Kelly A Hartmann, Author

Kelly Hartmann grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island in the 1960s.  She has three adult children and two grandchildren.

   

As a young girl, Kelly always had a love for babies and children.  At age 11, she began babysitting and then about age 16, she became a volunteer at the former L.A.D.D. Center in Rhode Island, a residential home for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Several of her teen summers were also spent participating in the 20 mile St. Jude Walk/Run.    

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After her move to San Diego in 2000 and enrolling in business studies at Cuyamaca College, Kelly opened her online gift company, Kindercans, gift cans for kids.  She was especially interested in sending gifts to children in hospitals, and although her idea was successful, people requested donations for their hospitalized children but financially she was unable to afford to send complimentarily products.  With great sadness, Kelly closed her online company and instead opened a licensed daycare which she owned and operated for 10 years.  One day she hopes to reopen Kindercans as a nonprofit.  

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Kelly's passions have always been writing, reading, and research. Genealogy is her hobby, having spent 40 years researching her family history.  During this time, she also wrote many children's stories.  Unfortunately, these were kept in drawers, on the computer, and in her thoughts, but never made it to publishing.  

 

In December of 2015, Kelly suffered a medical emergency that resulted in 6 eye surgeries over the next 3 years.  It was then she realized her health is not guaranteed and waiting for the "right time" to publish was no longer an option.  Wanting to fulfill her lifelong dream of seeing her stories in print, Kelly made the decision to submit her first children's manuscript. 

 

If you wish to learn more about Kelly and how she became an author, please read her blog by clicking the pencil on the right-hand side.