About Kelly

Kelly Utt’s earlier works—like the Rosemary Run, Hideaway Isle, and Appleman's Gap series—focus on family secrets, suspense, and psychological twists. Her newest novels, including Sierra Oscar Sierra and What’s Left to Burn, delve into cosmic love stories with high-stakes romance, often incorporating military elements.

Kelly’s books resonate with readers who crave intense, heart-pounding stories that blend deep emotion with gripping drama. Her work straddles the lines between romantic suspense and women’s fiction, offering unforgettable characters and stories that linger long after the final page.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a Master of Science in Interactive Media and Communications from Quinnipiac University. Kelly also co-writes with her son under the pen name Christopher Kelly.

As a kid, Kelly grew up with a dad who would read a book, ask her to read it, too, and then insist they discuss it together. Although her father passed away when she was a teenager, her passion for life’s big questions lives on. That passion is often reflected in Kelly's novels, giving them a depth which leaves readers wanting more and thinking about her stories long after the last lines are read.

In her free time, Kelly enjoys travel, great books, and good food, along with movies, music, and social media. She is a founding author of My Book Friends, a vibrant reader community dedicated to connecting authors and book lovers. She also founded Nashville Indie Authors, a group for independent writers focused on building successful careers. Kelly is a proud member of the Authors Guild and the Alliance of Independent Authors.

She lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, Sam. They have two grown sons.

If you’ve read one of Kelly’s books, please consider leaving a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or BookBub. Your reviews help other readers discover her stories.

Need to get in touch? Contact Kelly.

1.

Kelly likes dogs, especially breeds with floppy ears. Her canine sidekicks are Pepper, Brinny, and Molly, all Llewellin setters. The pups often appear in Kelly’s social media posts. In the summer of 2020, the family’s beloved golden retriever, Ellie, crossed the Rainbow Bridge at age twelve, but not before spending many days at Kelly’s feet as she wrote her first few novels and became an author. Kelly’s animals often have a special mention in the acknowledgements section in the back of her books.

2.

Kelly once met Mister Rogers and his friendly neighborhood delivery man Mr. McFeely, played by David Newell. Kelly was four-years-old when she visited the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania set in 1981 with her mom and her grandpa. Mister Rogers, who was as nice as you’d imagine, told her she could try operating the Neighborhood Trolley, so she flipped the switch with gusto thinking it would scoot off to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe like on TV. In reality, a staffer made a running leap and caught Trolley just before it crashed to the floor on the other side of the curtain.

3.

When they met in Charleston, South Carolina in 1997, Kelly’s husband Sam was an active-duty member of a U.S. Air Force special ops team. He completed his military service a week later, so Kelly never had a chance to experience life as a military spouse. She remains very proud of her husband’s service, however, and is fascinated by some of the stories he tells. Many of those stories have provided inspiration for Kelly’s books. (He’s the tall one pictured above.)

4.

Kelly’s grandpa spent summers living in Ithaca, New York for many years, and she came to know and love the city during visits to see him and his long-time companion, Evie, whom Kelly thought of as a grandmother. The character John Wendell in Tell Me I’m Safe (Kelly’s very first novel) is based on Kelly’s grandpa, and all of John Wendell’s favorite places in Ithaca Falls are based on Kelly’s grandpa’s favorite places in Ithaca. Names have been changed, but if you’re familiar with the Upstate New York town, you might be able to make the connections between the fictional and real-life establishments.

5.

Many of the metaphysical character quirks and uncanny coincidences Kelly writes about in her books are inspired by her own remarkable experiences. Like the time when she was nine-years-old and, a few days after her grandma died, Kelly had a dream where her grandma appeared and talked to her. It wasn’t like a regular dream. There was no setting and no script. Just young Kelly and her dead grandma looking right at each other and talking, only they both knew her grandma was no longer in the land of the living. It freaked Kelly out, for sure. But she used the event as a catalyst to learn and grow, beginning a life-long interest in the kind of otherworldly experiences which many of us have, yet can’t fully explain.

Even More

Favorite writers: Rebecca Yarros, Christina Lauren, Boo Walker, Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult, Paulo Coelho

Favorite books: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski and One by Richard Bach

Favorite literary heroine: Anna Frith from Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Favorite storyline: An ordinary man or woman becomes a hero to protect the ones they love

Favorite love stories: A Star is Born, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Crazy, Stupid, Love

Fictional doppelgänger: Julianne Potter of My Best Friend’s Wedding, played by Julia Roberts

Fictional boyfriend: Duke from G.I. Joe, played by Channing Tatum

Fictional best friend: Buzz Lightyear (why not?)

Favorite words: pretties, intellectual, probably, babies

If she were a song, she'd be: "She’s Everything" by Brad Paisley (according to her husband, mostly accurate and very nice of him to say so)

If she were an old-time TV or movie star, she'd be: Betty White (talk about longevity!)

If she could be another writer for a day: Rebecca Yarros

If she weren't a writer, she would be: A movie-industry creative of some sort

Things she keeps on her writing desk: A potted succulent, two framed photos of her boys— one taken during a trip to Lake Tahoe and the other taken during a trip to New York City, a sculpture of twin babies that was a gift from her lifelong best friend, a clear paperweight in the shape of a star that was a gift from her mom, and a 3-D printed Power T (for the University of Tennessee) that one of her sons made for her in his high school Architecture & Engineering class