Hiram's Gift

Nancy Kelly Allen's route to award-winning writing has more twists and turns than a winding mountain road. She worked as a social worker and elementary school teacher. When Nancy changed career paths once again and became a school librarian, the route led her straight to the world of children's books. Nancy spent her days reading to children and her nights writing for them. Eventually, writing led her down the trail to publication. Nancy's home is in Kentucky where storytelling is a way of life. Her father entertained the family with humorous stories, and her mother encouraged her young daughter to tell stories. The early influence of her father's storytelling and her mother's literary interpretations set Nancy on the road to creating worlds through books. She considers her love of writing a gift of the spirit from her parents. She has written over forty children's books and has a master's degree in Education from Morehead State University and a master's in Library and Information Science from the University of Kentucky. Nancy and her husband, Larry, live in the log cabin in which she grew up and they share their home with two canine writer assistants, Jazi and Roxi.