Jill Kelly

Biography

I began writing in 2002 with a memoir that was a finalist for the prestigious Oregon Book Award. Since then I've been writing most days in the morning for an hour or so and am currently working on book #10. It's just so fun. I'm a big reader of mysteries and thrillers and have written three of my own. I also enjoy exploring the relationships between men and women, and mothers and daughters.

I'm a former college professor of literature and writing who's been a freelance editor for the last 25 years. I am also a pastel and acrylic painter and I make art deco needlepoint pillows (www.jillkellycreative.com). I live in Portland, Oregon, with my four cats who do all the chores so I can be creative 24/7.

Where to find Jill Kelly online

Books

Married to the Muse: Poems
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 8,270. Language: English. Published: March 24, 2023 . Categories: Poetry » Contemporary Poetry, Poetry » Biography
Becoming a Creative later in life has been an amazing gift. And during the lockdown, I wrote a poem a day to express my feelings and observations. I also began taking photos on my daily walks and posting them online. Creative practices have endless variety, endless things to learn and try, so much satisfaction to be had in the doing. Marrying the Muse was one of the best choices I ever made.
The House of Expectations
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 97,640. Language: English. Published: January 15, 2022 . Categories: Fiction » Historical » USA
Four siblings from a pioneer Methodist family come of age on a college campus during the Depression. The sisters become teacher and librarian while the brothers return to the Idaho Panhandle and struggle to become a newspaper editor and a bush pilot. World War II precipitates marriages and moral shifts that disappoint the religious expectations of their parents and their matriarchal grandmother.
Ben Three Years Later
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 83,170. Language: English. Published: March 31, 2021 . Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller, Fiction » Mystery & detective » General
What happens to a very young man with no family and no one to guide him who’s gotten off to a bad start. Ben Three Years Later explores those possibilities. Road trips, vigilante crime. Suspected of murdering his girlfriend, snared by an older woman with her own dark agenda. Can a good cop save him? I wasn't sure what would happen until I reached the last chapter myself.
So Much Is Beautiful, So Much Is Broken: Poems from the Pandemic
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 7,400. Language: English. Published: September 13, 2020 . Categories: Poetry » American poetry » General
For the first four months of the pandemic, I wrote a poem a day about my experience. I was at home alone with my four cats and ventured out only to walk a mile in my Portland, Oregon, neighborhood. These are some of my reflections and my experiences as the old normal fell away and we entered this strange and disorienting time.
The Candy Girl Workbook: 52 Weeks of Support for Giving up Sugar
Price: Free! Words: 71,420. Language: English. Published: November 20, 2019 . Categories: Nonfiction » Health, wellbeing, & medicine » Eating disorders, Nonfiction » Self-improvement » Addiction & recovery
Are you like me? --Once you start eating candy or other sweets, you can’t stop. --Food is the most frequent and constant pleasure in your life. --If you don’t have the foods you love, you can feel panicky. The 52 support conversations in this free program can help you create a sweeter life between meals that puts food in a peaceful place.
Candy Girl: How I gave up sugar and created a sweeter life between meals
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 71,810. Language: English. Published: October 30, 2018 . Categories: Nonfiction » Self-improvement » Addiction & recovery, Nonfiction » Self-improvement » Eating Disorders
210 effective ways to stop letting sugar run your life and to create a life so satisfying that you don't need to self-medicate with food.
When the Past Comes Calling: 6 Guys, 1 Girl, 1 Night
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 70,070. Language: English. Published: September 3, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Literature » Literary, Fiction » Women's fiction » General
In 1972, six frat brothers met a girl at a tavern, took her to a nearby apartment, and each had sex with her. In 1999, 27 years later, the child conceived that night comes looking for his father and justice for his mother. 6 Guys, 1 Girl, 1 Night explores some of the unforeseen consequences of the casual choices we make in the moment.
Broken Boys: A Thriller
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 88,730. Language: English. Published: April 28, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Police Procedural
When a mysterious stranger at a small-town parade offers Maggie Morehouse a life outside the box, she disappears with him, leaving her family to pick up the pieces. Caught between anger and fear, her husband involves the police. The search for Maggie and her companion leads two Pennsylvania detectives into the VFW halls and bingo parlors of rural Virginia where broken boys are at dangerous play.
Using Creativity and the Chakras for Getting Things Done
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 10,710. Language: English. Published: November 3, 2014 . Categories: Nonfiction » Self-improvement » Creativity, Nonfiction » Self-improvement » Personal Growth / Success
This guide is an innovative way to use creativity and the Hindu chakras to complete large projects. It includes explanations, step-by-step instructions, worksheets, and resources. No previous chakra knowledge is needed, just a desire to get things done!
Self-Editing for Nonfiction Writers
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 7,520. Language: English. Published: November 3, 2014 . Categories: Nonfiction » Reference » Writing skills, Nonfiction » Reference » Publishing & books
(5.00 from 1 review)
Ths easy-to-follow guide is designed for new and experienced nonfiction writers wanting to more powerfully organize their ideas, avoid errors in punctuation and syntax, and enhance their style.
Self-Editing for Memoir Writers
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 8,600. Language: English. Published: November 3, 2014 . Categories: Nonfiction » Reference » Writing skills, Nonfiction » Reference » Publishing & books
This innovative editing guide offers tips and tools for memoir writers wishing to avoid punctuation and grammar errors and improve their writing style for traditional or self-publication.
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 8,910. Language: English. Published: November 3, 2014 . Categories: Nonfiction » Reference » Writing skills, Nonfiction » Reference » Publishing & books
This easy-to-follow guide is designed for new and experienced fiction writers wanting to avoid errors in punctuation and syntax and wanting to enhance their style.
Sober Play: Using Creativity for a More Joyful Recovery
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 50,480. Language: English. Published: June 24, 2014 . Categories: Nonfiction » Self-improvement » Creativity, Nonfiction » Inspiration » 12-step programs
Sober Play is for anyone looking to find more joy and meaning in recovery. You don’t need talent or special skills to be creative. You just need the same things you need for recovery: willingness, courage, and perseverance. Although I had never been an artist, doing creative play changed my life and strengthened my recovery. I hope creative play can do the same for you.
Sober Truths: The Making of an Honest Woman
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 83,640. Language: English. Published: June 21, 2014 . Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Personal memoir
After 20 years of misery drinking, Kelly found she had to change most of her life to stay sober. This memoir tells how she learned to be with loneliness and anxiety, to let go of the jealous dramas of the past, and to embrace a new life. Sobriety isn't easy; in fact, it is continual hard work. But Kelly offers hope to those who cannot imagine a life without alcohol from one who has recreated hers.
The Color of Longing
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 84,150. Language: English. Published: June 14, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » General, Fiction » Romance » Contemporary
What’s a guy to do when the woman he’s loved for 15 years asks for help leaving her alcoholic husband? And what if that husband is his best friend? In this unconventional romance, artist Jake Logan crisscrosses the country with his cat Sadie, seeking answers to his quest from several helpful strangers, but it isn’t until he has a deep spiritual encounter with himself that he finds his way home.

