A Life Update
It’s been months since I’ve posted a blog, but I have a good reason!
In January of this year, I resolved to write more, and I started a blog. Writing has always been such a massive part of my life—and if you’re reading this, you probably know that in some way. I’ve been putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard as a way to share about my life (and get all my big thoughts out of my brain) since I was quite young. I’ll never forget when I shared with my family that I was back to blogging, my sister-in-law sent a text encouraging me to try creative writing, too. It didn’t seem attainable to me then. Because I only wrote about real things. About my life and the things that I know best.
But in March, I watched in wonder as someone I knew self-published their own book. It reignited my desire to write my own, so I quietly began typing away. I didn’t tell anyone outside of my family and a few very close friends because it felt so raw. What are the odds that I’d even finish it? Was I setting myself up for heartbreak? I learned later that several people had those same questions, ha!
I began writing in April and quickly started staying up past midnight most nights, lost in what I was creating. I was so energized by the process that it felt like writing a book was something I’d always been meant to do. Saying that feels oddly serious. But it’s true. The book fell out of my brain and onto a Google doc, and it never felt like work or like it was too much. I knew, as soon as I typed my first chapter, that there was no way I wouldn’t finish writing it.
It was joy and heartbreak and learning. It was writing, and editing, and then writing some more.
It was asking my wife if she had a minute to listen to a new idea I had. Or stopping what I was doing when a new plot twist popped into my head, just so I could write it down.
I can’t wait to do it again.
I’m an avid reader—but I quite literally had no idea what went into writing a book of my own. I just knew it was time to try.
And I did it. 97,000 words and tons of research later, and I wrote the book.
It feels extraordinarily vulnerable to share a book with the world. Maybe more vulnerable than anything else I’ve put on the internet (which is really saying something, lol). It feels like I’m pulling off a little piece of my heart and handing it out to folks, just hoping that you’ll take care of it. And listen, I know that the book is not going to be for everyone. Nothing is for everyone—but I am so, so, proud of the world and characters that came out of the corners of my brain. It was created with care and deeply inspired by the people I love and love me back. And if you read it, I hope that you may find some of yourself in there, too.
If you’d like to support me but don’t know where to start, I made you a list. 😋
Visit my website. You can find out more about my debut novel, Unclean, by visiting my website (spoiler alert: you’re already here!) at www.kellerhayden.com
Subscribe to my newsletter. If you’d like to stay up to date on all things book—including the cover reveal, release date, and more—feel free to subscribe to my newsletter by adding your email address at the bottom of this page. I promise I won’t spam ya.
Follow me on social media. I’m on TikTok and Instagram @authorkellerhayden and regularly post little snippets of the book over there. They are also linked at the bottom of this page.
And, finally, I humbly ask that you support indie and debut authors. Don’t know where to start there, either? I got you!
Brianna Curtis Sargent is the author of The Willows: a novel. I reached out to Brianna and asked if she’d read my book on a whim because I knew she’d written her own and would have great insight. She didn’t just read it, though. She very kindly edited the entire thing. If you’ve never looked into what goes into editing a book, you have no idea what kind of undertaking that is. It’s HEFTY. And she did it because she wanted to. There’s no way I could ever repay her for her kindness—but this is my small attempt. So please go support her by buying her book here. (And my sister designed the cover, so it’s a double win.)
That’s all for now! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your support. I genuinely can’t wait to get this book into your hands. 🖤
