3xA MA: Kelsey Macke

I feel like authors deserve so much from the readers. I believe that authors are people who really connect with us. It was actually an author who I "sorta" owe my life to. Authors and their words make us feel and they can help us.
In this event, I want to get to know the authors. I’d like to get interviews or blog posts about THEM in connection to their book. Who is the mind behind each author?

For each post, I leave links to connect with the author. Please take the time to use one of those links and leave a message for each author, if you can. It can be towards the book or it can be something as easy as “I love the post you wrote on Out of Time! <33”

I am so excited to have Kelsey Macke! Again, as you guys might've noticed from my banner, I'm really into music as something like reading. So cool! So when I heard Kelsey Macke was going to be doing a guest post for me and read it, I had a Nova Squeal. A Nova Squeal is like a regular squeal, but with enough squeal power to poison a small mammal; not that I would want to do that or anything.

Kelsey Macke in Show Choir

Most of my time in high school was dedicated to a sequin-encrusted vest. 

That's right. I was a proud member of our school's show choir. Here are five fun facts about my life as a jazz-hands-waving member of my school's performance pop choir.

5. Matching up dance partners was always stressful. You worried that the boy wouldn't be taller than you, or that he would be dating your friend, or that he would be unable to support your weight when you'd inevitably have to sit on his knee during one of the love songs.

4. Singing harmonies takes practice, and dividing up parts requires planning. That's one of the things that's most inaccurate about Glee. If we decided to just pop out a song without any pre-planning, we'd definitely end up with ten kids trying to sing lead and there's be a brawl over who's screwing up the bass line.

3. Getting a solo in show choir song means that you've got to walk the fine line between ego and humility. Everyone expects that you can sing the snot out of it if you beat the other singers for the privilege, but if you dare wave your hand in the air like Christina, just know that everyone is going to be rolling their eyes at you from the wings. 

2. Being in show choir is like being in the greatest club ever with your very best friends. You become family. You share dreams. Making music with other people is one of the most incredible human experiences. Creating sound together joins you in ways that you could never expect. 

1. Even when you have to wear sparkly vests and do overly simple dance moves and sing medleys of songs that your parents like more than you do, you'll never regret a minute of being a part of something so special. 

Are any of you part of a show choir at school? Or were you? What's one of your favorite truths about glee club?

Glee Club! I'm in middle school so we only have a choir but I hope where I go, I get to be in a glee club. Hopefully it won't have as much drama as the show, lol.

Thanks for checking out my blog and remember:  Be kind to one another. - Ellen

Kelsey's Goodreads | Goodreads for her Book | Twitter | Website |

Kelsey Macke has been creative for as long as she can remember. From an early age she was on stage singing, penning poetry, and writing notebooks full of songs. When the idea for her debut novel, DAMSEL DISTRESSED, popped into her head, she was undeterred by the fact that she had no idea how to actually write a novel. Her bff, the internet, was her guide, and after much trial, error, and candy, she finished it, and set out to get it published… a process far more difficult than, the internet (now her mortal enemy), had lead her to believe.

Her whirlwind adventure was made even more unbelievable when she signed with fabulous agent, Jessica Sinsheimer of the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency and, shortly after, Danielle Ellison of Spencer Hill Contemporary bought her debut.

This innovative, mixed-media art project has given Kelsey an incredibly unique opportunity to join two of her passions: writing and making music with her husband as half of the folky, indie-pop band Wedding Day Rain.

DAMSEL DISTRESSED, and the companion album of original songs, Imogen Unlocked, are scheduled for release in October 2014