
About Laura
FOUNDER & CEO
Dr. Laura Bush founded Peacock Proud Press in 2012 with a clear mission: help authors create meaningful, high-quality books that have the power to transform lives—including their own.
With a PhD in English from Arizona State University and more than 35 years of experience teaching writing, Laura brings both academic rigor and real-world insight to every project. She has worked with speakers, entrepreneurs, corporate and community leaders, and memoirists to develop books that are not only well-written, but deeply impactful and thoughtfully positioned to elevate any expert’s authority.
Laura’s own book, Faithful Transgressions in the American West, is a groundbreaking work of literary criticism rooted in her doctoral research. In addition to her book, she has published widely in both scholarly and non-scholarly spaces.
Today, Laura leads Peacock Proud Press with a focus on helping authors gain clarity, confidence, and lasting credibility through their work.
Meet the
Peacock Proud Team
Behind every Peacock Proud project is a team of experienced writers, editors, designers, and strategists who are deeply invested in your success.
We work closely with each author to ensure their book is not only beautifully written, but thoughtfully developed and aligned with their long-term goals—whether that’s building authority, expanding opportunities, or preserving a meaningful legacy.
Wendy Ledger
EDITOR AND TRANSCRIPTIONIST
Charles Grosel
Strategic Author Collaborator AND Editor
Dr. Taryn Blanchard
Strategic Author Collaborator and Editor
James Thole
Strategic Author Collaborator and Editor
Chelsey Drysdale
Editor
Jana Linnell
DESIGNER
Jena Gribble
DESIGNER
Gloria Carmer
Executive Assistant
Kristin Watson Heintz
Project Manager and Administrator
Vanessa Kohlmeier
Marketing & Brand Strategist
Kimeta Straker
Virtual Assistant
Wendy Ledger
EDITOR AND TRANSCRIPTIONIST
Wendy earned a BA in French and English, graduating magna cum laude from Tufts University. She received an MA in creative writing from San Francisco University and taught introductory creative writing there. She has been a transcriptionist since 1989 and has been certified as an editor through the UC Berkeley Extension Professional Sequence in Editing program. Wendy worked for two years as the editor of The Perstorian, an organizational newsletter for the Association of Personal Historians. She edits both fiction and nonfiction. She began working as an editor and transcriber for Peacock Proud Press in 2017 and has edited 30+ books and counting for Peacock Proud Press authors.
Wendy is the author of 12 books of fiction and counting! She’s published two middle-novels, one of a series of four talking-cat fantasy books, and six cozy mysteries! She lives in the California Gold Country with her smart, hilarious, and oh-so-lovable cats!
Charles Grosel
Strategic Author Collaborator AND Editor
An editor, writer, and poet, Charles Grosel lives in Arizona with his wife, Wendy, and their two dogs. Charles has put over 30 years in writing and publishing, with experience as an editor, writer, ghostwriter, copy editor, proofreader, and teacher. In that time, Charles has written and edited everything from books to blogs. Recently he has concentrated on working one-on-one with clients—sometimes as a ghostwriter, sometimes as an editor—to help them get their stories on the page. Client books include business guides, self-help manuals, and personal memoirs.
Charles has a passion for the sentence and can’t let a bad one go by. He also has an innate feel for how all the elements of good writing—language, rhythm, dialogue, exposition, tone, organization, and dramatic action—work to create the magic of the finished book. In addition to his work with other writers, Charles is a published poet and fiction writer. His chapbook of poems, The Sound of Rain Without Water, came out in 2020.
Dr. Taryn Blanchard
Strategic Author Collaborator and Editor
Dr. Taryn Blanchard is an anthropologist, researcher, and certified business ghostwriter. She has a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Toronto and over 10 years of professional writing and editing experience. Taryn spent several years in the non-profit sector working on issues of free expression, privacy, and access to information. After stints as a reservist in the Canadian Armed Forces and an intelligence analyst at a private investigation firm, Taryn entered the field of career and workforce development. She ghostwrites for academic, small business, and corporate leaders.
