We were lucky to catch up with Kelly Conway recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kelly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

My friends purchased a Kindle for me and I always say it is one of the greatest gifts I ever received. I am a book lover, and Kindle opened up a whole new world of authors, genres, and stories that touched my heart. It also stirred a desire to write my own stories. For my first attempt, I wrote a book about my dog called, “Making Lemonade with Georgia Grace.” It sold very well, and I donated the proceeds to charity. I had achieved my goal of publishing my own book! I had hoped to do more, but life got in the way. Then in 2020, I lost my dad to COVID, and my beloved dog, Georgia Grace succumbed to her many illnesses. It made me realize that life is short, and if I had a dream to be a writer, I needed to stop waiting. To honor my dad and my dog, I chose the pseudonym Georgia (dog) and James (dad), and Romance Author Georgia James was born. I realized there weren’t many books featuring a realistic look at life living with a chronic illness. I found a niche and created the Chronic Romance Series.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a patient advocate, author, and speech-language pathologist. My patient advocacy can be found on As My Joints Turn: my autoimmune soap opera and at AiArthritis.org. My work as an author is under both my name Kelly Conway with the books, “Making Lemonade with Georgia Grace” and As My Emotions Turn: A Chronic Illness Journal.”

As Georgia James (my pseudonym) I’ve written a series called, “The Chronic Romance Series” featuring three books, Butterfly, Dragonfly, and Firefly. Each book features a woman at different stages of life trying to manage a career, and a medical condition, along with love and family. The books were well received and I am now writing a second series called, “The Sterling Sisters.” The first book in my new series will be released in the summer of 2024. My writing, once a passion project, has turned into a new career.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve had many times in my life where I had to pivot. My career as a special education teacher changed when a school I worked at needed a speech-language pathologist/SLP (I had my bachelor’s degree in speech with a masters desgree in special education). This pushed me to pursue another masters degree and helped me follow my bliss as an SLP. Helping people communicate has been an amazing experience over the past 25 years.

Being diagnosed with my first autoimmune disease, Graves Disease, started me on a journey I never imagined for myself. I was diagnosed with several life-altering diseases in my early 30’s that impacted my relationships with family, partners, and friends. At times, I felt lost and very alone. This led me to engage with other people like me on social media. I joined forces with people living with other forms of autoimmune & autoinflammatory arthritis and formed the non-profit AiArthritis. I began my blog, “As My Joints Turn: my autoimmune soap opera,” joined advocacy groups Capitol Hill to fight for patients’ rights, and was a guest speaker at global medical and pharmaceutical conventions providing the patient perspective and voice on topics critical topics impacting patients.

Twenty years later, and I felt the need to reinvent myself one more time. This time, as Georgia James, a romance author. I published the books quietly and never told a soul what I was doing. Eventually, a friend encouraged me to reveal my “secret” and to my shock, the books began to sell and I received support from family and friends. Now I’ve reached a new audience simply by telling stories while sitting on my couch. Why is that an important detail? My disease polyarticular non-radial graphic axial spondlyoarthritis is taking a toll on my body. I love being an SLP, but walking the long hallways of my buildings, the early hours, lack of sleep due to pain, and chronic fatigue are wearing me down. The potential work from home could be a blessing for my health.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

A memory that has never left happened in Kindergarten . I remember my teacher telling me that I wasn’t a good artist, but I tried very hard. For years, I believed her. In 8th grade, I drew a photo of a rabbit and I remember no one believing that I drew it myself. These two memories may seem insignificant but shaped the way I viewed myself. I didn’t see myself as having a creative bone in my body until I began teaching pre-school. There I began to draw and paint with my students and found out that I could indeed, be creative. In my twenties and thirties, I actively pursued creative endeavors of writing, drawing, and painting. My artwork is nothing spectacular, but I enjoyed every moment of creating it. It was writing that sparked my interest the most but it was also the area in which I felt most insecure.

I started with blogging. I began to tell my tales of volunteering in an orphanage in Uganda as a speech-language pathologist. People liked it. Soon, I began to blog about my life as a person living with chronic illness. People liked it. Blogging allowed me to hone my writing and creativity. I took online courses in creative, technical, and copywriting. I loved it.

In 2020, I lost my Dad to Covid. It was traumatic knowing he died alone. My heart still aches. I wrote several articles about my dad and a work colleague said, “I had no idea you could write like that.” At that time, I had kept my writing very separate from my work life. I decided it was time to reveal my true self and begin to publish stories I had been honing in a secret folder on my laptop for years.

The moral of this rambling tale, is that if someone tells you that you aren’t “good” at something. Work hard and challenge that perspective. Although this teacher’s comment made me think less of myself, it allowed me to wear many hats throughout my life: SLP, Patient Advocate, and Writer. Whether I am Kelly Conway or Georgia James, I always follow my bliss.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://asmyjointsturn.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorgeorgiajames, https://www.facebook.com/Lolabellaquin/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-conway-a93591b7/
• Twitter: https://x.com/lolabellaquin
• Other: https://AiArthritis.org

Image Credits

All photos by Kelly Conway