Erin Entrada Kelly: Early beginnings as a writer

“I started writing very, very young that was probably about eight years old. And, you know, I was reading probably Judy Blume, or one of those books, and I realized that, you know, books were words on paper, and I had a lot to say even at that age. Even though I was I was pretty quiet and introspective, but I still had, you know, obviously thoughts, feelings that I wanted to express. And, so I got paper, I got pencil, and I started writing my own stories. And I was really overcome with this idea of being able to create something from nothing that was uniquely mine. Where anything could happen. And that still motivates me to this day. And even now I start my first drafts of my books on paper with a pen and paper just like I did when I was a kid. So I’ve been writing since I was about 8 years old. I shared mostly with my family, you know, my parents and my friends. I also did my own illustrations, and I was convinced that you know one day, one of the publishers would just call me, and I would get all my books published just like Judy Blume, even though they were maybe like 20 pages in a loose-leaf paper and stapled, you know, and I would get cardboard and put cardboard on either side. So it would be like a hardcover. And I would tape the edges. So, yeah, it’s always been a part of of who I am.”