Meet Kathleen Reid

Timeline for Kathleen Reid

1964—In Houston, Texas, Kathleen is the fifth kid and youngest daughter born to James and Dorothy Flood. She grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Her father was a successful Washington lawyer and her mother was superwoman singlehandedly raising six children (James, Maureen, Sharon, Jean Ann and Thomas.)

1976—Kathleen writes her first short story in 6th grade at Chevy Chase Elementary School and dreams of becoming a writer. She reads everything she can get her hands on. Her older sister Maureen experiments with becoming a hairdresser and cuts all of Kathleen’s hair off into a pixie cut. Her popularity plummets.

1981—A student at the Madeira school, she has an English class with visiting Harvard professor Holly Weeks who flunks the class on a paper about the Odyssey. Kathleen rewrites the paper and gets an A. Ms. Weeks helps Kathleen define her concise writing style.

1984—While at Mount Holyoke, Kathleen is inspired by Pulitzer Prize winner William S. McFeeley, author of Grant: A Biography; he encourages her research and writing skills! The 80’s were some really bad hair and fashion and she recalls dancing to Michael Jackson and Madonna. In the meantime, she receives a special grant to study at the International Economic Policy Association and later, another grant to work at the Federal Election Commission.

1989—After deciding against law school, Kathleen goes to work for a financial consulting firm headquartered in Washington, DC; she becomes the national Director of Marketing. She writes all of the firm’s marketing materials and handles corporate clients who are mostly lawyers. Her articles are published in the National Trial Lawyer. On nights and weekends, she writes fiction and continues to dream of becoming a novelist.

May 2, 1992—Kathleen marries Bagley Reid and moves to Richmond, Virginia. Bagley graduated from the University of Virginia; she now cheers on the Hoo’s regularly at football and basketball games.

December 30, 1994—Ellie Reid is born with a full head of brown hair and bright blue eyes.

June 3, 1997—Susanna Reid arrives with strawberry blond hair which later becomes a halo of curls. The name “Curly Q” turns into “Suzy Q.” She doesn’t sleep through the night for two years so those early years are a blur . . .

In between driving carpools, running errands and caring for her family, Kathleen volunteers her time and also serves on numerous community boards: Junior Board of Sheltering Arms Rehabilitation Hospital, the Junior League, the Richmond Ballet Council, the Richmond Symphony, and the James River Garden Club. She becomes a docent for the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. She also helps raise community awareness for ChildFund International.

She continues to take writing workshops and pursues her dream. Somewhere in there, she writes a children’s book about a rooster and a hen coming to life in an art museum and speaks to school kids across the state of Virginia, teaching them about fine art in a fun and creative way.

2002—Kathleen wins an award at a writer’s workshop and lands her first agent and book deal.

2004—Paris Match is published and called a “stellar” debut by bestselling author Adriana Trigiani and then in 2008, A Page Out of Life is released by Penguin Books. She gets her first national press in USA Today and Good Housekeeping Magazine. She adopts her yellow lab named Jackson.

2010—Kathleen runs the Richmond Marathon to celebrate her 45th Birthday!

December 2010—Carol Daniels, Publisher and President of Wakestone Press, reads Kathleen’s fiction and asks her to submit a proposal for the Legacy Series project which would make history approachable for young adults. The goal—make the book read like a novel. GO TJ!

May 2012—Bagley gives Kathleen a labradoodle puppy named Bella for their 20th Wedding Anniversary. She is currently adjusting to having two teenagers, an aging lab and a very boisterous puppy who now chews her shoelaces while she writes!

May 24, 2012—Official launch of First Friend Thomas Jefferson! This project is the product of 18 months of intense research and writing—a real labor of love!