Who is Behind Kidpressroom - KIDPRESSROOM

Who is Behind Kidpressroom?

It’s me! Kelly, a voracious reader, meticulous researcher, educator, and writer whose passion for books and children’s writing started at an early age—when I used to play teacher with my sister, cousins, and neighbors.

Perhaps as I was growing up, my mom instilling the love of reading in my sister and me, and the rich literature my school required inspired me to follow this path. By the time I became a teenager, I had refused to read teenage novels, and instead dove into my mother’s “library” and read adult fiction.

The Founder Behind Kidpressroom

Though I have been a freelance non-fiction writer for seven years now, the journey to full-time writing was a long one.

Coming from the tourism and hospitality industry, I got a Master of Science in Hospitality Management Studies and have worked more than halfway through a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education, both areas in which I have extensive experience.

Kelly SBBut, the spark for writing ignited when I was studying and working in the field of early childhood education. It was in one of those language arts activities in the classroom, working one-on-one with young kids,  that I knew I wanted to be an author of children’s books someday.

Life moved on until a few years down the road when the stars aligned, and I was invited to pursue reviews at Readers’ Favorite: Books Review and Award Contest, for which I became an official reviewer.

Incidentally, soon I undertook resume-writing projects, which allowed me to work with customers from diverse professional backgrounds, including education, services, business, IT, and the biomedical field. But honestly, do you know that feeling when there is something missing?

Resume writing was a great opportunity to get my feet wet, but the technical nature of the writing didn’t allow me to express my creativity. I guess you know what I’m getting here…Soon I was getting bored. But serendipity, again, worked its magic!

An opportunity to work as a content writer for a mid-size company came up, and that was when the course of my writing journey took a 360 turn.

Writing while learning the ins and out of marketing and playing with several tools provided me with the nudge I needed to set up a blog– a blog that started as Reviews by The Banks and, in the first quarter of 2020, was rebranded to Kidpressroom and turned it into the online resource that it is today ( Learn more about the website and its mission). 

Alongside this endeavor, I have worked on several book projects, including three children’s picture books, one non-fiction, and a flash fiction collaboration. Here is the timeline of what I’ve done and what I’m currently working on:

Book Publishing and Author Timeline

In June and July 2016, respectively, I released my first two children’s books in the series “Let’s Learn While Playing”The Adventures of Froblicious the Frog and Dinosaur Adventure: A Field Trip to Remember.

In June 2017, I launched the third book in the series— Giggly Bear’s Fun Trip in the Yellow Bus.

In October 2020, I re-launched the second edition of Dinosaur Adventure: A Field Trip to Remember. This new edition is full of exciting updates, including Language Arts Enrichment and Fun Facts about our favorite dinosaurs.

The Adventures of Froblicious the Frog, Giggly Bear’s Fun Trip in the Yellow Bus, and Dinosaur Adventure: A Field Trip to Remember are available at major retailers.

In May 2021, I launched Book Reviews: Understanding the Psychology Behind Them and How to Get Readers to Leave a Review: (A Perspective from a Former Reviewer), after years of research about the subject.

Also in May 2021, Dog Days of Summer: Flash Fiction (Shorts Flash Fiction), a collaboration with 17 amazing authors from a wide range of genres, came out to the world.

Now, I’m also working on other fun stories for the youth, including my first middle-grade novel.

Ways To Connect Behind Kidpressroom Site

At this point, it might sound cliche or redundant, but I’m passionate about the craft of writing… and I love books. Being adventurous, I also love coffee, movies, traveling, and everything healthy living (yoga anyone?).

I strongly believe that life is about balance, and another way I balance work life with mental and spiritual health is by working out. That said, yoga and meditation are a big part of my life.

You can find and connect with me on:

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn 

Pinterest

Kidpressroom Instagram

Instagram Kelly Santana Banks (Author’s profile)

You can send me a message here.

 

 

Brazilian-American, Kelly Santana Banks landed in the U.S. almost 20 years ago, and since then made it her home. When she is not “on duty,” she loves to indulge in the next best reading, exercise, and spend time with family and friends exploring unknown locations.