NEW YORK – May, 2021  PRLog -- The literary world and the world of publishing has a brand-new power couple. Best-selling author Kristen Houghton, (A Cate Harlow Private Investigation series), and her husband, educator and baseball historian Alan William Hopper, have launched a new publishing press, Skylight-NYC Publishers. Houghton, who is also published traditionally, has successfully opted to try the waters of the publishing world and the result has been pleasantly remarkable. She and her husband had been wanting to work together for some time and were actively looking for a business project that would suit them both.

"Publishing seemed the perfect project for us," says the author of twelve novels, two non-fiction books, two anthologies, and a YA novella. "We work well together and I know that I can bounce ideas and plots for my books off of him. He gives great advice. Plus, it is wonderful to work as a team on something that is so important to us both."

"When we began this dream, Kristen and I wanted to learn everything about publishing in today's techno world. Not only print, but digital, audio, and all that goes into publishing a book from manuscript acquisition to final proofs. We made it our business to learn everything. We are now publishing nineteen other authors, besides Kristen," says Hopper, who also has a background as a business systems analyst, "and it's exhilarating to be so involved from beginning to end with the creation process."

"We do it all," agrees Houghton. "Book and cover designs, editing, marketing. It's exhausting but artistically fulfilling. I always designed my own book covers, so that is a part of publishing that I really love. We also have a very talented staff who work with us. I'm an author so I know that handing over your manuscript to someone else to be edited can be intimidating and scary. Our staff knows that each book is someone's dream and has to be treated with respect. Our authors, myself included, are happy with that."

 

The couple are philanthropists who contribute to various charitable and non-profit organizations through their company Houghton & Hopper, LLC. A scholarship, the Scholar and Humanitarian Award, is awarded each year to a college-bound high school senior who has maintained high academic marks and has also served their community by volunteering their time to help others. Other contributions are to the Urban Resource Institute (URI) which provides refuge to abused women, men, children, and their pets, Sacred Jude, and the Lanai Cat Sanctuary.

The name Skylight-NYC, ("Your window to the wonderful world of reading."), is Alan Hopper's idea while 2Hopper Production & Design Studio, featuring a “2 hopper” baseball logo, is Houghton's baby as well as a nod to her husband’s passion for the sport.

Asked if working together each and every day is difficult, Houghton answers, "No, because we take breaks from one another and at least twice a week, we have a business lunch. We also work with other people so we aren't always on top of each other. Owning our own press, and seeing it succeed, is our aim."

Says Hopper, "It's fun and there are times when one of us will go for a walk to clear our heads, but on the whole, it's a pleasure. We have a professional office atmosphere and we know that we have to treat each other as business partners in the office."

While continuing to write is Kristen Houghton's number one passion and one she does every single day, publishing is a new and happy adventure for her. It's the best of both worlds.