A reflection on reinvention and second chapters: how an unexpected early retirement led to discovering new callings through forex trading, faith, and founding a publishing company that celebrates life's transformative seasons.
Influential Woman · SelfPublishing
Pamela Huggins
BS, CSc
Owner / Publisher / Editor, Grace Publishing
Chicago, IL
1Year experience
1Article published
4Awards received
Her Story
About Pamela
She is an accomplished publisher and library builder based in the Greater Chicago area. Since July 2025, she has owned and operated Grace Publishing, where she has grown a catalog of 33 fiction and devotional titles. Her work includes the Grace Notes devotional series, 20 thirty-one-day scripture studies addressing life seasons such as divorce recovery, loneliness, purpose, gratitude, and forgiveness; Corner of Grace, a planned 26-book shared-universe fiction series; When the Lamp Goes Out, a four-book allegorical collection adapting Proverbs and Ecclesiastes into contemporary stories; and A Tale of Three Mazes, an interactive fiction trilogy. She also built and standardized the full publishing pipeline behind every title, from manuscript formatting and cover design to Amazon KDP metadata and marketing assets.
Her earlier career includes eight years in federal labor certification as an Immigration Case Processing Analyst with TekPro Services and RIVA Solutions and as an H-2A Administrator with Seso Inc., as well as serving as Director of Membership for the International Council of Registered Blockchain Professionals. Before that, she spent 21 years as an educator at Pioneer Christian Academy, designing curriculum and leading distance learning, and five years as a Technical Services Librarian at the Jesuit Krauss McCormick Library.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University and credentials in Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency Market Analytics from Althash University. Her career reflects a deep commitment to faith-centered content, lifelong learning, and helping others get their ideas off the ground.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Pamela
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to using every season of my career. When a startup downsizing pushed me into early retirement, I realized that everything I had done before had prepared me for what I'm stewarding now, Grace Publishing. My years as a technical services librarian taught me how to use categories and keywords, which is exactly how readers find books on Amazon. My work as a government contractor involved a lot of template work, and that became the backbone of my devotional series: every title follows the same 31-day format of short nuggets that invite readers into deeper study. And my years as a home educator and associate pastor working with youth taught me to keep things simple. Nothing was wasted.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best lesson I've learned is to keep it simple. Whether I was teaching my children, working with youth, or writing a devotional, the goal was always the same: make it clear, make it short, and make it meaningful. People today are busy and overwhelmed, and simplicity is a gift to them.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't believe that the field is too crowded. Many people look at publishing and see saturation, but I believe there's room for many voices. The key is finding your tribe, the readers who need and want what you have to share. And think bigger than one book. Build a library with purpose. Your voice deserves to be amplified, and a body of work does that far better than a single title.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is discoverability. So many books are published that it can be hard for readers to find yours. But I see a real opportunity there too. We're serving a doom-scrolling generation and busy professionals who don't have time for long reads, so short, focused content that offers inspiration throughout the day meets them where they are. Over the next five years, I want to help other writers build their own libraries. That's the heart of my work under the pen name Grace Phoenix, where I teach others to library with purpose.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Stewardship, simplicity, and purpose. I see Grace Publishing as something I've been entrusted with, not just something I own. Family is at the foundation of everything. My proudest achievement is home educating my three children, now adults, and launching them successfully. Those years became the groundwork for all I do now. I also value resilience. After a downsizing and a divorce following 27 years of marriage, I learned that what looks like tragedy can become a rebranding, or what I call in one of my devotionals, "personal regentrification." I value walking alongside others and lifting them up—helping them build confidence, find their voice, and turn their pain into purpose. I believe that sometimes, our greatest testimony can come from our greatest mess, allowing the very things we’ve been through to become the message that encourages someone else.
Her Content Hub
Articles by Pamela
My Second Chapter Isn't an Epilogue
From unexpected early retirement to building a publishing empire: how your past careers become your greatest advantage.
I was gifted an unexpected early retirement, along with a question I hadn't prepared to answer: Now what?
I thought I knew. I had it all mapped out: I would spend my days as a retail forex trader, studying charts over morning coffee, reading the markets the way I once read card catalogs, looking for patterns, order, and opportunity.
I still trade. But the markets had more in store for me. They taught me patience, discipline, and humility, often in that order. And they gave me something I hadn't expected: space to reflect on a season in which nearly every part of my life was being rebuilt at once.
I call it my life's regentrification: matrimony, motherhood, and marketplace, all changing around me. Out of that season, the devotionals were born.
It turned out the markets weren't my only calling. Readers were. In July 2025, I founded Grace Publishing, and today I write and publish across devotionals, fiction, and nonfiction-including the Grace Notes devotional series, seven of which Amazon now lists among my "Top Titles."
I'm not sharing that to impress you. I'm sharing it because I nearly believed the lie that my best work was behind me. If you're standing at a similar threshold, I want to tell you what I learned.
Your Past Careers Are Not Detours. They're Your Toolkit.
On paper, my résumé looks scattered: technical services librarian, 21 years as an educator, home educating my three children, then years analyzing federal labor certification cases. For a long time, I wondered what it all added up to.
Publishing answered that question. The librarian in me understands how books are cataloged, categorized, and found-which turns out to be exactly what Amazon metadata and keyword strategy are. The educator knows how to structure ideas so people can actually absorb them. The case analyst knows how to follow a standard precisely and catch what doesn't fit.
Nothing was wasted. Every season was training for this one. Before you assume you're starting from zero, inventory what you already know how to do. You're likely further along than you think.
Build a Body of Work, Not a One-Hit Wonder.
Many first-time authors pour everything into a single book and wait for it to take off. I chose a different approach: a series, built to a consistent standard. Every Grace Notes title shares the same design, the same structure, the same care-so a reader who finds one knows what to expect from the next.
That consistency is what builds trust, in publishing and in any career. One strong project earns attention. A reliable body of work earns a reputation.
Let the Results Teach You.
I didn't know in advance which titles would resonate most. Wild Wisdom, Rooted in Relationship and Wings of Gratitude-readers told me through what they chose. Paying honest attention to that feedback, rather than to my assumptions, has shaped where I invest my time. Humility isn't just a spiritual virtue; it's a strategic one.
Purpose Is the Fuel That Outlasts Motivation.
Motivation fades by the third late night of formatting. Purpose doesn't. Mine is simple: to help others get their ideas off the ground. My faith is at the center of that. I believe God specializes in doing new things in seasons that look like endings.
That purpose is also why I've started teaching others what I've learned, under the name Grace Phoenix-because the knowledge I spent decades gathering was never meant to stay on my shelf.
If You're in Your Own "What Now" Season
Maybe a role ended. Maybe your children are grown. Maybe you simply know there's something more you were made to build. Here's what I'd offer you:
Take stock of your skills before you mourn your title. Start smaller than your vision, but start. Choose consistency over perfection. And don't mistake a closed door for a finished story.
My second chapter isn't an epilogue. Yours doesn't have to be either.
Pamela Huggins is the founder of Grace Publishing and the creator of the Grace Notes devotional series, written under the pen name Pamela Grace. A former librarian and 21-year educator, she helps others get their ideas off the ground. [For more information, click here]
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