Jill Kelly's tag cloud

12 steps    1930s college    1940s teaching    addiction recovery    alcoholism and recovery    artist    better description    better dialog    bingo killer    bingo mystery    chakras    choices matter    completing your manuscript    completing your novel    covid poetry    creative selfhelp    creativity    creativity advice    creativity exercises    creativity for success    creativity techniques    dangerous boyfriend    date rape    detective action adventure    detective partners    eating disorders    editing    editing fiction    editing memoir    editing nonfiction    editing your fiction    editing your manuscript    fathers and sons    food addiction    fraternity brothers    getting things done    improving your style    interracial marriage    introduction to the chakras    life between meals    life on the road    little things    longterm sobriety    lost boys    manuscript editing    manuscript revision    memoir    memoir editing    memoir writing    methodist beliefs    mystery    mystery thriller    organizing nonfiction    painting    pandemic poetry    performance artist    personal stories    photos inside    poetry 2020    poor choices    project completion    project management    quarantine poetry    rape revenge    recovery    road trip    romance    runaway wife    self editing    selfhelp recovery    serial killer    sober play    sobriety    spirituality    sugar addiction    sugar cravings    sugarfree living    suspenseful road trip    thriller    trees    weight loss    wicca    women    world war 2 engineers    world war 2 pilots    world war 2 soldiers    writing better description    writing better dialog    writing nonfiction