Author Spotlight, Children's Author Kelly Reddin

Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to an extremely talented friend of mine. Kelly Reddin is an accomplished children's author and pillar of our community who I met through our group, Joplin Writers' Guild. She is also an award-winning adult short story author. Spending time with her is always fun, inspiring, and usually educational.

Kelly is a former elementary, middle grade and college educator. For twenty years she worked at Lego Education where she worked in a variety of positions including curriculum specialists, creating STEM activities for students from preschool to high school.

Later she became a Global Master Trainer and Solutions Architect, working with district and state level administrators to ensure students had access to STEM and especially robotics.

Kelly holds a B.S. in Business Administration, an M.B.A, and a B.A. in Elementary Education. She has also studied international economics of the Pacific Rim in Tokyo at Sophia University.

Thank you for agreeing to this week's spotlight, Kelly!

You can learn more about Kelly Reddin on her website: https://www.kellyreddin.com/

1.     For those readers who are unfamiliar with you, please tell us a little about yourself.

I am a former teacher and global master trainer with LEGO Education. I enjoy writing children’s books and short stories for adults. Currently I have three published book series: Celebrating Family, Nana Claus, and Bright Ideas Math. 

The Celebrating Family focuses on healthy relationships between adults and children in a family: Grandparents and grandchildren, aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews. They are multi-cultural and each two-page spread is a different family. 

The Nana Claus Series has three Christmas books: Nana Claus and the Secret Santas, Nana Claus and the Thank-You Notes, and Nana Claus and the Christmas Recipe Book. Kindness and gratitude are the focus of these books. Nana also teaches children how to measure liquid and dry ingredients in the recipe book.

Finally, the Bright Ideas Math Series contains chapter books for children in grades 3-5. Each chapter is a different child or children using a math concept in their lives. The first book is Time is Math.

2.     What kinds of writing do you enjoy?

I enjoy writing for children about kindness and gratitude. In writing for contests, I try to write something in all genres because it makes me stretch myself and hone my skills.

3.     What do you enjoy most about the writing process?

I enjoy being creative, trying new characters, actions, plot lines, etc. I like “coloring outside the lines.”

4.     When did you start writing?

I started writing as a child, but then did not continue writing stories for years. I wrote for my students and for my jobs, but not too many stories. I used storytelling in my work, which kept my mind thinking about how to tell and write stories.

 5.     To what or whom do you attribute your love of reading and writing stories?

I credit my mother and several teachers who gave me the love of reading, of using my imagination, and then creation of stories. I continue to read avidly to this day. When I traveled, I used a lot of airplane and airport time to read. Now, I use drive time to listen to audiobooks, and I usually have 3-4 books next to my recliner that I am reading.

6.     How have your past experiences impacted your writing?

I have used many of my personal experiences and the stories I have heard from others in my writing. I am blessed to have traveled many places in the world and have met some fascinating people. Those experiences have given me many ideas for books and stories.

7.     What are some jobs that you have held?

I started my adult career as a Chief Accountant and then changed jobs to teaching college and then I became an elementary and middle grade teacher. LEGO Education initially hired me to write curriculum, but I soon changed jobs and became a Global Master Trainer. There are so many people to thank for the opportunities I have been given.

8.     Does your past employment experience ever make its way into your books?

My past employment experience isn’t directly in the books, but the people I met and their stories are sometimes included.

9.     What inspires you?

Children’s smiles inspire me and people saying how much they love a book.

10.  What made you decide to write about the subjects or themes of your books?

I think kindness and gratitude are so important. The more thankful someone is, the more content that person is which leads to being happy with what you have. You can enjoy the people around you and be giving to them.

11.  Have you met any interesting people while researching your books?

Oh yes, I have met some very interesting people but not necessarily doing research. I listen to people everywhere, and I have been blessed by people telling me their stories.

12.  What is the most difficult part of writing?

Editing 5,000 times, then 10 more times, and saying, “This is finished,” is the most difficult part. When rereading any piece of writing I have completed, I would find something or a lot of things to change.

13.  Who are some of your favorite authors and why do you enjoy their work?

I like Dr. Seuss, Preston and Child, Richard Osman, Ann Cleeves, Kate Quinn, Anne Perry, Pepper Basham, Kathleen Fuller, Jude Deveraux, and so many more! I love Kate Quinn for historical fiction; she researches so well. I like Preston and Child because they can write a great murder mystery. I like Dr. Seuss because his books are so fun to read and I love to make up words. Pepper Basham makes me laugh; Kathleen Fuller’s Amish stories show me faith in an ordinary life.

14.  What writing advice did you find most useful when you were honing your craft?

Have reviewers and critique groups that are honest and don’t try to please you. I enter some contests strictly to get honest feedback because no one knows me and will give me a straight response. I have learned a lot from reviews and critiques.

15. Do you have any new work just released or coming out soon? If so, would you please tell us a little about it?

Just released in July were Nana Claus and the Thank-You Notes and Nana Claus and the Christmas Recipe Book.

Releasing in August will be I Love My Niece, A Celebration of Nieces, and Fractions are Math, the second book in the Bright Ideas Math series.

16. Can you tell us a little about your current project?

I am currently working on several books including Grandma Camp, possibly the first in a new series; Measurement is Math, the third book in Bright Ideas Math; and I Love My Nephew, the final book in the Celebrating Family series is in illustration and might be released before Christmas. I am also writing multiple short stories for Ozark Writer’s League and Ozark Creative Writers contests, which are due by the end of the month.

A big thank you to you, Margarite, for your willingness to use me in your blog. You are so kind, and I am very grateful.

Check out Kelly's new cookbook, Nana Clause and the Christmas Recipe Book here: https://amzn.to/4q8Y2Ox

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Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please join me again next week for more Ozarks Maven.