Kelley McNeil
Kelley McNeil is the author of A Day Like This and Mayluna. Prior to writing fiction, she worked for over a decade in the entertainment industry. A native of Pittsburgh, she lives in South Florida most of the time but can often be found in London with a good pen, good music, and her two daughters nearby.
Instagram: @KellyLMcNeil
Threads: @KellyLMcNeil
Do you listen to music while you write?
Words and music have always gone together in my mind, and music inspires nearly every bit of writing I’ve ever done. I can remember very specific moments in time when a song began to play and suddenly characters and stories began to emerge in ways that were far beyond what I ever could have contrived otherwise. On a practical level, I often listen to the same song on repeat dozens of times in one sitting, which helps to initiate a sort of flow state that can be wonderfully helpful. I also have playlists that I use for writing my novels. The moment that first song begins to play, it’s like a signal to my brain that it’s time to write, and this can often be my cure for writer’s block or simply to help get the gears in motion. Those playlists often include soundtrack artists or moody instrumentals but can also include rock or singer-songwriters depending on what it is I’m working on. Essentially, I use music to evoke the emotion or experience that I’m looking to capture on the page. I recently spoke to a musician whose songs I’d listened to extensively while writing Mayluna, and he said something so lovely: “I’m delighted that the songs could be a companion to someone else’s creation.” That’s sums it up so beautifully.
What piece of clothing tells the most interesting story about your life?
I tend to be very nostalgic when it comes to objects. Anyone who has read my first book, A Day Like This, would not find it very surprising that I tend to assign a kind of life and feelings to the possessions and objects that inhabit our world throughout our lifetime. Clothing can sometimes fall into this category. I have a brown leather belt that I started wearing when I was about 15 years old, which is the start of such a fascinating period of growth and was witness to so many experiences throughout my early years. I have a pair of boots that I’ve loved so much I’ve had to have them repaired on a number of occasions, but they’ve seen me falling in and out of love, wonderfully happy and absolutely crushed. A lot of ups and downs and in between. They’re pretty important and I wouldn’t want to part with them. And I have a beloved dress that will forever remind me of those first precious years of becoming a mother, carrying a baby on my hip.
Favorite non-reading activity?
My piano has been with me for decades, moving from house to house since childhood, so it’s my go-to activity, along with playing a guitar (badly).
Are there particular films that inspire what you write?
I grew up loving movies that were unconventionally romantic, wistful, and heartbreaking at the same time. The Way We Were was my mother’s favorite, and so became one of mine as well. I think I’ve seen it a hundred times and the story sort of wafted through my early life like a perfume. I love everything by Christopher Nolan mostly because of the way he plays with time and science without losing the heart of the story and characters. I knew from the first time that I watched Almost Famous that I would eventually write a story about musicians and the people that inhabit their world. I also tend to watch loads of documentaries, particularly anything centered around esoteric or mysterious topics. Which – all together – sounds quite a lot like the personality of my writing.
Do you collect anything? What? Why?
You know those canvas totes that are so popular at bookstores these days? I started collecting them from beautiful and notable bookstores on my travels a few years ago. It started with Shakespeare and Co. in Paris and went on from there. I’m very selective about the stores and each one represents a very particular memory from a trip.
