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Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?

I wanted to be a writer ever since I was in middle school, but I never had the patience to finish a story. I should have kept those and put them in their own book called “Kelly’s Book of Beginnings.” I could sell that to Language Arts teachers.

I became a teacher but never gave up on my passion for writing. I think I read every “How to Write” book out there and kept submitting my work. I have a pile of rejection letters that would come up to my knees.

I finally came to the conclusion that I did as much as I could on my own, and I enrolled in an MFA program at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. It was a low-residency program where we were in person twice a year for a week and a half. One was on campus during the summer, and we stayed in the dorms. The other was in January where we took over two hotels in Seaside, Oregon. Since I have summers off, I only had to take time off work in January. In between residencies, we worked with published authors as our advisors.

The program lasted two years, and I took my writing to a whole new level. I also made many author friends from all around the world…However, I did have to refinance my house to pay off the debt.

What is something unique/quirky about you?

I could say something really cool or that makes me look smart, but one of the biggest things people say about me is that I have a middle school boy sense of humor…I’m not sure how to take that. I also drink ice coffee in the morning, just brewed coffee over ice with no sugar or creamer. I’ve been told that the sound of ice in the morning reminds people of me.

Tell us something really interesting that’s happened to you!

I don’t know if it is interesting or miraculous, but I have been hit by a car three times. I was outside the car, one time on a bicycle, once on foot, and the last time on a moped. I was seven years old the first two times and fifteen the last time.

I should have died each time, especially the second one. I was crossing the highway in Rosarito, Mexico. I had been hit a month earlier, so I was a bit skittish. I saw the station wagon out of the corner of my eye and turned toward it like a deer in the headlights. It hit me at about 65 miles per hour. Each time I was hit, I was out and about playing the next day. I had no broken bones and no internal injuries, just concussions…which explains a lot.

Who is your hero and why?

My heroes are people who overcome the odds and accomplish their dreams. There are a lot of female aviators from the 1920s and 1930s who flew when it was a man’s world and found a way to do it. Most people know of Amelia Earhart–but there are many amazing aviatrixes such as Bessie Coleman, Ruth Elder, Florence Klingensmith, Louise Thaden, Ruth Nichols, Elinor Smith, and Beryl Markham.

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Kelly Romo grew up in California but has lived in Oregon for over twenty-five years. She teaches writing, literature, and social studies. She is the mother of three grown children: Brittany, Brennan, and Ryan. She is an avid outdoorswoman who loves to kayak, hike, and fish.

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