Kelly Parra, Author

Kelly Parra debuted into young adult fiction in 2007 with her Latina novel Graffiti Girl, garnering attention as a double nominee for the Romance Writers of America RITA award, a Latinidad YA top pick, and chosen for the California High School Reading Collection and National Book Foundation "BookUpNYC" program.

Her latest novel Invisible Touch has hailed fresh praise from bestselling author Laurie Faria Stolarz, and given the Gold Award of Excellence from TeensReadToo. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and co-author of the popular young adult blog, YA Fresh.

On a more personal note...

Kelly enjoys writing entertaining stories--a simple statement for a simple person such as herself. Her love of stories began visually through movies and television. She would cheer for the characters she grew up with, movies that in one way or the other left a compelling impression on her at a young age, such as Goonies, E.T., The Breakfast Club, Some Kind of Wonderful, Monster Squad, Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael, to name a few. (That is why she is especially thrilled that one of her books could one day be adapted for the screen.)

Once she discovered she could find those unique and memorable characters in books by V.C. Andrews, Nora Roberts, and many more, she was a goner.

Kelly strives to write stories that make readers feel, smile, to want to turn the page, or even shed a tear or two. Overall, she attempts to sketch characters with words that you might want to know in real life and to cheer on against the bad guys.

That's what she's writing now.

What Others Are Saying About INVISIBLE TOUCH

"A magical blending of mystery, romance, and deep and dangerous secrets. Kelly Parra's Invisible Touch is an action-packed coming-of-age novel, sure to keep readers turning pages and begging for a sequel." -- Laurie Faria Stolarz, Bestselling author of Blue is for Nightmares and Deadly Little Secret

"INVISIBLE TOUCH is a fast-paced novel that combines mystery, romance, and Latino culture with a paranormal twist. Action, suspense, and originality make INVISIBLE TOUCH a definitely thrilling read that will appeal to a wide range of readers. " -- Enchanting YA Reviews

"You are really going on a personal journey with Kara. You’re following her as she tries to figure out the signs, sure, but the whole time she’s trying to figure out herself. Trying to figure out how to balance the person she wants to be with the person her mother expects her to be. Trying to live a life where her father is remembered. Trying to eat the occasional forbidden carne asada taco. Trying to be more open with her best friend, to figure her brother out, to fall in love for the first time. And to a certain extent it’s about race relations, especially the divisions that can arise between people of the same heritage who are separated by economic status or location or the portion of their heritage that’s full-blooded. It’s about being in a gang, and then not being in one anymore. It’s about breaking free of what’s expected of you and reaching out for everything you want.." -- Kidliterate

"This book shows that when you're always looking to the future, you often forget to deal with the past. An amazing, touching novel that deals with big issues in an original context." Golden Star of Excellence ~ TeensReadToo Reviewer, Lauren Ashley

What Others Are Saying About GRAFFITI GIRL

"With characters as bold and exciting as the art they love, and an honesty that keeps them raw and real, Graffiti Girl shows us that the only thing better than discovering your talent is finding yourself along the way." ~ Jenny O'Connell, author of Plan B and The Book of Luke

"'Graffiti' a strong debut novel for teens - Five out of five gold pens for "Graffiti Girl.'" ~ The Salinas Californian Reviewer, Robert Walch

"Kelly Parra writes with the keen eye of an artist. Graffiti Girl is warm, gutsy, and true-to-life -- an unflinching, honest portrayal of young adults. A seamless and impressive debut." ~ Anne Frasier, USA Today bestselling author of Pale Immortal

"With realistic situations and lifelike characters who seem like they could jump off the page, the plot could have been based on true events. Everyone should read this book." ~ Reviewer, Book Divas

"The writing in the story was excellent, and the subject matter was fresh and interesting, making this story well worth reading. Kelly Parra is an impressive new voice in YA literature--keep an eye out!" ~ TeensReadToo Reviewer, Jocelyn Pearce

Memberships

Romance Writers of America (RWA)

Contributing essay to the forthcoming CRUSH anthology edited by Because I Love Her author Andrea Richesin, an anthology of 20 essays on the joys and pain of first love, to Ann Leslie Tuttle at Harlequin.

Announcing Film Rights Option: Kelly Parra's GRAFFITI GIRL, a struggling young Latina artist looking for acceptance is torn between two Latino boys -- one with a beautiful eye for detail and an upscale street address and the other who lives in her neighborhood and who uses the streets as his canvas, optioned to Lucy Mukerjee of After Dark Films, by Michael Cendejas at the Lynn Pleshette Agency, on behalf of Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency.

Announcing New Sale: Graffiti Girl author Kelly Parra's INVISIBLE TOUCH, in which a seventeen-year-old Latina anonymously blogs about her ability to see psychic images or signs on her fellow students and attempts to piece together the sign clues in order to help save them from unfortunate fates, again to Jen Heddle at Pocket, by Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency (NA).

Novels
Invisible Touch, October 2008, MTV/Pocket Books (Simon & Schuster)
Graffiti Girl, May 2007, Published by MTV/Pocket Books (Simon & Schuster)

YA Fresh
A fresh blog for readers of YA fiction for all ages, where we spotlight teen flicks, authors, and of course, books! Visit YAfresh.blogspot.com for great YA fun.

Honors
Invisible Touch
* Given the Golden Star Award of Excellence by TeensReadToo
* Recommended by Color Online for "Hispanic Heritage Month" Reading List 2009

Graffiti Girl
* Film Rights optioned to Lucy Mukerjee and Shelley Brown of Mukerjee-Brown Productions
* Recommended by the The California Latino Legislative Caucus for Reading Education
* Chosen for the California Readers 2009 High School Reading Collection
* 2008 RWA Double RITA finalist for Best First Novel & Young Adult Novel
* Selected by the National Book Foundation for the "BookUp NYC" program, promoting reading with middle grade students.
* Latinidad 2007 Best Latino Young Adult Book Pick
* Selected by a VIT (Very Important Teen) as a page-turning read in TEEN magazine. (Winter 2008)

For availability of Foreign rights/options for Graffiti Girl or Invisible Touch contact:
Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency, LLC
303.292.2805
query@nelsonagency.com