Kelliann, born in Staten Island, New York, now resides in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia with her husband, Frank, and rescue dog, Sebastian. With a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism and a master’s degree in publishing, she has more than a decade of writing and editing experience. Her early career includes writing for her hometown newspaper, and she has spent most of her career working as an editor in the financial services industry. Kelliann is the creator of @Bagels2Biscuits on Instagram, which showcases her love affair with food culture through area restaurants, family recipes, and her own culinary and confectionery creations. “Far Apart, Together at Heart” is Kelliann’s first book.
JRW: Which genre are you most passionate about?
KD: So far, I’ve written one children’s book, but I also have ideas for travel writing. I am open to anything the future brings!
JRW: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
KD: I didn’t realize it at the time, but even as a kid, I always wrote in journals and liked creating scrapbooks. When I got to college, I took some journalism courses and worked at my hometown newspaper. While I veered away from news writing, I still always enjoyed and wanted to write on my own.
JRW: How has being an editor influenced your work as a writer?
KD: I’m a senior editor for a financial services company! I started working as an intern when I was in grad school for a master’s degree in publishing. I thought I wanted to pursue book publishing but I kind of fell into this editor role and they offered me a full time position — this was in 2010 so the job market wasn’t great at the time. Even though the content is different, my work as an editor has helped me realize writing is a process, there is always room for improvement, and you cannot be your own editor! It’s also sometimes difficult to get out of editor mode and just write. I have had to work on not editing myself as I am writing.
JRW: What is one of the most surprising things you learned while publishing your work?
KD: Writing a book is one thing, actually putting it out into the world is a completely separate endeavor. It’s so easy to be hard on yourself but publishing a book is something to be super proud of! Also, your biggest supporters will be the most unexpected.
JRW: What advice would you offer new writers?
KD: If you don’t know where to start, simply get your ideas down on paper or start a Google doc with your ideas. The writing doesn’t have to be perfect, but getting them down and out of your head will get the ball rolling.