Hi, I’m Kelly and this is my story…
I was born in 1982 in South Birmingham. I grew up with a working class background and I was the first in my family to attend university. I was always the quiet one at school, too quiet for some, but I often preferred the silence of a book over people. I then went onto college and struggled even more on a social level. Afterwards I was encouraged to train to be a teacher.
Around this time I came out as queer, something I’d known about myself for some time. It had mixed reactions and to this day I’m still heavily affected by some of my experiences.
I studied as a teacher for two years with very little support and one not so special day, after reading Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting, my then English teacher said the following words: ‘If you want to be a writer, you should do it!’.
The next day I quit my course and applied to Aberystwyth University to study their Creative Writing BA. When I started my degree I finally felt like I’d found myself. I loved writing, anything from prose to poetry, it felt like a joy to find my place in the world. I had struggles, as most undiagnosed autistics do, but I came out of that degree with a dead grandmother, a breakdown and a 2.1.
I moved to Cardiff and tried to find my way in the working world. I ended up working in a gorgeous lingerie store with some lifelong friends. I loved those years, it’s the only time in a workplace I’ve felt safe. Still, I would sit and write poetry on my lunch breaks and I longed to return to Aberystwyth. On a whim I applied to study a Masters Degree in Creative Writing and a few months later I was moving back.
For one year I gave my all to the course, despite struggling with attendance and anxiety. I loved it and again, I felt like my soul was on fire. To me, there’s nothing more fulfilling than playing and exploring words. At the end of the course I went back to Birmingham for a bit before returning to Cardiff and a year later getting married. This followed with the birth of my son in 2009 and my daughter in 2010. I had a small stint training to be a midwife (special interest gone awry) and then my father died.
Following his death, my then family returned to Wales and I tried to write a novel. Then, as life so frequently shows us, things changed. I removed both children from school for safeguarding and our life became focused on home educating. My book was shelved for a while and I dipped in and out of writing poetry as and when I could. With regards to my very first novel, I now know it either isn’t good enough, or it needs a complete re-write… but I’m a peace with that, who knows what the future holds.
After my daughter received her autism diagnosis in 2021, I received mine in 2022, at the ripe (old?) age of 40. The same year my marriage ended and I moved with both children and our dog to the hilltop of Old Llantrisant. We added two cats to our household and let me just say, life certainly isn’t dull!
In 2023 two children’s books I’d written were published. It felt surreal but also so wonderful to see my name on the cover of a book! During this year I worked hard rebuilding a reputation in the small business world with Peachy Pie Designs, but my need to write was too strong so I decided to dedicate the majority of my time to the craft. I am still nervous about it, but it’s my one true dream and for now, it’s where all my spare energy is going and I’m loving it.
I’m currently working on a queer romance set in a book shop and pushing through major edits to get it finished ready to query at the end of this year!
Please check out my books, poetry and blog at your leisure…
Love, Kelly xxx