• Kelsey Fox lives in Royal Oak, MI with her husband Steve, her son Cody, five chickens and “Little Cat”!
• Kelsey graduated from Oakland University with an Elementary Education degree. After teaching many years, she fell in love with children’s books. Her experience in the classroom inspired her to start writing her own children’s stories.
All of Kelsey’s characters are based on students she has known through her teaching career, children of friends, and of course family. She loves to incorporate what she knows into her work because it make stories that the reader can relate to and teaches life lessons.
Kelsey’s active imagination and love of writing keep her busy. More stories from the “Wyatt” collection, as well as the introduction of new characters are on their way!
When you were my age, did you like to read? I LOVED to read! So much so, that as our reward for good grades or behavior we got to go to Borders and pick out what ever books we wanted to. We were not a big TV family and would stay up late reading all the time.
What was your favorite story? As far as younger books go, I really enjoy “Pete the Cat” and the “Pigeon” books by Mo Williams. Now, I like to read historical fiction and memoirs.
How do you get your ideas? I get my ideas from my everyday life. As a teacher, I encounter funny situations or little life lessons with my students and think ” Hey, that would be a great book!” and so my stories begin.
Is it hard to write/illustrate a book? Even though it’s a children’s book, and not very long or complex, it was still challenging to write. You have to know what a child is going to like, as well as make the story interesting enough for a parent to want to read it. I make sure to include “sight words” in my stories and market them as easy readers so they can be used in schools as teaching tools. I also take a lot of time creating the activity page that is at the end of my books. Checking that the child comprehends the message I am conveying was very important to me.
Do you have a favorite among the books you have written/illustrated? “Just try it Wyatt” my first book will always be my favorite no matter now many books I write. It took the most work and research to make, so will always be one I am most proud of. I currently have 4 books in the works so keep a look out!
What author do you really like right now? I think Diana Gabaldon is beyond imaginative. She writes the Outlander series. She takes history and makes it come alive! I recently went to Scotland mainly because her books painted the country so beautifully. She did not disappoint!
What advice do you have for a kid who wants to be an author? I would tell them to just write anywhere and anytime. Don’t worry about the grammar or spelling until the end. As a writer, sometimes I just have to get all my ideas down so quickly that the work looks like a sloppy mess but it doesn’t matter! I am the only one who sees the crazy that is a rough draft. You have to enjoy what you do, and anyone can be a writer if they just try!
I do visit schools and all the information for booking an author visit can be found on my website or emailing me directly at booksbykelseyfox@gmail.com . I am already almost booked for “March is Reading Month” but have other dates in the school year still open!
Like this:
Like Loading...