Short Bio 1

Kelis Rowe is a stay-at-home mom and former homeschooler who writes Black young adult summer love stories. After a Twitter pitch competition success, her debut novel, Finding Jupiter, sold in a 7-way Big 5 auction! Kelis writes out of her suburban home near Austin, TX.

Short Bio 2

Kelis Rowe is a stay-at-home mom and former homeschooler who writes sweeping, classic teen romance novels from the points of view of grounded, self-possessed Black girls and the Black teen boys who just gotta love ‘em. Her debut novel, Finding Jupiter, is a contemporary literary romance about a James Taylor and Beyoncé fan and a champion swimmer bonding through shared grief and falling in love one fateful summer. It incorporates journal pages of art and found poetry from the pages of classic novels including The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God. Kelis writes out of her suburban home near Austin, TX.

Long Bio

Kelis Rowe is a James Taylor and Beyoncé fan who writes Black young adult summer love stories. She graduated from Central High School in Memphis, TN as an Honors Student and applied to college the summer after graduation only because she found out she exceeded the height limit to be a flight attendant for NW Airlines, which had been her dream job. She graduated from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, TN with a B.A. in psychology and an MRS. courtesy a geek from the Engineering School. She worked in market research (and played as a blogger) for seven years before becoming a stay at home mom and homeschooler. The year after her son enrolled in public middle school, she finished her first novel, Finding Jupiter, about a James Taylor and Beyoncé fan. The next year, she sold it in a 7-way Big 5 auction, had a baby, and started writing her second novel. She writes out of her suburban home near Austin, TX, or a rented co-working space if she feels like putting on outside clothes that day. 

For more information, please visit Kelis at KelisRowe.com or on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook @TheeKelisRowe

Author Statement

Hi!  I live in Austin, Texas (but the suburbs) with my husband, teenager and toddler. I grew up in Memphis, where I had my big love (now The Husband) as a teenager. I did not see young Black love reflected in the pages of Young Adult novels back then, nor at the time I started writing Finding Jupiter. Now I write sweeping, classic teen romance novels from the points of view of grounded, self-possessed Black girls and the Black teen boys who just gotta love ‘em.  

My debut novel, Finding Jupiter is a literary Young Adult romance about two Memphis teens experiencing first love one fateful summer. 

XO, Kel

Finding Jupiter Long Summary 1

Finding Jupiter is a young adult classic literary romance about a poet and a champion swimmer who bond over shared grief and fall in love one Memphis Summmer.

Ray finds solace in the treehouse her father built for her before she was born where she creates poetry and art from old discarded library books. She’s grown up in the shadow of her fathers death in the car crash in which she was born, and because she sees the void it left inside her mother, she decides that the cost of love isn’t worth it and keeps boys, friends and everyone at arm’s length. Until she meets Orion who finds his way to her heart. Orion wears his heart on his sleeve and loves hard. Things get complicated when he begins to find his own voice that conflicts with who his father wants him to be.

Finding Jupiter examines paternal conditional love and absence and how it affects the way young people show up in life and in love. It includes journal pages of art and Blackout poetry from classic novels including The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God. It’s a bright addition to the growing canon of contemporary stories about Black American teens that center their humanity and not Black American trauma. Finding Jupiter is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

Finding Jupiter Long Summary 2

Sparks fly when Orion and Ray meet for the first time at a roller rink in Memphis. But these star-crossed souls have a past filled with secrets that threaten to tear them apart before their love story even begins. Found poetry, grief, and fate collide in this powerful debut. 

Ray: Just once I’d like my birthday to be about me, and not the day my father died. I want to be Ray Jr., the tall girl from Memphis with the poetry beats and the braids that stay poppin’. And when I meet Orion at the skating rink, that’s exactly who I am. He pulls my hand, and instead of being defined by my past, he races me toward my future.

Orion: When I dive into the pool, it’s just me and my heartbeat. There’s no dad, no dead sister, and no distracting noises. But I can’t hold my breath forever. And since I met Ray, I don’t want to. The closer we get, though, the more I see I’m not the only one caught in her wake.

With a lyrical blend of found poetry and poignant prose and the addition of black and white illustrations, this stunning debut captures young Black love and a decades-old family secret that may shatter a romance that feels written in the stars.

