Interveiw with Kelsey Bryant

Today I am very proud to present Kelsey Bryant

Hello Kelsey and welcome to Future Homeschool Authors!

Hi, thank you for having me!

First, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m 23 years old and live with my wonderful parents in central Texas. I have a newly married older brother; we were homeschooled since the beginning and really enjoyed our education. I love writing and reading, but I also enjoy martial arts, piano, history, classical music, card making, teaching, and studying the Bible. I’m an introvert but I really value people and find them fascinating! 

What’s your favorite book?

Besides the obvious answer of the Bible, there are at least ten books that lay claim to the title! If I had to pick one, I suppose I’d better go with Christy, by Catherine Marshall. It touched me powerfully and helped me in my walk with God, it was a heroic story full of realistic characters, and it was beautifully written. To me, those are the most important qualities for a book to have!

Who's your favorite Author?

Besides the obvious answer of the glorious One who created everything, I’d say Jane Austen. I love her books, her time period (early 1800s), her country (England), her humor, her heroines, her perception into society, and the intelligence of her writing.

If you could meet one person who would it be?

Yet another hard but excellent question! There are a number of people I’ve met online that I’m dying to meet in person and I can’t pick just one, and just about any historical author I like would be an absolutely marvelous person to converse with. But someone from the Bible would be … spectacular. I’ll choose Peter, since he walked so closely to our Lord!

Can you tell us anything about the book you’re working on right now?

I’m actually working on three books right now. One is the sequel to Family Reunion (Six Cousins, Book 1); the action surrounds a tour in England. Lord willing that will be published this fall. I’m co-writing a romance novel about Regency England (Jane Austen’s time period) with a friend, and I’m writing a mystery that ties together the early 1900s and modern times in America. The main character is a homeschool graduate.

What was the best part of writing Family Reunion?

Probably the large amount of self-expression I could put into it. Although I’ve never gone through anything much like the plot, I used some of my deepest thoughts, personality, imagination, experiences, even my feelings about the central Texas landscape, to make this story feel real.

How did you begin writing?

I think my love of writing began as a fascination with letters and words and how they created images and stories. I printed and illustrated my first “stories” (they were actually more like series of sentences) on stapled-together sheets of paper.

What inspired you to begin writing?

It must have been all those good books my mom read to me! Many of my first real stories or story ideas were based off books or tales I liked, like animal tales and fairy tales, followed by mysteries and books starring children.

What is your favorite genre?

Classics take the cake, but I also love old-feeling historical fiction of any time period.

Do you do any research for you books? If you do what are your main sources?

Research is one of my favorite aspects of writing, since I love learning and teaching. I would like to say I don’t use the internet, but it’s so handy! I always try to make sure the websites I look up are official, and I usually try to find two or more corroborating sources. But nothing beats a firsthand, published account of an experience I need to know about, like letters or travel books.

What do you like most about writing?

Words. The way they sing, paint, dance, and sculpt, the way they play off each other and make stories, images, and ideas come to life in our minds. It fascinates me that something physical like letters can form things that “live”!

Any final thoughts?

I’m so blessed that you wanted to hear from me. I really want to encourage every writer who reads this to give their talent to God and use it for His glory. Learn from Him and you will be able to share His truth with the world! Write all you can and you’ll keep improving; there are many places your writing can go and many people it can touch.

Thank you so much for all your time!

You’re welcome! Be blessed!

-Mikayla-