Category Archives: Rob’s Posts

Rob Kelley here, at the end of a revision cycle for a manuscript due to my publisher in January. This is the book Critical State, which is now planned as the first in a series of at least three books featuring the journalist protagonist … Continue reading →

Rob Kelley here, sharing one of the weirder experiences of becoming a published author. As everyone knows (because I keep telling everyone, repeatedly), my debut novel Raven hit the streets at the end of October. Thanks to all of my fellow Maine … Continue reading →

Rob Kelley here, and finally, at long last, after years, I’m about to be a published author. Raven releases from High Frequency Press on October 28, 2025 in paperback and ePub (and later in November as an audiobook on Audible). I … Continue reading →

Rob Kelley here, thinking about Beta readers. Recently, Derek Cressman, a fellow participant in the workshop with the amazing Jeff Ford at The Writer’s Hotel conference in June, asked me to be a Beta reader for his next novel. I just … Continue reading →

Rob Kelley here, musing this week on short books that pack a punch. One of the things I really like about The Writer’s Hotel writing conference is the “Major Workshop,” a critique and craft group led by a senior writer. … Continue reading →

Rob Kelley here, and I was talking to one of my editors, Scott Wolven, after he and his partner-in-crime at High Frequency Press, Shanna McNair, did a joint reading of their two new books at Portland’s Print Bookstore in late … Continue reading →

Rob Kelley here, and I’ll start with a writing conference shout-out. I’m just back from The Writer’s Hotel 2025, held right here in Maine at the Sebasco Harbor Resort. The conference was wonderful, with craft sessions, readings by workshop participants … Continue reading →

Rob Kelley here, following Vaughn’s and Gabi’s posts this week and thinking about getting unstuck. I was stuck for the last several days on a book that continues to fight me. But I have a strategy, or at least a … Continue reading →

Rob Kelley here, thinking this week about the origins of our stories, but less “where do your stories come from?” and more “why the hell would you write about that awful stuff?” (I have a very dear friend, a kind, … Continue reading →

Rob Kelley here, thinking about scams and cons in fiction and real life. So I’ll start by saying a nonprofit I volunteer for was the target of a scam this last week. I’ll come back to that in a sec. Con … Continue reading →