Meet Kellie McIntyre | Author, Speaker, & Traveler

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kellie McIntyre and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kellie, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
In 2013, my husband, two daughters, and I packed one suitcase each and embarked on a journey around the world. While it was the best decision we ever made, I never had plans to write a book. But as we all know, 2020 wrecked existing plans and forced everyone to pivot into unexpected territories. Parents became teachers. Employees became Zoom experts. I became an author.

The Dumpster-fire summer of 2020 lit a fire in me to share our story. As the world imploded, I felt a calling to create something that would unify people rather than divide them. Since people always say to write what you know, I decided to start there. I know two things:

1) Travel erases the lines that divide us. It is the best way to develop an appreciation for freedom and diversity, and
2) Anyone who survives 24/7 family time while hopscotching across the globe has a story to tell.

But instead of writing another ’round-the-world memoir for adults, I thought it would be far more entertaining to share our story from my (then) 14- and 12-year-old daughters’ perspectives.

Why? Because you can take the kids out of middle school, but you can’t take the middle school out of kids. They were dealing with all the normal angst of adolescence—but instead of navigating zits, cliques, and crushes, they had to navigate new countries, cultures, and religions. That is a hilarious-and-harrowing combination.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We are a family of travelers who set out to explore six continents together before our daughters finished high school. Our mission to give our daughters a global education through experiential learning led to two family sabbaticals: the first during middle school, and the second at the end of high school.

What started out as a family goal turned into a first-class education from economy seats. And that education has turned into THE PASSPORT PROJECT: TWO SISTERS DITCH MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR A LIFE-CHANGING JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD, a young adult travelogue about the lessons that can only be learned when we leave our “bubble.”

THE PASSPORT PROJECT is the first ’round-the-world memoir written for teens and tweens. I hope it broadens worldviews and inspires readers to travel boldly.

Writing a compelling story that people want to read is the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. After receiving 85(!) rejections from agents, I assembled a team including three editors and a cover designer. Then I revised, revised, and revised some more. I launched my book independently last March, and the response has been overwhelming.

THE PASSPORT PROJECT has made its way into homeschools, public schools, state reading lists, and book clubs. I am most proud that it is a recommended resource by the Foreign Service Institute for our nation’s foreign service families. But the most rewarding part of all? Getting emails and messages from readers young and old about how our story changed their lives.

If you have a dream or a calling, don’t let 85 rejections get in your way. The world needs what only you can offer!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I credit Colorado for sparking my wanderlust. I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee and rarely traveled anywhere other than the Gulf Coast. When I was in the 5th grade, our school partnered with a school in Greeley and created a Tennessee-Colorado exchange program. Our school visited Colorado in the fall, and the Greeley students visited Nashville in the spring. It was my first time to travel west of the Mississippi River.

My Greeley host family had a daughter named Diane with curly blonde hair. I don’t remember their last name (possibly Long?). But I do remember my week visiting an American Indian reservation, a taxidermist, and a livestock auction—where our teachers gave us strict instructions to sit on our hands and not move, or we might be going home with a cow!

That week in Colorado when I was 10 years old made me want to see as much of the world as possible. I now split my time between Alabama and Colorado’s year-round playground, Summit County.

P.S. If anyone knows Diane from Greeley who was in the 5th grade in 1979, I’d sure love to hear from her!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Great question! How much print space do you have? Seriously, there is no way I can adequately acknowledge all of the people who played a role in bringing our story to life. There are three pages of acknowledgements in the back matter of THE PASSPORT PROJECT. But I’ll name a few of them.

First, my husband, Dale, and especially my daughters, Delaney and Riley. They allowed me to accurately portray their characters—complete with their adolescent angst and attitude.

Next, are the beta readers—parents, teachers, and teens—who gave me feedback prior to publication. Many teachers have become champions of our story by incorporating THE PASSPORT PROJECT into social studies curriculums and nominating it for state reading lists.

However, there is one Colorado resident who deserves special recognition: Erin Arcand of Gray Owl Editing. Erin was the icing-on-the-cake for my book. Prior to working with Erin, I had worked with two other editors on manuscript critiques. After incorporating their feedback, I sent my manuscript to Erin for her feedback (naively believing there was little room for improvement). Wow! Even after working with two other editors, the feedback and suggestions that Erin gave were outstanding. Without a doubt, Erin helped me turn a good manuscript into a meaningful story.

Website: 4WornPassports.com

Instagram: 4WornPassports

Linkedin: KellieFMcIntyre

Facebook: 4 Worn Passports

Other: https://www.amazon.com/Passport-Project-Sisters-Life-Changing-Journey/dp/1737743817

Image Credits
The only photo that needs an image credit is the one where I’m presenting at a school assembly. The image credit is: Vestavia Hills City Schools.