Kelly Young hails from Ontario, Canada. A graduate of the English literature program at the University of Waterloo, she worked as a freelance reporter for many years, switching briefly to full time reporting for the local paper before taking herself to a much quieter bookstore. After coaching two competitive swim teams, she worked at the municipal pool teaching people of all ages how to swim until her early retirement at age 55.
Kelly is an avid swimmer who tries to swim a mile at least two times a week.
A Warm Mug of Cozy: Hello Kelly! We are happy to have you! Why did you decide to become an author?
Kelly Young: I loved reading, and from an early age read anything I could get my hands on. That included all of the Trixie Beldon, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and the Bobbsey Twins. I wrote my first mystery when I was in grade 9, and actually had a plan for a series.
I studied English Literature at university and graduated with a BA. I then became a freelance reporter, followed by a 3-year stint full time for a local paper. At this point I considered myself a writer, if not an author, even though I wrote some poetry and short stories. It was only when our sons left the nest that I turned my attention to becoming an ‘actual’ author.
A Warm Mug of Cozy: What attracted you to the cozy mystery genre?
Kelly Young: As I said, I read a lot of books, between a lifelong love of reading and the courses I took to get my English degree. I went through stages of reading, from fantasy to horror to romance, and then I hit upon the cozy mystery and loved what I was reading. I liked the lighter tone of the books, the humour; they reminded me of the books I fell in love with when I was young.
A Warm Mug of Cozy: Tell us about one of your books in 25 words or less.
Kelly Young: The Piper Sniper: A reporter turned travel writer. A lakeside town’s quaint tradition. A shocking murder. Can she solve the mystery before more pipers die?
A Warm Mug of Cozy: How did you pick the title?
Kelly Young: My husband had often joked about a book title called The Piper Sniper, as we lived in a town with the heavy presence of a pipe band, and it stuck in my head, but I had no idea of where to go with it. Slowly, the book idea grew around the title, and I finally made the leap and hit the keyboard.
A Warm Mug of Cozy: Have you tried writing in other genres? If so, how has the experience been for you?
Kelly Young: My first book was a thriller titled Flurries Ending. I have also written a thriller titled The Six Thousand, two short story collections – the second of which is exclusively horror, a romance, two speculative fiction novels, a humour book, a book of poetry, and a cookbook. I’ve enjoyed writing all of them, as they are quite different from cozies and allow me to stretch my writing muscles.
A Warm Mug of Cozy: How does creativity speak to you, and do you follow a specific process?
Kelly Young: I joke about having voices in my head, and it’s actually just a bit of a joke. A story starts forming in my head until I think that if I don’t get it down, I’ll go crazy.
As for a process, once the idea fleshes itself out, I’m a ‘pantser’. I just sit down and write. Sometimes I do the first draft longhand, and other times, I type it directly into a word document.
There really is no rhyme or reason.
A Warm Mug of Cozy: How would you define your style?
Kelly Young: For cozies, I would say that I rely heavily on humour. I tend to go easy on description, allowing the readers to fill in the blanks as they see fit, and go heavy on the dialogue. I’d rather have a character describe something in a conversational manner than have me do so in multiple paragraphs that can become tedious.
A Warm Mug of Cozy: What do you want people to learn from your work?
Kelly Young: My Travel Writer Cozy Mystery series includes a lot of tourism information on the real towns in which the books are set, and I’ve been told that people have visited those towns as a result of reading my books. My other series, the Haunted & Harassed Paranormal Mystery series, doesn’t have anything as blatant to learn.
I would like to think that reading either of the series might teach people the importance of humour in one’s life, and the importance of the support you get from friends and family.
A Warm Mug of Cozy: How do you use social media to stay in touch with your audience?
Kelly Young: I have an author Facebook page and am active both on it and on the Cozy Crime Collective page, which is run by a group of 10 international authors and features various events for members to interact with those authors. I also have a newsletter.
Sadly, I gave up my Twitter account, which was fairly active, after the rules loosened and I was the target of far left harassment.
A Warm Mug of Cozy: What is your most important piece of advice to other authors?
Kelly Young: I can’t really choose just one.
Read. Read in your chosen genre. Read out of it. Read books on writing.
Make sure you have a good grasp on proper grammar and spelling.
Once you have a first draft, take a break and do something else to reenergize before tackling it again, and then come at it with fresh eyes.
Get yourself a trusted set of Beta readers who have a good grasp on proper grammar.
A Warm Mug of Cozy: Anything else people should know?
Kelly Young: I have participated in NaNoWriMo ten times, and have ‘won’ four times. As a former reporter, I do better with an external deadline, something I can get through NaNo but not on my own as an indie writer.
I am a member of Crime Writers of Canada, and the Toronto, Ontario chapter of Sisters in Crime, and of the main group of the same name out of the USA. I am also a long-time member of Beta Sigma Phi sorority.
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