Our Team
Harpeth Road is a collective of creatives with top industry experience. This is a snapshot of the team of people making all the romantic magic happen.
FOUNDER, MARKETING & PR DIRECTOR, HEAD OF CREATIVE
Jenny Hale
Jenny Hale is a USA Today, Amazon, and international bestselling author with over one million books sold. Her books have been published worldwide, have been translated into multiple languages, and adapted for television, appearing on The Hallmark Channel as part of their famous Christmas lineup. She’s been included in Oprah Magazine’s “19 Dreamy Summer Romances to Whisk You Away” and in Southern Living’s list of “30 Christmas Novels to Start Reading Now.” With a Master’s Degree in Education and 18 years experience as an educator, one of her top priorities for HR is author coaching on best practices. She is also both Program, Marketing, and PR Director of Harpeth Road Press.
VISION
Ami McConnell
Publishing dynamo Ami McConnell, former Editor-in-Chief and Vice President of Howard Books/Simon & Schuster consulted on initial vision. For over a decade she acquired fiction for HarperCollins and helped launch a fiction imprint there. Her editing credits include many New York Times bestsellers as well as numerous award winners such as Denise Hunter, Max Lucado, and Wm. Paul Young. A prolific ghostwriter, McConnell co-authored the USA Today Bestseller Kind Is the New Classy by Candace Cameron Bure. She also worked with the late Loretta Lynn on Me & Patsy Kickin’ Up Dust: My Friendship with Patsy Cline. HR was delighted to have her lend her expertise to the imprint.
COVER DESIGN
Kristen Ingebretson
With cover design a top priority for Harpeth Road, Kristen Ingebretson is in charge of cover art direction. Kristen’s cover portfolio includes The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines with Mark Dagostino, Jesus by Max Lucado, both Falling Like Snowflakes and Sweetbriar Cottage by Denise Hunter, and Lauren Denton’s The Hideaway.
FOREIGN RIGHTS
Marleen Seegers & 2 Seas Agency
Marleen holds a degree in Liberal Arts from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, studied a semester at Hull University in the North of England and took part in a research project on Welsh literature in English translation at Swansea University in Wales, before obtaining a post-graduate diploma in Comparative Literature from the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris, France. She worked for almost a decade in the French publishing industry including at France's oldest publishing house Editions Stock, part of Hachette Livre, before she relocated to Ojai, California. In 2011, she founded 2 Seas Agency with her partner Derek Dodds. With offices on both sides of the Atlantic, 2 Seas Agency represents publishers, literary agents and a select number of authors from around the world, and has sold foreign rights for authors Kelly Rimmer, Angela Marsons, Renita D’Silva, and Louise Jensen to name a few. HR is delighted to have her overseeing our foreign rights.
WEBSITE MANAGEMENT, SEO
Risha Chesterfield
After beginning her career in Nashville’s music industry, working with artists to connect with their audiences through branding and marketing, Risha began Sow Good Creative, which, for nearly a decade, has strived to assist entrepreneurs in growing online brands, creating brand strategy, and building marketing campaigns. An expert in Squarespace, she is Harpeth Road’s number one pick for website management and SEO.
Acquisitions
Charlotte Fry
Charlotte has extensive publishing experience and has worked for both small and large publishers, firstly in Rights and then as an editor. She worked in-house at Quercus from 2005 until 2022 and is now enjoying the variety and freedom of being a freelancer. She has worked on projects for Quercus, Headline, Hodder, Profile Books, Penguin Random House, and Storm and is excited to be joining the freelance team at HR. Between work projects, Charlotte can be found lying on the sofa with her nose in a book, on a yoga mat attempting to force her aged and inflexible frame into impossible positions or on the tube to north London to help with her two newly acquired and adorable grandsons.
DEVELOPMENTAL & LINE EDITING
Becky Philpott
Becky Philpott has been involved in the publishing industry for nearly twenty years. She got her start as a line editor at HarperCollins Christian Publishing, working on both fiction and nonfiction, then moved to acquisitions for the fiction team. She’s worked with authors Denise Hunter, Shelley Shepard Gray, Karen Kingsbury, Amy Clipston, and Beth Wiseman. Now she enjoys freelancing for traditional publishers as well as indie authors. She loves getting into the details of every project and believes in the importance of showcasing each author's voice in an authentic way. Becky lives in Michigan with her husband, two daughters, and two cats. She enjoys taking her girls on adventures, running, figure skating, and being by Lake Michigan.
DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING, COPY EDITING & PROOFREADING
Charlotte Hayes-Clemens
Charlotte Hayes-Clemens is a freelance book and recipe editor with over eight years' experience in publishing. She began her publishing career on the HarperCollins Fiction team, working with the digital first romance list, HarperImpulse (now One More Chapter) and on titles by authors such as Philippa Ashley, Zara Stoneley and Debbie Johnson. As a freelancer, she provides a range of editing services and author coaching for publishers including Avon and Head of Zeus, and indie and debut authors. Originally from the UK, she's lived in Canada for the last five years and currently edits from the gorgeous, cultural hub of Montreal (which she also happens to think does the best bagels in the world!)
DEVELOPMENTAL, LINE, & COPY EDITING
Donna Hillyer
Donna Hillyer has nearly twenty years' experience in book publishing. Originally from Ireland, she grew up in a culture rich with folklore, storytelling and imagination. After being lured away by the bright lights of London, she rose from editorial assistant at Virgin Books to editorial director/board member at Harlequin UK in 8 years, with 6 years at Little, Brown UK in between (where she commissioned on the Piatkus imprint). She went freelance in 2015, and loves the variety of clients and projects this involves. Publisher clients include: Bookouture; Elliott & Thompson; Hachette Ireland; HarperCollins; Little, Brown; Orion; Pan Macmillan; Penguin Random House, Transworld; and Whitefox. These days she's swapped the London dazzle for the countryside, where she lives with her family and two cats.
DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING
Megan McKeever
Megan McKeever is a developmental editor for Harpeth Road Press. Megan spent nearly a decade at Simon & Schuster, editing in the Pocket Books and Gallery Books imprints, and was fortunate to have acquired and edited New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, as well as RITA winners. She began freelance editing in 2011 and has helped numerous authors craft proposals and transform drafts into finished books they can be proud of. Megan is thrilled to work with HR in a freelance capacity and we are delighted to have her on the HR team.
ACQUISITIONS, DEVELOPMENTAL & LINE EDITING
Elizabeth Mazer
Elizabeth Mazer joins the HR team as a developmental and line editor, and she is our guru for story development. Her ten years with Harlequin gave her the opportunity to work with a wide range of authors on a slew of fantastic romances, including editing USA Today bestselling books by Victoria Pade and Yvonne Lindsay. She continues to edit for various publishers in a freelance capacity.
ACQUISITIONS; DEVELOPMENTAL & LINE EDITING
Karli Jackson
Karli Jackson is an editor for Indie authors and traditionally published authors alike. She began her career with the rights department at HarperCollins Christian Publishing and transitioned to the editorial team where she nurtured relationships with authors and helped them shape and create their stories. Her editing credits include New York Times and USA Today bestsellers as well as award-winning authors such as Rachel Hauck, Lauren Denton, and Denise Hunter. During her time as an acquisitions editor, she worked closely with authors from the development of a story idea through its substantive edit and onward to titling, packaging, and jacket copy. Karli is a native of the greater Nashville area, where she lives with her family.
LINE EDITING
Jodi Hughes
Jodi Hughes is an introvert, dog mom, and seasoned editor. She began working for Thomas Nelson Publishers (and later HarperCollins Christian Publishing and HarperCollins Focus) shortly after college and held various roles during her nearly fourteen years with the company, primarily with the fiction team. She has enjoyed working with bestselling and award-winning authors, such as Terri Blackstock, Kristy Cambron, J’nell Ciesielski, Joy Callaway, Charles Martin, and Sean Dietrich, to name a few. In 2023, Jodi left the corporate publishing industry and transitioned to freelance work to pursue her passion for line editing. Jodi lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her black-and-white rescue dogs. She graduated cum laude from Samford University with a BA in Classics.
DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING, COPY EDITING, PROOFREADING
Lauren Finger
Lauren Finger will be lending her eagle eyes to Harpeth Road Press, editing in various capacities. Lauren is the former managing editor of both Bookouture and Atlantic Books, and before that was a senior editor at Allen & Unwin. These days she runs her freelance editorial business, where she focuses on commercial fiction. She has worked in trade publishing for nearly 20 years in Australia and the UK.
DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING, COPY EDITING, PROOFREADING
Mira Park
Mira Park, a proud Korean-American, began her literary experience in the English Literature Ph.D. program at City University of New York with a concentration in Asian and Pacific Islander Literature. Mira has worked extensively in the romance genre, first at Dorchester/Leisure Books and then for five years as an editor at Avalon Books. Now, she does everything from proofreading for Penguin/Random House to line editing for HarperCollins (Harlequin), and copy editing for Korean webnovels and episodic fiction to developmental editing for many indie authors. Her love of championing Women’s Fiction, Historical Romance, and Contemporary Romance makes her a natural fit for Harpeth Road. We are delighted to have her in a freelance capacity.
COPY EDITING
Claire Gatzen
Claire Gatzen will be copyediting for HR. Claire has copyedited Hale’s previous books The House on Firefly Beach, Christmas at Silver Falls, The Summer Hideaway, and We’ll Always Have Christmas among others. Claire began her editorial career at Penguin Random House, Hachette, and Pan Macmillan in London. Now based in Sydney, she copyedits bestselling and debut authors alike for a wide range of publishers, across an eclectic mix of genres and time zones.
COPY EDITING AND PROOFREADING
Liz Hurst
Liz Hurst will be copyediting and proofreading for Harpeth Road in a freelance capacity. Liz is the owner of EMH Editorial, specializing in developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading for fiction authors across a wide variety of genres. She is also an Intermediate Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing & Proofreading. Her corporate clients include Canelo Digital Publishing and Bookouture, as well as numerous indie authors around the globe. In 2019, she left the UK for the sunny south of France, where she writes timeslip romance and historical fiction in her free time.
COPY EDITING AND PROOFREADING
Becca Allen
Becca Allen is a freelance copyeditor and proofreader with over a decade’s experience in publishing. She is a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing & Proofreading, and works across adult and children’s fiction for various publishers and indie authors. She lives in the UK and loves reading even more books in her spare time.
Editorial Assisant
Emma Sherk
Emma Sherk is Harpeth Road’s editorial assistant. She assists with reviewing edits, organizing blog tours, and corresponding with authors. She has several years of publishing experience as an intern with Harpeth Road Press, Dexterity, and Publisher Spotlight. She also currently does editorial work for Ballast Books and Dexterity. Emma graduated from Belmont University in 2023 with a degree in publishing and French. She is from Mount Juliet, Tennessee, where she can be found enjoying romance novels and cuddling with her cat.
Editorial Intern
Olivia Winston
Olivia Winston joins the Harpeth Road team as an intern from North Carolina State University. She is a senior with a major in English creative writing and a minor in international studies. She works at her college newspaper, Technician, as a staff writer and copy editor, and she spent the last year studying abroad in Leeds, England, taking classes on Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature. Olivia is an avid reader and would love to work in the publishing industry as a full-time editor and proofreader.
Marketing Intern
Emma Horton
Emma Horton joins our team as marketing intern for Harpeth Road's upcoming summer titles. Emma graduated from the University of Leeds with a Masters of Arts in Advertising & Design. Before that, she studied advertising at the University of Florida. She has experience working as a marketing intern for a sustainable startup in London, England. Now, Emma lives in Jupiter, Florida where she can be found reading romance and doing the daily New York Times puzzles.
OFFICE DOG: MOTIVATOR
Kaia Hale
Kaia Hale can be found loafing around the office, under the feet of Founder and Director Jenny Hale. She has been underfoot for countless USA Today bestsellers, contracts, and film and TV deals. She has tail-wagged alongside Jenny through all Jenny’s appearances in Southern Living, Oprah, and many others. She can be found most days whining at the door, playing with her ball, or lying on her bed.