Finding Jupiter Short Summary 1

Finding Jupiter is a timeless love story set in Memphis, Tennessee. Sparks fly when Orion and Ray meet for the first time at a roller rink in Memphis. But these star-crossed souls have a past filled with secrets that threaten to tear them apart before their love story even begins.

Love can change everything, but is it enough to rewrite the past? Blackout poetry from classic novels like The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God, grief, and fate collide in this powerful debut. Perfect for fans of Everything Everything, Love and Basketball, All The Things We Never Knew, and Beyoncé.

Finding Jupiter Short Summary 2

Finding Jupiter is a young adult classic literary romance about a poet and a champion swimmer who bond over shared grief and fall in love one Memphis Summmer.

7 Things To Know About Kelis Rowe

(Adapted from Female First UK- here)

1. I did things late-ish, and that’s okay. I had my first baby at 30. I started writing my first book at 39. Sold it the same year I had another baby at 42. Please, if you see a life for yourself that looks different than your life today, keep visualizing it and dreaming about it until the visions turn into actions toward that life. If it’s a deep desire that feels like it’s been with you forever, that’s your purpose. Get after it!

2. I have social anxiety, and that’s okay too. I was so excited to get to high school when I didn’t have to eat in the cafeteria. I’d eat under the stairs outside or share poetry in a more intimate dim space of the theater with the other artsy kids. I’m a fish out of water most places, but my life is full of friends and invitations. Do I accept the invitations? Yes, a lot of the times. Do I need at least two days of solitude and silence to recover? Sure! Do I get those two days? Sometimes. Now, as a published author, I’m going to have to do a lot more socializing, but interacting with readers, especially teen readers, who are touched by the book that I wrote for them is worth the amount of growth it’s going to take me to keep writing for them. This is my dream and it requires growth and I’m here for it.

3. I love Beyoncé. I really, really love Beyoncé. Aside from being Queen of my zodiac sign, she creates art with intention and meaning that is often clearly meant to embrace, uplift and inspire Black and marginalized people, yet it embraces and inspires her fans from all walks of life. Goals.

4. I love James Taylor. When I was a little kid in the 80’s, I saw him singing “Jellyman Kelly” on Sesame Street. It was the combination of his voice, his nice-person face, the silly song— whatever it was I was hooked. There was a black girl sitting right next to him singing along and I was so jealous. His Greatest Hits cassette tape was the first music I purchased when my brother got me a boom box in middle school. I attend his concerts solo, because I don’t know anyone who loves him as much as me and you are not welcome unless you stand and sing along to everything- don’t kill my vibe. The main character in my book is listening to James Taylor and Beyoncé in key scenes in Finding Jupiter.

5. I always wanted a treehouse. There was a towering oak tree in the middle of our massive backyard and my siblings and I always wanted a treehouse in it. We never got one, but the main character in my book has one that is sacred. She also lives in the neighborhood and house I grew up in. So I kinda sorta finally got my treehouse. Did I mention that I wrote the book of my dreams?

6. I’m 6’2” barefoot. I’m from a tall family— the shortest person in my family is 5’10”, the tallest one is 6’6”. When you see me in person, you’ll probably comment on my height, which is fine. But to save you the trouble: Yes, I played basketball but only recreationally. Yes, it feels great towering over most people in the room like an Amazon warrior queen, especially wearing 3-inch heels. Sure! I’ll grab that item for you off the top shelf, my pleasure.

7. When I was 20, I was an opener at the busiest Starbucks in Washington D.C. at the time, Dupont Circle. I arrived at 4 AM and left so happy at 11 AM. It’s located right in the middle of two subway stops, so from the time the doors opened, cups and espresso and bagels were flying non-stop. There was a regular who lived in the apartment on top of the store whom I envied. I lived for my break, because people-watching through the corner window of a sun-drenched, bustling Starbucks on Dupont Circle in Washington D.C. is *chef’s kiss*. I was in D.C. for two seasons on mental health break from college and living with my sister in a condo a block away. I loved working at Starbucks and it’s the only job that I’ve ever had…ever…that I would do again if I had to.