From Blank Page to Bestseller: A Conversation with Katherine Center

What does it really take to write a book, and then keep writing them, year after year?

In this episode of the Craft to Career Podcast, I’m joined by New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center for a warm and inspiring conversation about writing, creativity, and building a lasting career as an author.

Katherine is the author of more than a dozen novels, including The Bodyguard, The Rom-Commers, The Love Haters, and her upcoming release, The Shippers. Two of her books, Happiness for Beginners and The Lost Husband, have also been adapted into movies. Happiness for Beginners is based on Katherine’s 2015 novel, and The Lost Husband is based on her 2013 novel.

In our conversation, Katherine shares how she first got started as a writer, what her writing process looks like today, and how she continues to find inspiration book after book. Whether you are a longtime fan of Katherine’s novels or you are simply curious about what it takes to build a creative career, this episode is such a beautiful reminder that big dreams are built one step, and one page, at a time.

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In this episode, we talk about:

How Katherine got her start as an author

What her writing process looks like behind the scenes

How she approaches creativity, discipline, and inspiration

What a typical writing day looks like for her

How she keeps going from one book to the next

The story behind her upcoming book, The Shippers

What she has learned from seeing her books adapted for film

Encouragement for anyone building a creative career

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Listen to this episode if you:

Love Katherine Center’s books and want a behind-the-scenes look at her writing life

Have ever dreamed of writing a book of your own

Are building a creative business and need encouragement to keep going

Want to hear from someone who has created a long-lasting creative career

Need a reminder that meaningful work is built little by little

Love stories about creativity, books, writing, and the courage to keep showing up

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About Katherine’s New Book, The Shippers

Katherine’s upcoming novel, The Shippers, is a friends-to-lovers romance set aboard a destination wedding cruise. The story follows JoJo Burton and her childhood best friend Cooper as JoJo ropes him into helping her win over someone else, only for things to become much more complicated than she planned. The book is scheduled to release on May 19, 2026.

It sounds like such a fun, heartfelt, summer romance, and I loved getting to hear Katherine talk about the story behind it.

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About Katherine Center

Katherine Center is a New York Times bestselling author known for heartfelt, hopeful, and romantic stories that readers love. Her books include The Bodyguard, The Rom-Commers, The Love Haters, Happiness for Beginners, The Lost Husband, and her upcoming novel, The Shippers. She lives in Houston, Texas, which felt especially fun to share with my Texas listeners.

You can find Katherine here:

Website: katherinecenter.com
Instagram: @katherinecenter

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Listen to the Episode

Listen to this episode of the Craft to Career Podcast and be encouraged by Katherine’s story, her creative process, and her reminder that a writing life is built one page at a time.

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Listen to These Other Episodes

If you enjoyed this episode, here are a few more conversations from The Craft to Career Podcast you may love:

• Melanie Traylor on Self-Publishing a Book
• A University for Creatives: How Carina Gardner Is Redefining Design Education
• How to Build a Sustainable Creative Business with Abby Glassenberg of Craft Industry Alliance