Hello! My name’s Kelly Lenihan, and I’m a book lover, both to read and to write.
Growing up, I was lucky enough to have parents who designated a room in the house as the “den” — reserving one wall, floor to ceiling, for books — and in so doing gifted me with a love of books that has stayed with me my entire life. As a child, I worked my way through my dad’s home library, reading everything I could get my hands on, whether I understood the content or not. I even read the dictionary and encyclopedias when I couldn’t find anything else to read. In school, I spent as much time reading the novels hidden inside my textbooks as I did paying attention to my lessons. Shh! Don’t tell my teachers!
A curious child, I asked a lot of questions. To the point of annoyance, apparently, although I can’t imagine why 😉 Needless to say, when my parents had had enough, they’d send me to my room. Yippee! They thought they were getting a break from my infernal questions, but for me, it meant uninterrupted reading time. Win-win.
What I love most about books is being transported to other places, other times, other lives. I can go on an incredible adventure and meet amazing characters without ever leaving home or my comfy chair. To this day, I remain an avid reader.
When I’m not reading or writing, you might find me out outdoors with my camera, enjoying the beautiful northern Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. Nestled between the Olympic Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, there’s a vast array of wondrous places to go birding, hiking, or simply commune with nature.
I’ve written a lot over the years, but until now — other than a series of magazine articles, a stint as a newspaper columnist, and most recently, my food blog — much of it has remained unpublished. I’m working on changing that, one book at a time.
For several years, I penned a column called Kid’s Corner – focusing on multicultural arts and crafts and exploring gardening and nature through science and art, including hands-on projects – enjoyed by librarians, school teachers, and parents/family/caregivers of young children. You’ll find some of that here, and if you sign up for my mailing list, I’ll send out occasional special downloadable art projects that are fun for kids and the child in you!
Thanks for visiting and I hope you’ll stop by again. You never know what treasure you might find as my bookshelf grows…
Click on any slide to see that book’s details.