Citrine Publishing is an award-winning independent book publisher devoted to excellence, inspiration & quality author and reader relationships.
Citrine Publishing partners with highly creative authors to produce and distribute exceptional books in both print and digital formats worldwide. Our authors are a vast array of professionals, including entrepreneurs, coaches, teachers, counselors, health care professionals, legal professionals, novelists, memoirists, poets, photographers, children's book authors, and leaders of non-profit and philanthropic organizations.
Citrine's books and authors have been featured in prestigious book shops, book reviews, TV and radio broadcasts, and publications, including The Palm Beach Post, The Albuquerque Journal, The Midwest Book Review, NPR Affiliate Radio, the New Mexico History Museum Store, and Albany's ABC News 10 in the Morning, among others. In 2019, we launched multiple Amazon #1 Bestsellers, and more than a dozen of our authors won or placed in the Foreword INDIES Book-of-the-Year Awards, Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs), the Illumination Book Awards, International Book Awards, and regional book award contests. The buzz and excitement about our titles continues to grow!
Our mission is a renaissance of true publisher-author partnership.
We are selective about the books we publish in order to maintain the highest standards in the independent publishing industry. We'd love to see if your book is a fit. Citrine Publishing is a longstanding member of the Independent Book Publishers Association. Our office is based in State College, Pennsylvania. Our authors reside throughout the world.
The Citrine Publishing Story
In 2016, Citrine Publishing was founded on Publisher Penelope Love's "Golden Rule" vision to treat all authors as she would wish to be treated, and to honor each manuscript that crossed her desk as a precious gem ready to be polished into a life's work. Her two-decade career that launched in the editorial department of the original Chicken Soup for the Soul publishing house eventually expanded into all areas of book publishing, including editing, proofreading, interior layout, cover design, ebook conversion, web management, marketing and sales, and management. From this bird's-eye view, Citrine Publishing evolved into thriving literary family and multi-award-winning independent press.
Meet the Staff
Penelope Love, MA, Founder and Publisher
A professional editor since 1997, Penelope launched her career at Barnes & Noble and HCI (Chicken Soup for the Soul) and has edited and designed award-winning books for many dozens of authors published traditionally and independently. She is the author of the International Book Award-winning Wake Up in Love, available in the Citrine library in paperback and audiobook formats. In the academic world, Penelope was recognized as Outstanding Master’s Graduate by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, where her published research pioneered innovative strategies for unleashing the printed word into the digital landscape. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stetson University and a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association and the National League of American Pen Women; she also enjoys being active in Toastmasters International and as a Friend of the Penn State Alumni in her home community of State College, Pennsylvania. Penelope serves authors with her refined combination of industry experience, creative insight, professional care, and detailed attention to every facet of the publishing process.
Jordan Rich, Audiobook Production Partner
Jordan Rich, co-owner of Boston-based Chart Productions, Citrine Publishing’s audiobook production partner, has been a staple in the broadcasting industry for decades. As the long-running host of WBZ Radio's The Jordan Rich Show, his warm style and comforting voice reached hundreds of thousands of listeners across the United States and beyond. As a nationally recognized voice-over artist, Jordan has recorded thousands of commercials and narrations for numerous businesses, organizations, and charities. He is also the host/producer of several popular podcasts, and is proud of his growing library of audiobook narrations, including Citrine Publishing’s The Awakened Athlete.
Todd “T.G.” Monahan, Managing Editor
Todd G. Monahan is a graduate of Rutgers University and Albany Law School, as well as a former Judge Advocate Officer in the United States Marine Corps. He is a veteran of the Iraq War, where he served in detainee operations at Fallujah, Abu Ghraib Prison, and Baghdad in 2004-05. Since 2008, Todd has been a practicing attorney in the Capital Region of Upstate New York, specializing in criminal and family litigation. He is a native of Hawthorne, New Jersey. He joined Team Citrine as an author of two novels, The Vexing Heirloom and Dreamin’ in ’89, a Finalist in both the International Book Awards and the USA Best Book Awards. Todd is a fiction and story-structure specialist. In addition to editing, he has also participated in the making of other Citrine titles as artist/illustrator.
Jaime Cox, Editor
Jaime Cox is Canadian, raised in a small town in Ontario that few people can pronounce: Gananoque. After graduating from The Schulich School of Business in Toronto, she worked in the corporate world for many years until she and her life partner decided to become entrepreneurs when the opportunity arose to purchase the family marina in the Thousand Islands. A decade later, after selling and retiring, Jaime was able to follow her true passions, reading and writing, rolled into one amazing package: editing. When she connected with Penelope at Citrine through an author, she immediately knew she had found her place. Now, many years later, Jaime is still working closely with Penelope and loving every moment of her career. Regardless of genre, she absolutely loves being part of the process that helps authors transport their voices and stories out into the world.
Melissa Kale, Editor
Melissa Kale grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and moved to the mountains to earn her degree in English Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing from Appalachian State University. After some years of travel and self-exploration, she returned to ASU to earn her Masters in Community Counseling and gain her Licensure in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She worked as a therapist for children, adults, and families for ten years. As she began raising her own children, Melissa bittersweetly left the mental health field. Connecting with Citrine Publishing to publish her children’s book, Fabulous Fruit, proved to be an immense treasure, as the relationship grew into the perfect job for her heart and soul—editing. Working with Citrine authors, she is grateful for the task of honoring people’s stories, guiding them in polishing their language so the true intentions for their creations shine.
Rolf Busch, Cover Artist
Rolf Busch is a designer and fine artist living in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. His artwork is essentially a stream-of-consciousness process, an idiom of the inner voice. Its essence is difficult to distill, yet in his words, it is “Realism fallen through the cracks.” Rolf collaborates with authors using his intuitive style to design Citrine book covers that visually intrigue, attract and convey, through his meticulous font choices and blending of images, the essence of the author’s work.
Kristine Lucco, Illustrator
Kristine Lucco, Citrine Publishing’s resident artist and children’s book illustrator, says the passion for art she felt at a young age drove her to hone her skill at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Her extraordinary talent was quickly recognized and she was commissioned to paint murals for premier real estate as well as several national restaurant chains. Today, over 20 years later, her illustrations grace dozens of children’s books, while her art adorns walls and myriad surfaces all over south Florida. Her work has been highlighted in Florida Design and Palm Beach Illustrator, and featured on the cover of Christie’s Estates Magazine. She loves the process of matching authors’ words to images and bringing co-created visions alive on the pages of books, creating treasured memories of childhood.
Our talented team of editors, designers, and production and marketing specialists represents the highest quality professionals in the industry. In addition, we lend our professionalism and mutual understanding of what it means to be an author to every relationship. True lovers of the written word, we are ever on the lookout for talented writers and authors desiring an authentic publishing partnership.
