Kelly Andrew lost her hearing when she was four years old and she’s been dreaming up stories in the silence ever since.

Andrew lives in New England with her husband and their two daughters (and a very grouchy Boston Terrier). She has a BSW, but received her Masters in English & Creative Writing. When she’s not writing, she enjoys obsessing over a good book, scouring flea markets for treasure, and getting intentionally lost in the woods.

I had the opportunity to interview Kelly, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Kelly Andrew and I’m a writer living in New England. I used to live in Boston, but I’ve somewhat recently moved into a very wooded, rural area and traded all my neighbors in for horses and chickens and one very loud rooster. Both locations have been a big inspiration for my writing.

What can you tell us about your latest book, Your Blood, My Bones? What was the inspiration for this story?

The inspiration for Your Blood, My Bones came from wanting to write a horror story about growing up and leaving home. I think there’s something just so melancholic about moving on from the people who made you who you are, and horror seemed like the perfect vehicle to express that sort of ache.

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically speculative fiction, romance, and young adult fiction?

I love storytelling in all forms, but I particularly like to write stories with big, immediate feelings. As a reader, I find stories like that to be so immersive—I grew up in the Twilight and Hunger Games era, and those books were what really brought me into young adult. I think horror and romance both lend themselves so well to creating tension, and as a writer it’s so much fun to play with them on the page.

In previous interviews how representation multidimensional deaf/disabled characters, like in your first book, The Whispering Dark is an important for you as a deaf author. Would you mind expanding on this here?

Growing up, there was very little disabled representation in the media at all, let alone deaf representation. If you did see someone with a disability, they were often either misrepresented or portrayed as inferior to the able-bodied characters. I was so impacted by it as a young girl who’d lost her hearing, because it made me feel like I couldn’t be both the “main character” and disabled. I love seeing more disabled rep in the book community, because it’s been helping to show that disability isn’t a monolith. And we’re capable of being the heroes of our own stories.

How would you describe your writing process?

My writing process is extremely chaotic, but I tend to spend a lot of time brainstorming to a carefully curated playlist and then writing in total silence. I write the end of the story first and then work my way there, but I tend to outline two to three chapters ahead of where I am at any given time just to keep myself somewhat organized. It’s kind of like driving in the dark with headlights on. You can’t see exactly where you’re going, but you know where you’re trying to get to, and you can see at least a few feet in front of you at all times.

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

As a kid, I raided my dad’s box of old paperbacks. It was a lot of the usual suspects: Tolkien, Eddings, Brooks, Pratchett. They were terrific—obviously, they’re classics—but I didn’t really connect with them. In sixth grade an art teacher lent me a well-loved copy of The Witches of Eileanan by Kate Forsyth. I devoured it over a single weekend. She went on to lend me the rest of the series over the course of that year. It was my first time reading a fantasy that centered women, and it really sparked a love of writing in me. To this day, I keep the series in a place of honor in my office.

As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general? 

This is such a tricky question because—while I want to be profound—I really do think we take inspiration from everything, whether it be a story, a poem, a song, or an experience. Sometimes I’ll be watching a children’s show with my kids and a throwaway line will stick with me and evolve into something else in my head. It’s like an oyster with a kernel of sand. An idea gets in you like grit, and you obsess over it and press at it until it becomes a pearl. Sometimes I’ll be listening to a song and the feeling it gives me will make me want to capture that same feeling on paper. It really can be anything.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or difficult? 

My favorite part of writing a book, hands down, is that moment in line edits where it finally clicks into place. There’s this ambiguous moment where something shifts and suddenly the words on the page match the story in your brain. It’s the moment I chase with every single book I write. As for the most difficult part, for me that’s structural edits. My first drafts tend to be very loose and very messy, and as a result I spend a lot of time moving things around and rewriting large chunks. It’s usually when I get the most frustrated with myself, but I keep pushing for that magical shift! 

Many creators would say one of the most challenging parts of writing a book is finishing one. What strategies would you say help you accomplish this?

For me, writing the ending first always helps, because then I’m dying to know what happens between the first page and the last. If I don’t keep filling in the story, I’ll never know. It’s a matter of trying to keep myself interested, and if I find that interest lagging I’ll pull back and try to brainstorm ways to make it more exciting for myself, even if that ends up being an absolutely bonkers subplot. Maybe it won’t make the final cut, but if it helps me bridge the gap to the end, it’s worth it.

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

I am big fan of creature feature films, with my all-time favorite movies being Aliens (a classic) and Rampage (based on the 1986 arcade game). When I’m not writing, I’m usually spending my evenings watching some sort of extremely campy action / horror movie.

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

I’ve gotten some pretty good questions, so this is a tough one, but if I had to choose, I’d probably want to be asked more about the “true evil” in my books. I write stories full of eldritch horrors and things that go bump in the night, but I also write about people grasping at power for personal gain. A lot of questions are centered around the horror and romance aspects, which is so much fun, but the selfish ambition of humans is a common thread that I’ve had such a great time exploring across all three of my books, and I don’t get a lot of opportunity to talk about it.

What advice might you have to give for aspiring writers?

I would say that the three most important things for an aspiring writer are to keep growing their craft, to read across genres, and to surround themselves with a community of trusted peers who are willing to be honest when necessary. Writing can be such a solitary pursuit, and having people in your corner who will help you grow is such a valuable tool.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

Currently I am in the copy edits phase of my third book, I AM MADE OF DEATH, which will be available in March 2025. It takes place in the same universe as The Whispering Dark and Your Blood, My Bones and follows a boy who takes on a summer job working as an interpreter for a wealthy society heiress who hasn’t said a word in fourteen years. There’s equal parts romance and supernatural horror, and I’m very excited to share more about it in the coming months.

Finally, what books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

Since we talked about deaf representation, I have to shout out Sydney Langford’s debut novel THE LOUDEST SILENCE, which will be available in July. It’s a contemporary coming of age, and it’s absolutely wonderful. As for young adult fantasy, my current favorite read of 2024 was SO LET THEM BURN by Kamilah Cole. It reads like the sort of young adult book that first made me fall in love with the genre back in high school.