Her own writing can be found in such publications as the Toronto Star, Policy Options, and Careering magazine. Taryn is the co-author of The Canadian Guide to Hiring Veterans and editor of Workforce Architecture magazine.
James Thole
Strategic Author Collaborator and Editor
James Thole is a professional copywriter and certified business ghostwriter who also has a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in creative writing and media arts from the University of Arizona. James specializes in working with entrepreneurs, business owners, and founders to craft a book that enables them to achieve their goals, whether to attract more clients, book paid speaking engagements, create online courses, increase their consulting opportunities, or pass on their wisdom and expertise.
James is well traveled, having lived in Los Angeles, California; Seoul, South Korea; and Jefferson, Texas. Today he lives with his wife Anna in Denver, Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains. When he’s not working with authors, you’ll find him walking a local golf course getting his steps in and practicing humility.
Chelsey Drysdale
Editor
Chelsey graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Irvine, and completed a single subject teaching credential at California State University, Long Beach. She was an in-house magazine editor for nearly two decades. Her essays have appeared in The Washington Post, The Coachella Review, Brevity, and more. She is committed to the writing and editing process, having spent several years in writing workshops and working one-on-one with published authors to complete and edit a memoir.
Chelsey loves to collaborate with other writers and now specializes in developmental editing and copyediting novels, memoirs, essay collections, and other nonfiction.
Jana Linnell
DESIGNER
Jana Linnell has over 25 years of experience working as a graphic designer and artist. Before starting her design career, Jana worked in management for several retail outlets. Upon graduating from the University of Utah with a BFA, she worked for the Salt Lake City Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2002. As a member of the “Look of the Games” department, she designed, managed, and installed graphics for the Salt Lake Ice Center, Olympic and Paralympic Medals Plaza, and the Olympic and Paralympic Athletes Village. Jana also designed the Athlete Medals for the Paralympic Winter Games. After four years with the Olympics, Jana was hired as the Design Manager for the International Department, and then as the Event Design Manager for Stampin’ Up!, a paper-crafting company.
Jana has been designing books for Peacock Proud Press authors since 2019.
Jena Gribble
DESIGNER
Jena Gribble is the founder and Creative Director of Blush Cactus. She’s also a StoryBrand Certified Guide and a Level C Certified Brand Strategist. Jena helps businesses build badass brands that get them out of limbo with marketing that actually works. She is the creative force behind rebranding Peacock Proud Press (one of her favorite projects to date) and now designs book covers and websites for Peacock Proud Press authors.
Jena earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Dakota and has 16 years of experience branding and marketing national brands (e.g., Alice’s Table, Maxi-Cosi, Safety 1st), as well as up-and-coming brands (e.g., Wilderness Athlete and The Ideal Life). She’s also a dog mom, wife, and coffee lover with an annoying habit of reading too many books at one time.
Gloria Carmer
Executive Assistant
Gloria Carmer has worked as an Executive Assistant to the Director of Audit at a world class firm. At a previous firm, she trained employees in MS Word and Excel before becoming an SQL programmer who managed the firm’s CRM software. She also owned her own consulting business in the use of MS Office Suite products. At Peacock Proud Press, Gloria performs administrative tasks, manages our database, and assists at in-person events.
Kristin Watson Heintz
Project Manager and Administrator
Kristin has always had one foot in theater arts and one foot in technology. With an early career in musical theater and two decades of executive administrative experience, her love of organizing and managing business systems, along with storytelling, is a perfect fit for the Peacock Proud Press team. As an actor, Kristin has recorded 100+ audiobooks, won an Earphones Award, and became “the voice” for several book series. She’s always believed storytelling is at the heart of being human and is excited to bring transformative stories to the world through her work at Peacock Proud Press.
