How would you interpret ‘rode his pen to the heights’ here?
Young men in the Land of Sky seem to prefer the taste of old wine. A decade ago in Ashville, North Carolina, young writer Thomas Wolfe rocketed to fame, fleeing Southern scandal for Manhattan’s forgiving bohemian scene and the arms of a lady seventeen years his senior. The writer’s family tried to squelch the match with comely theater designer Aline Bernstein—that’s Mrs. Bernstein—and so did Mr. Bernstein, we’re guessing.
Now Harrison Shepherd is out to prove history repeats. This Ashville writer rode his pen to the heights with Vassals of Majesty and last year’s Pilgrims of Chaltepec, ringing up more sales than Wolfe saw in a lifetime. Thanks to secretive habits and a well-known scorn for press correspondents, Shepherd has nudged over Wolfe as the talk of his town. In a new move plainly inspired by his tutor, Shepherd has now linked up with a lady exactly seventeen years his senior. Married? At least once, say our sources.How would you interpret ‘rode his pen to the heights’ in the second passage?
Thanks! This excerpt is taken from The Lacuna by Kingsolver.

Question

How would you interpret ‘rode his pen to the heights’ here?
Young men in the Land of Sky seem to prefer the taste of old wine. A decade ago in Ashville, North Carolina, young writer Thomas Wolfe rocketed to fame, fleeing Southern scandal for Manhattan’s forgiving bohemian scene and the arms of a lady seventeen years his senior. The writer’s family tried to squelch the match with comely theater designer Aline Bernstein—that’s Mrs. Bernstein—and so did Mr. Bernstein, we’re guessing.
Now Harrison Shepherd is out to prove history repeats. This Ashville writer rode his pen to the heights with Vassals of Majesty and last year’s Pilgrims of Chaltepec, ringing up more sales than Wolfe saw in a lifetime. Thanks to secretive habits and a well-known scorn for press correspondents, Shepherd has nudged over Wolfe as the talk of his town. In a new move plainly inspired by his tutor, Shepherd has now linked up with a lady exactly seventeen years his senior. Married? At least once, say our sources.How would you interpret ‘rode his pen to the heights’ in the second passage?
Thanks! This excerpt is taken from The Lacuna by Kingsolver.

Answer

Gordon... 'rode his pen' means he took advantage of and used his skills as a writer to write two popular books. 'to the heights' means that the result of his writing efforts were rewarded by the popularity of the two books and he become the highest-ranked writer at that time. Another example of using the verb 'ride' might be:  The famous actor rode his popularity with the restaurant manager to get the best table and the best service at the restaurant (again, rode means used or took advantage of or benefited from).