Spotlight: Kimberly Keagan

     

Unlike many authors, I didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a writer. I was a good student and enjoyed writing book reports and research papers (history was my favorite subject!), but I didn’t wander around with stories swimming in my head. I did, however, wander around with my nose in a book. Literally. Bumping into furniture and people was a frequent occurrence. So was my mother having to repeat herself because I was so caught up in a story that I never heard what she’d said.

I grew up in a military household, and we moved often, which meant constantly having to make new friends. Books—and the characters living inside them—became my most faithful companions.

When I was thirteen, while visiting my grandmother, I picked up one of the many historical romances she kept on her bookshelf.

And I was hooked.

In my late teens (yes, I was young), I married my own handsome hero and, four years later, earned a degree in accounting—not exactly the most romantic field of study. Around that time, I took a writing class taught by a historical romance author at a local community college. Soon, I had filled a notebook with story ideas set in another time and place. I even bought a stack of history books for research (before e-readers). I started a dozen different manuscripts and finished exactly none of them.

Then we had two children, and writing was quietly set aside.

During those years, I discovered another passion alongside reading romance: genealogy. I became quite good at tracking down records and breaking through brick walls. I also helped friends research their own family trees. During one of my many historical rabbit trails, I stumbled across an article in an 1895 New York newspaper about the growing conflict between department stores and small bookshops. The idea for my Hearts on Display series was born.

Yet I still didn’t write the book.
 

2020 arrived. My children were grown. The world ground to a halt. Like so many people suddenly finding themselves at home with time to think, I finally became serious about writing. It took five years of studying the craft, joining author groups, attending conferences, and praying my way through countless challenges before I independently released my first novel, Perfect, in June 2025.

As for that unromantic accounting background? It turns out a detailed, analytical mind is a genuine asset when writing historical romance. I love diving into old maps, period advertisements, newspapers, and archival records—anything that helps build a world that feels authentic. And the patience and persistence required to work through financial reports? Those qualities have saved more than one story from the delete key.

On May 20, 2026, one year after publishing my first book, I published my fifth. 

 

Click on the graphic, or here, to go to my series page on Amazon.

When I’m not writing, you can still find me enjoying a good book or disappearing down a family-tree rabbit hole. I also love to bake, organize closets (yes, really), watch sports, and go for walks. Although I’ve lived in nine U.S. states, as well as Germany and England, I’m now happily settled in Arizona with my husband and an adorable—but very talkative—corgi. Best of all, our two grown children live nearby.  

One of my favorite things about being a published author is connecting with readers. I'd love to connect with you too! Look for me here:

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