Follow Friday – Kelley Armstrong

Posted by Christine on Apr 16, 2010 in Follow Friday, General | 2 comments

Today my Follow Friday goes to Kelley Armstrong.

Not that she needs me to tell you to follow her – she is an amazing author as the New York Times has already recognized that. But the fact is she deserves it.

Kelley Armstrong was the first of many authors who has inspired me on my writing journey.

My story starts when I wondered in the fantasy/sci-fi section of my local book store preparing for my husband to go out of town. I decided to start in the A section and look for authors I had never read before.  I picked up Bitten and Stolen.

At the time I was the mother of three (still am), working full time, and a graduate student getting my Masters of Education. My husband was doing a lot of traveling getting his Masters as well and we were considering where we would be living when he finished. I also harbored a secret dream to write.  I had started and stopped writing a few stories that only my best friend knew about.  I figured I didn’t have the time or the talent to put into the pursuit of writing.

One night, I went on the wonderful inter-web and looked up Kelley Armstrong. I  found her brief bio. Something about it struck me.  She has three kids – I think at the time I read it she was still working as a programmer – or maybe she had recently stopped. But something about how real she was… maybe the fact that her child took her picture struck me. By the way – it’s the same picture now that it was then.

Something in my mind went CLICK – if she can do it, so can I.

But, that’s not why she is getting my Follow Friday. We settled on moving to Seattle and because of that decision I ended up with the chance to meet Kelley Armstrong at SiWC in 2007.  In 2006 I finished my first novel, a science fiction YA novel. In 2007, I sent about 10 queries on it – all rejected for very good reason. Had I known then what I know now I would never have sent queries. 🙂 However, in 2007 I wrote my first short story which took place in the same universe and with that story, “A Decade of Scottsdale” I won the 2007 Surrey International Storytellers Award. 

I also got to meet Kelley Armstrong that year and tell her the very story I just shared here. Not only did she listen, she let my husband and I sit with her at dinner one night.  She accepted me as a friend on Facebook, and she returned my e-mail when I sent her a request for a favor. (And granted the favor I might add – thank you so much Kelley!)

Later when I took my sister to one of her book signings she even remembered who I was, where she met me, and that I won the contest in Surrey.

Amazing. Of all the thousands of people Kelley Armstrong has met in her travels she remembered me. Christine Brant. I’m flattered and inspired.

I’ll continue to pursue this dream I have, because if this very down to earth woman and mother of three can write such wonderful stories than maybe I can do it too.

Thank you for inspiring me Kelley.