Vanessa Kohlmeier
Marketing & Brand Strategist
Vanessa is a marketing and brand strategist with over 15 years of experience in content strategy, SEO, and multi-brand growth across a range of industries. At Peacock Proud Press, she leads marketing initiatives that position the company as a collaborative book development partner—helping authors build authority, visibility, and long-term impact through their work.
Vanessa brings a blend of big-picture strategy and hands-on execution, with a focus on clear messaging, strong brand identity, and content that connects and converts. She is passionate about helping brands clarify their message, strengthen their positioning, and create content that drives visibility, authority, and growth.
Outside of work, Vanessa is a mom, an avid reader, a proud faux-farm chicken keeper, and a cat mom to three—usually balancing business strategy with a good book and a little bit of “farm” life.
Kimeta Straker
Virtual Assistant
Kimeta prides herself on being a detail-oriented professional who thrives on creating order, solving complex problems, and turning aspirations into achievements. With over two decades of experience from various industries, including education, nonprofits, and corporate, she uses her skills as a former education administrator and recruiter to support busy entrepreneurs. Kimeta earned two graduate degrees in special education and higher education and is excited to join the Peacock Proud team. When she’s not helping businesses succeed, she’s learning new gluten-free vegan recipes, traveling, or working toward beating her 10K personal best times.
What does it mean to be peacock proud?

Let’s start with the peacock
To be “peacock proud” is to feel a deep, earned confidence in what you’ve created and in who you’ve become in the process.
The idea is rooted in both symbolism and story.
Across cultures, the peacock has long represented beauty, confidence, and transformation.
Author Flannery O’Connor, one of the most celebrated American writers of the twentieth century, raised 50 peacocks at a time on her farm in Georgia. She wrote about “The King of the Birds” as powerful, otherworldly creatures. In her novels and short stories, the peacock represents the divine, resurrection, transformation, and unabashed beauty–all ideas at the heart of Peacock Proud Press.
Being “peacock proud” isn’t about arrogance or self-importance.
It’s about the confidence and pride that our authors experience after working with us to write and publish a must-read book. Once they see their expertise, their voice, and their message published between the covers of a professionally-designed book. their clarity, confidence, and conviction grows exponentially. They know their purpose and understand, more than ever before, what they have to offer and how they can change the world with their words.
Being Peacock Proud is that moment when you see your words, your book,
become immortal.
When we say you’ll be peacock proud of your book,
WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT BEING ARROGANT, BETTER-THAN, HAUGHTY, OR HIGH FALUTIN’.
We’re talking about the kind of pride that comes from a well-earned accomplishment and the recognition that you have created something people want to buy, read, and recommend.
It’s the kind of pride that comes from knowing your ideas are clearly expressed, your story is meaningfully captured, and your work is positioned to make a lasting impact.

Publishing a book with Peacock Proud Press
Means YOU have created a high-quality, thoughtfully developed book with a clear message and a purpose behind every page.
Your ideas are no longer scattered or unfinished. They’re structured, refined, and positioned in a way that reflects your authority and communicates your value.
Your story is preserved with care and intention, shaped into stories, guidance, and wisdom that will continue to resonate with readers for years to come.
And perhaps most importantly, you walk away with more than a book.
You walk away with a body of work, your intellectual property, that carries weight.
A well-crafted book becomes a meaningful, strategic asset that reflects your voice, strengthens your authority, and extends your impact long after it’s published.

Start the Conversation
If you’re considering writing a book, you’re likely at a point where your ideas, your story, or your life’s work deserve to be developed and written with intention and care.
This is not a one-size-fits-all process.
And Peacock Proud Press isn’t the right fit for everyone.
We work with a select group of authors ready to create a must-read book that empowers their voice and influence, strengthens their authority, and preserves what matters most to them.
If that sounds like you, the next step is a conversation.
We’re peacock proud of our authors
Given all that, it probably won’t surprise you that we’re peacock proud of our authors and their books. We look forward to being peacock proud of yours, too!
Free download
5 Things Every Author Needs to Know
to Write and Publish a Bad@ss Book
