the plan is to go on a trip the summer maybe. Um, I always go up to Portland for a couple weeks to visit my mom. like the kids' summer camps planned. Like I just, everything else is figured out. I just haven't figured myself out. So maybe that'll be, by the time we talk next year,

Kelton:

Yeah.

Krisserin:

I will have some plans. I'll have some goals. I'll have some resolutions. I'll have, I'll have thought about it, but right now I'm feeling like there's a cliff in my, my head, I gotta get to the end of December and then maybe I'll free up some bandwidth in my brain to think about 2026.

Kelton:

Yeah. Mean I've been doing a lot of manifesting, a lot of working on my inner child. You know, just like trying to figure out what my blocks are and my limiting beliefs and, and doing rituals around them. And like, I'm really doing a lot of like tender self self-care rituals right now to get me like. Geared up and I am feeling the momentum. Both. I mean, obviously, you know, I did so much writing this week already, so I felt, I'm feeling like a little bit of an unlock, which is good because I have been in such a funk and the doldrums for like a couple months and I knew that that was, an ebb to the flow. But you know, when you're waiting for the eeb to end, you're just like, ugh.

Krisserin:

Yeah. Yeah. I, and for me, I, I'm in this like, weird waiting space, so I'm trying to let my, my brain rest a little bit and see if I can breathe some creativity back into it because I, I feel maybe I just need this end of year to rest a bit, and start the new year fresh and figure out what that looks like. But it's been quite a year, I feel like, in part because of this podcast. gotten so much writing done,

Kelton:

Yeah.

Krisserin:

so much work done this year in

Kelton:

Mm-hmm. And you've got an agent.

Krisserin:

and I got an agent, and hopefully next year I'll get a book deal.

Kelton:

Hell yeah.

Krisserin:

yeah, I mean, my, my ultimate, my goals have not changed. You know, I, I. I hoping that the, I'll be accepted to this MFA program and it'll be a good step toward me meeting my goal of being able to eventually teach, which is what I do wanna do. And, have a, a retreat, a pen pals retreat, a pen

Kelton:

Yeah. Listen,

Krisserin:

fun.

Kelton:

we wanna do pen pal's workshops, we wanna do pen pal's retreats, but the reality is we need more people to know about the podcast. So, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen. Listeners, if you like this podcast and you know someone who works on art. I don't think they have to be a writer. I think it's like writing helps, but like any kinda artist who has a survival job or a child, like send them this podcast and be like, I love this, I like this. This is fine. You should listen

Krisserin:

I give it 3.5

Kelton:

Three and a half stars. Um,

Krisserin:

five.

Kelton:

uh,'cause we're gonna keep doing this. But it does, it definitely helps to have more than like 500 listeners.

Krisserin:

Yeah. My sincerest hope for this podcast is that people go out and find their accountability buddies and people who help them along in their writing and creative lives. And if you have done that because of pen pals, or you just did it even before Pen pals, I would love to see, send us some pictures of you and your accountability buddies. I wanna know, I wanna hear about it.

Kelton:

this is how you can tell that Krisserin is a Libra and I'm a Capricorn because that is her sincerest hope for this, and mine is that Krisserin, Erin and I both become bestselling authors and people go back and listen to the whole catalog of this, and we just have a great successful podcast on the side.

Krisserin:

i'm trying, I'm, I'm, I am, uh, trying to put the commercial and business success as a nice to have. I Kelton's, like, why the fuck are we doing this if that is not the goal? And I'm like, I've got so much writing done and other people write to us. I'm so happy.

Kelton:

I'm like, I'm on a writing podcast manifesting a business partner.

Krisserin:

That's all. If, if anything like that is Kelton and I to a t

Kelton:

Ugh, man.

Krisserin:

well, Kelton, I'm not gonna see you until January.

Kelton:

Yeah, you're not gonna see me until I'm 40.

Krisserin:

I'm excited for you. I'm excited for your, your birthday and your manifesting in your class and your business partner, and I hope you have a great holiday and more restful nights in your future.

Kelton:

Thank you. Thank you.

Krisserin:

I think that's what we've learned

Kelton:

That's what we've learned. Eat cheese, eat tomatoes. Uh, you know, trust my Sicilian roots to nurture my child.

Krisserin:

There you go. Maybe that's the, you need to lean more into that. More garlic, more

Kelton:

garlic, more tomatoes, more onions. I'm in. I'm, I'm in. Alright, you guys know where to find us and please do find us at Pen Pals Pod on all the platforms. You can email us at officialpenpalspod@gmail.com. We would love to hear even just your rants, tell us what your issues are with writing. Ask for advice. We might give you some, some really strange advice. We've got a lot of, episodes coming up with some really great interviews in the new year. Follow Krisserin on Substack. Krisserin,. What is your substack?

Krisserin:

It is krisserin.substack.com.

Kelton:

Mm, perfect.

Krisserin:

I got a DM of, from a follower on Instagram that was like, vote for Keep your Substack name, your name don't, don't come up with a different name. And I was like, wow, people are really listening to this podcast.

Kelton:

are listening. People are listening. You can read my writing over@shangrilogs.substack.com. You can also follow me at Kelton writes, though by the time this episode comes out, I might have a new Instagram.

Krisserin:

Might

Kelton:

I might,

Krisserin:

was looking like it's four days away from the 15th.

Kelton:

I mean, that is the plan. I just totally get the content in, in a row. You know what, let's just go ahead, follow me@keltonkin on Instagram.

Krisserin:

Kelton kin. Spell

Kelton:

Kin like bumpkin, Kelton kin.

Krisserin:

K-E-L-T-O-N. KIN.

Kelton:

Yeah.

Krisserin:

Okay, done.

Kelton:

Like Bumpkin, not like Tolkien. One last pitch. Sign up for the rewilding winter practice. Kelton wright.com/rewilding.

Krisserin:

And read all of the testimonials. People seem to love it.

Kelton:

People love it. It's witchy, it's magical. It's meditation. It's neuroscience. It's cool. It's funky.

Krisserin:

It's a great way to start the new year. Grab your friend, sign up.

Kelton:

Grab a friend. Sign up early bird pricing through January 10th.

Krisserin:

Everyone out there, thank you so much for listening. I hope you all have a very happy holidays, a happy new year, and happy

Kelton:

And happy writing.

Head Shot

Kelton Wright

Co-host
Head Shot

Krisserin Canary

Co-host