CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A UNC Charlotte professor is celebrating a bold new chapter after she used extra time during COVID-19 to become a published author on a topic that’s making some people blush.
The gender studies professor created a strong heroine that has people talking. And wait until you hear where her inspiration came from for this new revenue stream.
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.
Kelly Finley has been teaching at UNC Charlotte for 20 years, mostly focused on gender studies. But during the pandemic, she started working on something else.
“I just started typing. This story kept waking me up at 4 in the morning, this heroine was talking to me,” Finley said.
Finley has an English degree but said she hadn’t written anything creative in decades and yet suddenly a novel was pouring out of her.
“I became obsessed and I didn’t stop for over a year," she said.
She ended up with a three-book series all centered around an unlikely hero. A heroine actually, who’s former military and now working as a bodyguard.
“I think a lot of women want to read the same thing, they want to read characters who are complex and strong like they are, who are not intimidated," she explained.
She said the character is partially based on one of her students.
But she said she had all of her students on her mind when the concept started to take shape in the months after the deadly shooting on campus.
“This sense of what would I do if something were to happen and we were being trained that way as faculty, how to get them out and all of a sudden I feel like a bodyguard," she said.
She said she’s grateful for the positive feedback.
“Reviewers are calling it romantic suspense at its finest which I’m excited about! It’s very steamy and sexy and that’s the thing, oftentimes when you have these stories the heroine is not allowed to have a powerful romance at the same time- It’s an either-or,” she said.
And the veteran college professor said she’s grateful for the wisdom that comes with age that’s allowed her to take this leap.
“It’s humbling to start all over," she said. "I’m 49 and I’m starting a whole new career and putting myself out there.”
She’s still holding on to her day job. Still teaching at UNC Charlotte but also has more books already in the works. Two of the three are out now and the third will be released next month.
Contact Michelle at mboudin@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
WCNC Charlotte is part of seven major media companies and other local institutions reporting on and engaging the community around the problems and solutions as they relate to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a project of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, which is supported by the Local Media Project, an initiative launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with support from the Knight Foundation to strengthen and reinvigorate local media ecosystems. See all of our reporting at charlottejournalism.org.