In this episode, Riley and I talk about her upcoming MG debut Shay the Brave.
About Riley
In addition to her 20 years as a firefighter, Kilmore’s been a cop and a homeschool mom. She’s leaped from an airplane or two, sailed around the world, and with her husband of 36 years has raised six kids. After earning her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction in 2022, she won the 2023 West Virginia Fiction competition judged by author Ann Pancake. Kilmore’s award-winning fiction and poetry appear in many anthologies. Today she and her husband enjoy their sequestered cabin home amid southern PA’s Appalachian mountains, where they watch over a persnickety mare, a dancing goat, their blabber-hound, Oji, and their tuxedo cat, Spooky Nook. She is the author of the upcoming middle grade story Shay the Brave, available now for pre-order.
In This Episode We Discuss
- The importance of children having access to literature.
- Implementing agent/critique partner feedback.
- Her experience winning the West Virginia Fiction Competition
- Appalachian Noir
- Writing poetry and short stories
- All things about her upcoming debut, Shay the Brave
- Crafting memorable main and side characters
- Immersive world-building
- Riley’s number one tip for writers.
Book Recommendations
Click on any of the covers to purchase these books today!
Where to Find Riley
I want every kid who picks up Shay to discover, hopefully to their delight, that someone has dedicated a book to them.
Riley Kilmore
Amy Nielsen 
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