Kelly Nelson graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree. She worked in public accounting for four years before starting a horse-boarding business so she could be more involved in raising her family. As an avid book lover, she later decided to pursue a career in writing. Her published works include The Keeper’s Saga, a young adult fiction series, Love’s Deception, an LDS romance, and The Woman with No Name. Her newest novel was selected as a finalist in the romance category for the 2018 writing contest of the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association. She resides Cornelius, Oregon with her husband, four children, and a herd of horses.
Losing her memory might lead to finding happily ever after.
Sworn bachelor Colton Murdock gets more than he bargained for on the elk hunt when he finds an injured woman in Utah’s high country. She must have a history, but she wakes up to towering pines and the clap of a thunderstorm with no recollection of her name or how she came to be there. Colt brings her to the safety of his camp, trying to ignore the first stirrings of his heart since the tragic death of his fiancée six years ago. The young woman can’t help falling for her ruggedly handsome rescuer, who calls her Skye for her blue eyes. But her life goes into a tailspin when she is recognized as Lily Vanasche, fiancée of a popular TV news anchorman, and Colt is arrested for a series of crimes—including her abduction. After the real kidnapper leaves a death threat in Lily’s ransacked house, the clock starts ticking. Can she remember her past before it catches up with her?
Praise for The Woman with No Name:
Kelly Nelson writes sweet romance that tugs at your heartstrings. —Susan Hatler, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
Q&A With the Author:
1. Tell us about things you enjoy — what you do for fun or personal satisfaction besides writing?
Horses are a life-long love of mine. There’s nothing that rejuvenates me more than cantering through the nut orchard, feeling the rocking cadence of my horse’s gait. Also, I can never get enough of traveling the world, though the horses make it difficult to leave home sometimes. But when I just need to unwind, nothing beats dark chocolate and a good romance novel.
2. When did you first realize you were an author?
I started my first book when I was 15, then began another about a decade later, but I didn’t consider myself a true author until 2009 when I wrote a time-travel trilogy The Keeper’s Saga.
3. Have you done anything writing-related, but besides actually writing your books, that seemed to get a lot of positive response? Something that encouraged you?
Hoping to inspire one of my kids who was going through a tough time, I wrote a parable titled The Lost One. Over the years, I have shared the story with many people. Seeing their positive response encourages me to keep writing.
4. What is the thing you struggle with the most while writing? And how do you defeat it?
I love the writing and creating aspects of being an author. It is some of the publishing facets of the business that pose a struggle. I am looking for a larger publisher for my current projects, so it is a little like starting over at square one. That can feel really discouraging at times.
5. What is the “message” of your writing? (For example, is your purpose to encourage old-fashioned values, encourage romance, or do you have different purposes in different books?)
Hope and a sense of adventure. Hope that despite what happened in the past or where you are now, there is always hope for the future. A couple of years ago I had this epiphany: Today’s heartache and tragedy should not define our future, but should be the prologue for tomorrow’s happily ever after.
I want to inspire a sense of adventure and immerse readers in another world. Author Anne Perry once said, “We get to live only one life, but by reading well we can experience many.” That is my goal. Help readers experience different lives through the characters in my books.
6. Are your characters/stories/scenes, etc. based on anything in real life?
To some extent, always! Though usually the real-life part is small enough that only I see the connection and know about it. As an author, all of my experiences impact my writing. In 2010, my husband drew an elk tag for a premier unit in Utah. I joined him in elk camp for two days, inspiring the characters and backdrop for The Woman with No Name.
My sister’s husband served in the Air Force and completed multiple tours to Afghanistan, inspiring one of the characters in Love’s Deception. The main character boards horses and her love interest is a CPA. Since I have worked in both of those professions, I drew on my personal experiences to write many of the scenes.
7. What are your future projects?
I have two projects in the works:
An Inconvenient Marriage
The terms governing Amelia Grayson’s trust fund propel her into an unlikely match in this modern-day marriage of convenience. Montana cowboy Garrett Strong, wants nothing to do with marriage after his first attempt failed, while Amelia’s eccentrically old-fashioned grandmother insists her granddaughter be married before she sees a cent of her trust fund money. Garrett and Amelia bid against each other for the Double J Ranch, but for completely opposite reasons. When it appears neither of them will secure a contract to buy the ranch, a marriage of convenience might be the only solution. After a private investigator digs up secrets from Garrett’s past and a land-hungry cattle company willing to bend the law sets its sights on the Double J, will their fragile relationship shatter or can they build a foundation that will last the test of time?
Selected as a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association contest for the romance category, this will soon be pitched to literary agents and editors.
Hidden Heir
After commoner Dade Hawkes rescues Greer’s lost princess, he doesn’t expect to see her again, but a mysterious summons from the king changes that. Princess Tessalyn of Greer knows her duty. Getting married off in a political ploy is a risk she had no choice but to accept the moment she took her first breath. However, she never thought feelings toward a commoner would get in her way. When a forbidden attraction becomes an impossible situation, Tessalyn must escape her betrothal or spend a lifetime married to the brother of the man she loves. The fates meddle with their futures as ancient secrets catch up to the royal families of Greer and Nebani in this fantasy adventure.
This YA trilogy needs a literary agent and a publisher.
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