Kelly Peach has spent her career stringing words into stories. For 35 years, she has written and produced for news, advertising, nonprofit, videos, public relations and more. Kelly won an Emmy in 2002 for producing a local prime time TV special. For 17 years, she has devoted her writing talents to life-changing causes. She is currently Leadership Communications Director for Mercy (health care ministry) and previously devoted 15 years to the mission to end homelessness.

Kelly lives in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. This is her second children’s book; The Kitchen Bowl Gang was published in 2020 and illustrated by her mother, Mary Rae Stevens Reese. Kelly has written two Elvis novels: Waking Up in Graceland and Amazing Grace. She is currently writing her third Elvis novel that will conclude the series. All books are available on this website and on Amazon.

Introducing illustrator Maleah Eggers

Maleah Eggers has loved visual arts since she was a child, when she illustrated her own stories on stapled pieces of paper before she learned to write. In elementary school, she had a piece framed in the permanent art gallery and was part of a project in which students painted a hallway mural. She loves to work with different art forms, including watercolor, digital and her favorite, graphite pencil.

Maleah was in 8th grade when she drew the illustrations for this book. Now a sophomore in high school, she is a member of her school’s cross country and track teams. She even enjoys running in her free time, as well as baking and crocheting.

Maleah lives her in hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, with her parents, younger brother and family dog, Thea. She plans to take art classes in her junior year and is considering health sciences for college. While she’ll probably keep art as a hobby, she may start a side business in the future.

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About the illustrator (of The Kitchen Bowl Gang)

Mary Rae Stevens Reese’s artistic abilities began more than 65 years ago, when she designed the neighborhood’s best collection of paper dolls and fashions. The daughter of commercial artist John Stevens later became a nurse, wife, mother of four (including author Kelly Peach) and social worker. Her art expanded to sewing in the 1960s, and oil painting and ceramics in the 1970s. When she spent winters in South Texas in the 2000s, she took lessons in pastels, pen and ink, and watercolor—techniques she combined to illustrate this book.

Mary Rae lives in her hometown of St. Louis with husband of 28 years, Bob Reese. They are blended parents to eight, grandparents to 17 and great-grandparents to one and counting.

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