Bio

Elle Kelley, an aspiring mystery novelist, was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, IL. In her senior year of high school, she fell in love with the musings of Emily Dickinson and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Elle began her writing career as a reporter for the Belvidere Daily Republican in 2011. As a community events and sports writer, she excelled, earning two front-page features, including one Sunday Edition (above the fold). In 2017, she earned her degree in Creative Writing with a concentration in Fiction, and in 2023, she graduated, with honors, with her Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and English, while working part-time as a copy editor for the Roanoke Times.

While Elle is continuously developing new stories and poetry, detective novels are her passion. Her works in progress feature a number of professional and amateur detectives and investigators, including her current serial killer novel set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia. Today, because great poets continue to inspire her as she creates, she incorporates poetry, both original and classic, into her work, giving it a unique signature.

Elle’s active lifestyle includes running workshops, English courses, and soon, her first marathon. However, writing mysteries is what excites her most. The crimes, the villains, the quirky, yet brilliant crime solvers are inspired by stories she often comes across in courthouses, newspapers, and very odd dreams.

Elle currently lives in the USA (solve that mystery) alongside many of her beloved characters, including her husband, sons, dogs, and fictional detectives. Her first novel, Along the Appalachian Trail, still in progress, follows the reckless, Piper Hardwick, a disgraced investigative reporter with questionable motives and a blind spot for trouble.