Kristi Keller:
Writer. Story Hunter. Professional noticer of life's weird, wonderful, heartbreaking, and hilarious moments. Because every life has a story worth keeping.
I've spent more than two decades finding extraordinary stories woven into ordinary life. Sometimes, while travelling far from home. Sometimes, right in my own backyard. Some were my best moments, and others, my soul-crushing worst.
One thing I know for certain is that storytelling is not a talent reserved only for writers—it's a way of seeing, knowing, and experiencing the world around us.
Story Hunters exists to help you notice the moments you've been walking past all along.
Helloooo!
I’m Kristi, and I used to have a website called “Written by Kristi.” It was very confused about itself and felt more generic than a no-name label. It severely lacked the oomph of a name like “Story Hunters.” I mean, if we have to compare action phrases, one is a clear frontrunner.
If you’ve arrived here without a clue who I am or why you came, that’s okay. You’re not supposed to know.
That’s why we toil over ABOUT pages and extend virtual handshakes like this.
And that is my dog, Dezi. She’s part of the package around here.
In a nutshell:
For over a decade, I was exclusively recognized as an acclaimed destination writer. That identity formed when I swapped my Canadian corporate grind for the high life and trekked across Jamaica 36 times.
But then the universe threw us a virus-shaped PLOT TWIST, and I shouted, “Alrighty then! There’s a new story here!”
After that, my writing became abundantly splattered all over the internet in genres I never dreamed I’d become friends with.
As a writer
You’d have to interview me five days a week for an entire month to fully understand the school of a writer's life as I’ve experienced it. Nobody has that kind of time. Hence, this website will lead you down whichever of my pathways you wish to follow.
As a creator of highly engaged communities
I believe the world is meant to be FELT and EXPERIENCED, rather than observed from the sidelines. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Whether readers, fellow writers, YouTube viewers, or students, my community breathes life into me! There’s no greater feeling than human connection (except dog hugs).
If we can’t physically reach out and touch a million humans, then sprinkling writing glitter around the internet is the next best thing.
What I know for sure is that writing changes lives, one keystroke at a time.
Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?
The REAL Kristi fits into the following boxes:
First and foremost, I’m a professional sweatpant-wearing dog mom who cleans up nicely when I have to present myself in public.
A total introvert. I have seriously considered leaving it all behind to go live Bunkie life on a lakefront somewhere in Canada.
World’s best tenant. Just ask my former landlord who used to send me a Poinsettia the size of a log cabin every Christmas for 7 years.
Oldest keepsake? The dance costume I wore in the opening ceremony at the 1988 Winter Olympics. It was -20 degrees that day. Only heroes were dumb enough to dance outside for free.
Coolest life event? Becoming a Canadian cubicle escapee and moving to Jamaica in 2011. Everyone should try recklessly abandoning one life for another. You’ve no idea what’s on the other side until you haphazardly find yourself there.
Most tragic life event? Shattering into a billion jagged pieces when the universe stole my son back without warning. Silver lining: I found a small dose of fulfillment in writing and helping others write through grief.
In short, my writing life has been a beautiful marriage of
journal books
laptops
thesauruses
checked baggage fees
palm trees
dirt roads
tears and laughter
dog hair and sticky rollers
and too many successes and failures to count.
