Award-winning author and Hollywood veteran Kay A. Oliver joins Was It Chance to unpack a career shaped by creative persistence, hard-earned reinvention, and the courage to walk away from systems that no longer fit. With more than three decades in Hollywood—spanning writing, production, consumer products, and studio work—Kay shares what it really takes to survive (and stay sane) in an industry driven by power, timing, and compromise.

After being laid off during a breast cancer diagnosis, Kay made a pivotal decision: stop waiting for permission and start telling stories on her own terms. That choice led her to novel writing, where her work has earned more than 30 literary awards and sparked interest from streaming platforms for adaptation. In this episode, Kay breaks down the creative and business realities of Hollywood, the difference between writing for screen versus page, why failure is a prerequisite for success, and how trusting yourself can be the biggest creative risk of all.

This conversation is candid, sharp, and deeply grounded in lived experience—proof that sometimes the most important “chance” is deciding not to play by someone else’s rules.

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EPISODE TAKEAWAYS

• Failure is not the opposite of success; it is an essential part of any meaningful creative path.
• Creative rejection can be a redirection that leads to work with greater autonomy and impact.
• Surviving a personal crisis can permanently change how risk is evaluated and embraced.
• Writing for Hollywood and writing novels require fundamentally different creative and business mindsets.
• Strong female characters were never unmarketable; they were simply unsupported by the system.
• Self-publishing can be a deliberate, empowering strategy rather than a compromise.
• Protecting creative rights is a necessary business practice for long-term sustainability.
• Letting go of control in adaptation can preserve both perspective and creative freedom.
• Thorough research is what allows fiction to feel emotionally and intellectually authentic.
• The most resilient creative careers are built by trusting personal conviction over external validation.