I’ve always been impressed with the folks who accomplish wonderful things, mostly out of the public view. As such, I determined to give these heroes a spotlight. My mission started years ago when I began writing about my career as teacher–relating the funny, touching episodes, as well as the troubling. My stories allowed the public a window on the actual world of teaching. I hoped young people would be motivated to enter that career for there was no career of my 3 that satisfied more.

My husband’s life-altering accident on a North Carolina mountain road led to my writing the Grandpa and the Truck books, about his trucker adventures, when he drove the big rig all over America for 30 years. Surprisingly, I learned no one had written a trucker’s tales before, despite the subject being ripe for storytelling. His challenges of icy, snow-clicked highways, crazy drivers, hurricanes and tornadoes, mountainous terrain were all fodder for our stories. Kids love our stories, as do teachers, parents, the men and women who drive those powerful beasts. Truckers are, indeed, America’s unsung heroes.

Our military heroes became my next focus. The first was my own brother-in-law, Rhode Island’s first Missing-in-Action in the Viet Nam war, when he was shot down in his Voodoo jet over enemy territory. That story led to recognition of his valor and helped in the long-awaited identification (50 years) of his remains, a month after my story ran. Now, Colonel Fredric Mellor will become one of a focus of national attention in the campaign to find and recover the remains of others who gave their lives for this country.

But I don’t just write of heroes. I write on topics I believe will benefit others. My latest book, Boomerrrang, tells how to be your own best buyer/seller of real estate and shows how your search for the perfect home might result in a surprising conclusion. And it’s chock full of humorous anecdotes leading one reader to say “Colleen’s book is laugh-out-loud funny!”

You see, I’ve had 3 careers in my life–teacher–realtor for another 8 years and now as writer. On this website, I hope to inform you and give you what I’ve learned in this life.

That said–If you have a hero you’d like me to focus on, send me an email at colleenkellymellor@gmail.com