Your first draft is never final. Award winning mystery author Kellye Garrett knows that all too well. But there are some things she isn't willing to change, like centering Black women characters in her lighter weight cozy mysteries. It created challenges to getting an agent and getting published, but now her work is being widely recognized. When she didn’t see more people like her getting a chance in the genre, she co-founded the group Crime Writers of Color that now has hundreds of members and is helping diversify the industry.In this episode Kellye discusses her writing process while having a day job, tips for getting published, and how the community she co-founded is creating many more opportunity for others. About Kellye:https://linktr.ee/kellyekellKellye Garrett is the acclaimed author Like A Sister (Mulholland Books/Simon & Schuster UK) suspense novel in which no one bats an eye when a disgraced reality TV star is found dead in the Bronx—except her estranged half-sister, whose refusal to believe the official story leads her on an increasingly dangerous search for the truth. In addition to being featured on the TODAY show, the suspense novel was a Book of the Month April 2022 selection, the Oxygen channel’s July Book Club pick, an Edgar award finalist for Best Novel and Lefty award winner for Best Mystery.She’s also the author of the Detective by Day mysteries about a semi-famous, mega-broke black actress who takes on the deadliest role of her life: Private Detective. The first, Hollywood Homicide, won the Agatha, Anthony, Lefty and Independent Publisher “IPPY” awards for best first novel and was named one of BookBub’s Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time. The second, Hollywood Ending, was featured on the TODAY show’s Best Summer Reads of 2019 and was nominated for both Anthony and Lefty awards. Prior to writing novels, Kellye spent eight years working in Hollywood, including a stint writing for Cold Case. She is a former member of the Sisters in Crime Board of Directors and is a co-founder of Crime Writers of Color, which received the 2023 Raven Award from MWA.

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