Who I Am

I have been a ghostwriter and editor for 15 years. In that time, I’ve ghostwritten 20 books, including several Amazon bestsellers, and edited hundreds more. The authors I’ve worked with have leveraged their books to achieve their goals: attracting new clients, increasing sales, booking speaking engagements, transitioning to new careers, and more.

 

In non-fiction, I specialize in business/leadership, self-help, and memoir. For fiction, I am especially drawn to fantasy/sci-fi, romance, literary fiction, and short story collections. I love character-driven works, expansive world-building, and authors with something important to say.

 

That’s the what. Now let’s talk about the WHY.

Photo of me (Kelsey Adams) sitting in front of three framed artworks inspired by nature
My sitting in my older sister's lap as she reads me a book
My older sister always made sure I understood the important things in life (a.k.a., books).

I love books. Like, really love books.

From a very early age, books have been my life. My mom was an elementary school librarian, so I spent a lot of time in libraries. Many of my earliest memories are of long, lazy days at the library, wandering the bookshelves, discovering new reads, and curling into cozy, sunny reading nooks. 

One-year-old me holding a book and really happy about it
Heck yeah! A book! Sweet!

I believe books can change lives, because they changed mine.

Books shaped me as a person. They gave me knowledge, taught me empathy, and sparked a relentless curiosity. For me, more than anything, books represented limitless possibilities. There was always another book to read, a new world to explore, more ways to stretch and grow.

Me and my English Academic Super Bowl team at State Finals after winning second place
Yes, I was the captain of my English Academic Super Bowl Team in high school (state runner-up, baby!). Yes, I was a nerd. Yes, I was in marching band too. No, you don't get to see pictures of that.
11-year-old me being interrupted while reading at a 4th of July parade
Hey, I'm reading here! You mind?
My sister and I reading together at the midnight release for the final Harry Potter book
My sister and I, still reading together fifteen years later, at the midnight release party for the final Harry Potter book.

Writing is my passion …

I love puzzles. (Seriously, sit me in front of a jigsaw puzzle, and I’m set for the day.) For me, writing is like solving a puzzle. You figure out how different ideas connect and flow to one another, and then you click the pieces into place. It’s immensely satisfying work, especially when it’s collaborative. The best part of my job is having “aha!” moments with authors when we stumble on something neither of us would have found alone.

Me in college graduation robes at Indiana University
I graduated with honors from Indiana University with a double major in English and compartive literature, with a concentration in creative writing and minors in information technology and mathematics.

… and also my purpose.

Do I dare disturb the universe?

—T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

My senior year of high school, we wrote a letter to our future selves, to be delivered ten years later. I wrote only a single line: “Have you disturbed the universe?”

 

I never forgot what I wrote. It was a promise to myself, and writing is how I’ve kept it. Because I know books can change lives, and if you can change even one person’s life, you’ve sent a ripple of disturbance into the universe. That’s why I do this work.

In second grade, I told the newspaper I wanted to be a famous author when I grew up. I was also apparently writing a book entitled "Dirty's Adventure." Tragically, the materpiece has been lost.
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Let’s disturb the universe together!