Kelly G. Williams
Kelly G. Williams has had the unique opportunity to experience firsthand the journey that transformed a small Virginia company into one of the largest food distributors in America. Food has been at the core of her life for over thirty years. Her travels have taken her all over the world and created a rich tapestry of food experiences and cultures that have shaped her philosophies on cooking and food production. She currently raises Angus beef cattle with her husband in Lexington, Virginia.
To learn more about Kelly, follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and visit her website.
To learn more about Kelly, follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and visit her website.
Books
The Princess Rancher
$15.00
Kelly Williams wasn’t born into ranching. Before she ever learned to ride a horse, her life was one of globe-trotting and high comfort as a national food distributor. But when her marriage fell apart, it set her off on a new path that would lead to open spaces, tangles of barbed wire, and the sweat, dust, and tears of cattle ranching. Through it all, the thing that remained constant was Kelly’s love for food, and her memoir serves as an ode to the ages-old tradition of the men and women who toil from sunup to sundown to put beef on our dinner tables. It’s a story of risk, reward, and reinvention that captures a disappearing, American way of life.
More About Kelly Williams
When Kelly Williams started her career in the food distribution industry, she never dreamed that her life would come full circle in the way that it has. A Chicago-native, Kelly started work at a large commercial bakery, and quickly moved deeper into the food distribution sector. She began working with chefs who were looking to better market their businesses. During that time, Kelly says she “traveled all over the world and ate in some of the finest restaurants the country has to offer.” Doesn’t sounds like a bad gig to us! But, Kelly wanted more. In working in the industry, she developed a unique passion for food, and after learning the ins and outs of its distribution, Kelly realized that understanding half of the process wasn’t going to cut it. And so, Kelly went from a life of a food distributor in suburbia to the life of a food producer on the ranch. Now, Kelly and her husband, Mike, run Painted Horse Ranch & Cattle Co. in Lexington, Virginia, and she’s never been happier. Kelly’s experience is detailed in her memoir, The Princess Rancher.
We asked Kelly Williams for some advice she’d like to give to fellow writers. “Commit to your writing,” she says. It takes discipline to sit down and write on a regular basis. Kelly is pictured here in her own work space where she's able to get away from any distractions and buckle down to write. She also warns against taking the editing process for granted. Editing can “make a good book great,” which is what we strive for here at Brandylane! In The Princess Rancher, Kelly used ranching jargon that was familiar to her, but it took an editor to point out those places where a layperson might have gotten confused. Kelly’s final advice? Read really good writers! Why don’t you start with The Princess Rancher?
What does Kelly do when she’s not writing? Well, along with operating a cattle farm, she also runs an AirBnB cottage in her hometown of Lexington, VA, where guests can design their own vacation! She offers amenities like a hot tub, massages, horse training, and farm-fresh meals. What an excellent hostess! Kelly is also always down for an adventure! A while back, she biked across half the United States with some fellow riders. From the West Coast, she pedaled her way across the Rocky Mountains and wound up in the central states. If she had had more time, she would have most certainly finished the trek across the U.S. But, of course, she feels lucky she got to do the hardest, most beautiful part.
We asked Kelly Williams for some advice she’d like to give to fellow writers. “Commit to your writing,” she says. It takes discipline to sit down and write on a regular basis. Kelly is pictured here in her own work space where she's able to get away from any distractions and buckle down to write. She also warns against taking the editing process for granted. Editing can “make a good book great,” which is what we strive for here at Brandylane! In The Princess Rancher, Kelly used ranching jargon that was familiar to her, but it took an editor to point out those places where a layperson might have gotten confused. Kelly’s final advice? Read really good writers! Why don’t you start with The Princess Rancher?
What does Kelly do when she’s not writing? Well, along with operating a cattle farm, she also runs an AirBnB cottage in her hometown of Lexington, VA, where guests can design their own vacation! She offers amenities like a hot tub, massages, horse training, and farm-fresh meals. What an excellent hostess! Kelly is also always down for an adventure! A while back, she biked across half the United States with some fellow riders. From the West Coast, she pedaled her way across the Rocky Mountains and wound up in the central states. If she had had more time, she would have most certainly finished the trek across the U.S. But, of course, she feels lucky she got to do the hardest, most beautiful part.
