About Me
Keith Kelly was born on an Air Force base in upstate New York and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and spent twelve years working in the graphic design and print industry. He later found his calling in education and went to Jersey City State College,(NJCU) in Jersey City, New Jersey. He is currently starting his 20th year in the Jersey City School System. He is a Special Education English Teacher. He has been married for over thirty-five years to his wife Noemi and has two thriving adult children, a son and a daughter. Grand Master Kelly is an eighth degree black belt in Taekwondo and a fifth degree black belt in Doce Pares style Eskrima.
“In order to secure the future success of this world, we must nurture our children. We must raise them to be honorable and humble human beings. They should have the strength of character to move mountains but the compassion of heart to help those in need.”
HOW ‘PEACE COMES TO AJANI’ CAME TO BE
Peace Comes To Ajani originally was only going to be one book. At the time I was teaching in the worst grammar school in Jersey City. The area was economically devastated and filled with shattered lives and children filled with emotional trauma. The idea of the story was to show that people know children that are bullies but they don’t see them for more than that. Few stop to realize that there is a reason that the child is acting out. There was and usually still is some trauma that has occurred in his or her life that is causing this behavior. I wanted to write about a child that was experiencing that life and show that there are ways to make that life better.
After the first book was published I realized that I had more to say. I wanted to use experiences from my life and others that I know to illustrate how the martial arts can be a positive influence. And I wanted to write about a group of friends that were very diverse in both culture and personality. Friends that would always be there for each other despite the natural differences of opinion that occur. I believe in the African saying that “it takes a village to raise a child.” No one can successfully navigate through this life alone. It takes a support system of friends and family, or “framily” friends that become family. This is will be a six book series. I am currently writing the fifth book “Trials and Tribulations”. I hope that you enjoy reading the “Peace Comes To Ajani” saga as much as I enjoy writing them.