About Zena

This is Zena! A curvy woman with curly red hair wearing a blue blazer and black shirt, smiling and holding onto a white handrail, standing next to an orange train car with black and rust details

Let’s turn great stories into great success.

Romance books are my happy place. Marketing strategy is my superpower. Put them together, and you get a business built around helping authors connect with readers, grow their audience, and spend more time doing what they do best—writing.

Want to know more about me? Keep reading. Ready to explore working together? Let's chat.

Romance Reader, Business Brain

  • Sure, I’ve got a strategy brain, but I’m also deep in the romance book trenches.

    Think of it this way: you wouldn’t trust a restaurant manager who’s never waited tables. Same goes for folks who want to help authors. I didn’t just wander into this community. I’ve been part of it for years.

    I was that kid who maxed out her weekly library limit (seven books, every time) and wrote stories in spiral notebooks I hid under my bed. I started with fantasy and best-friend adventures, powered in part by the sweet promise of a Book It! pan pizza. From there, it was a fast track to YA, then romance, and eventually straight-up smut. 

    Grad school briefly broke my brain for reading, but shortly after I picked up audiobooks and never looked back. In 2023, I finally caved and bought an e-reader—even though I swore I’d never give up paperbacks. Now I usually have three books going at once across audio, digital, and physical. I finish about a book a week, and I’m a serial re-reader—my comfort reads get pulled back off the shelf three or four times a year.

    To support the authors I love, I started posting reviews of my 4 and 5-star reads on Audible, Amazon, BookBub, Goodreads, and StoryGraph. I’m also deep in the trenches of BookTok, Instagram, Discord, and Facebook Groups.

    I currently help moderate In My Omegaverse Era, a 7,600-member Facebook group owned/run by Molly of Molly’s Booklist. On a regular Tuesday, we see about 5 new member requests, 15 fresh posts, and 150+ comments. I jump in with at least 5 of my own comments a day, mostly book recs.

    In addition to that, I’m a member of 45 other romance-focused Facebook groups and pages.

    Also worth a mention: I’m the lead admin for Girls Who Hike TX, a Facebook group with 50,000+ members. Different niche, same energy—community care, strong recs, and helping people find what they love.

  • My day job may have been selling train rides and theatre tickets—but my mindset was always tuned into storytelling, strategy, and what makes people connect.

    For 13 years, I worked with the Austin Steam Train Association (ASTA), a nonprofit railroad dedicated to preserving vintage rail equipment. As Executive Director, I led marketing, sales, and strategic planning efforts that kept our trains full and our mission front-of-mind. From seasonal campaigns to themed ride promotions, my focus was always on connecting the right story to the right audience.

    Before that, I served as ASTA’s Director of Marketing and Events, where I ran campaigns, built community partnerships, and developed promotions that drove both ticket sales and public engagement.

    Earlier in my career, I worked in the theatre arts as Managing Director of Penfold Theatre in Austin and Raven Theatre in Chicago. In both roles, I created marketing strategies to sell shows and build loyal audiences—no small feat in the world of indie theatre.

    I hold a Master’s in Nonprofit Management from DePaul University, a BA in Theatre from Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, and a Certified Tourism Executive (CTE) credential from the Texas Travel Alliance.

  • Marketing strategy isn’t just a chapter in my story. It’s the plot that drives everything I do.

    With over 15 years of experience in marketing and sales strategy, I’ve built a career around selling tough products in even tougher markets. Theatre tickets during a recession. Train rides during a snowstorm. Fundraising events in the middle of a pandemic. Been there. Hit my goals anyway.

    What sets me apart is more than just creative ideas (though I’ve got plenty). I understand the why behind the strategy—how the data drives decisions, when to pivot, and what makes an audience actually take action. I’m not guessing what works. I know what works, and I have the results to back it up.

    That’s the energy I bring to the romance book world: smart, flexible, story-forward marketing that helps great books get the attention they deserve.

    Beyond the strategy and sales, I’m known for being exceedingly kind and easy to work with. I’m the kind of person who cheers the loudest for the people around me and rolls up her sleeves to get the job done.

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