Blessings and Curses

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New Novel Explores Spirituality, Psychology &
Love Through The Eyes Of A Reluctant Priest
& Condemned Serial Killer

“A cleverly constructed Christian Mystery wrapped in romance, coated in spiritual longing, with a would-
be priest and a serial killer at its core.” –Chanticleer Reviews
“Blessings and Curses, is a powerful story about the compassion, kindness, and solace rendered by prison
ministries. The story is fictional, but it reminds us that the Leons in this world teach us many lessons of
compassion and how the work of these ministries can sometimes soften the hearts of the most hardened
criminals whose lives have been broken by experiences unimaginable to us. Oliva sees a miracle of
transformation in Leon and one of his final acts of attrition will change her life forever. The
happenstance of her being drawn into prison ministry is transformative to her also. Kelly weaves a love
story into her book of unsavory murders, prison life, and death row. Blessings and Curses, offers a taut
tale, creating believable characters and making the book realistic. A great read for lovers of unique
romance novels or books that offer a glimpse into the cruel world of crime and punishment.”
–AuthorsReading.com
“Blessings and Curses is a story of one woman’s journey toward a better understanding of who she is,
where she came from, and where she’s meant to be. When Olivia Douglass meets a death row prisoner,
she has no idea how their interactions will challenge her sense of grace and forgiveness. Judy Kelly
writes with a loving eye for the flaws that make us human.” –Lee Martin, author, The Bright Forever
Judy Kelly has written a lovely and engaging book about the curses and blessings we all live with – the
struggle to find our calling in a world too often corrupted by doubt, and the bravery to move forward in
spite of our misgivings. This is a story that celebrates the better side of human nature, especially in times
of crisis, and the spark of empathetic connection we must maintain between ourselves and the lost souls
we encounter on our pathway through life. Judy Kelly is an accomplished storyteller, and her work
shines with insight and a genuine generosity of spirit. –Clint McCown, author, Haints

Blessings and Curses is a heart-warming and heart-wrenching story about Olivia Douglass who is
ambivalent about becoming a priest even after she has completed seminary, because she believes she has
a curse over her. In order to help her find whether or not she is led to the priesthood, her parish priest
gives her an assignment – to pray with an inmate on death row.
The electrifying relationship with a serial killer awakens her and makes her curious about her own life
prior to her adoption.
Before he is executed, the inmate asks for Olivia’s help, and in honoring his personal request, she
stumbles upon something in her past that threatens to uproot her ordinary life and she desperately
struggles to hold on to her identity and self-worth.
Judy Kelly, in her fourth Christian mystery novel, writes with skill and intelligence as she builds up a plot
with a major twist. It’s a soulful journey not only of spirit and faith, but of love over hate. She draws her
characters with depth and passion, revealing life lessons from the twisted psychology of a serial killer.
Her book combines themes of romantic love, family bonds, religious aspirations, and coming-of-age with
a terrifying glimpse of genuine evil.
Judy will discuss the following:
 The flaws that make us human.
 How we can overcome our past.
 Why women can make great priests.
 How family troubles should unite us.
 How to forgive others, even those who hurt us deeply.
 How as a teacher, she drew inspiration for her book from high school students who didn’t believe
they were of value or had anything to offer.
 How death row changes people.
 The power of prison ministries.
 Why projecting stories of strong, loving female characters are needed.
“My book shows how many people come from a troubled background,” says Kelly, a former Atlanta
public access television talk show host and teacher. “Even though that is true for many, you can’t let
where you come from or how you were brought up to define who you are.”
About The Author
Judy Kelly is an award-winning author. Blessings and Curses was in the top ten Most Popular Books at
the Frankfurt, Sharjah, and Guadalajara International Book Fairs, 2018. Her first novel, That Ever Died
So Young, was a finalist in the Somerset Literary and Contemporary Fiction Award 2014: The Weekend,
and The Nun, published in anthologies. She has presented at the Fiction Writers Institute in Hagerstown,
Maryland, at Montgomery College, Germantown, Maryland and the Maryland Writers’ Association’s
Conference. She currently teaches a Fiction Writing Workshop at Frederick Community College
Montgomery College and is an adjunct professor at Montgomery College Germantown where she teaches
speech, reading and English. She is an active member of The Bible Museum, Library of congress,
Association of Writers and Writing Programs, and Independent Book Publishing Association. She is a
long-time active member in her Episcopal church, and also acts as a lay minister. For more information,
please consult: www.judycar.com.
Publication Data:
Black Rose Publishing, 246 pages, $18.95, Trade Paperback, ISBN: 978-61296-9893
Contact Information: MEDIA CONNECT
Brian Feinblum 212-593-2718 brian.feinblum@finnpartners.com

Judy Kelly
Q&A

Blessings and Curses

1. What inspired you to write Blessings and Curses?
I was inspired by my students who were from different backgrounds. Some were from other
countries, and some had problems in their life. These students had given up on their future. They
thought that coming from a troubled background where they didn’t receive the support they
needed, would prevent them from being better people. These students wanted to do better, have
more, get an education, but they felt unworthy, valueless and that coming from South America or
having a missing limb would not allow that for them. They were allowing society to determine
what they could be, rather than making that decision for themselves. One of the messages or
themes in Blessings and Curses is that only you have the power to determine who you will be.
2. Where does the title come from?
The title comes from the Book of Deuteronomy in the Bible. Deuteronomy is in the Old
Testament and its meaning the “second law” is the reaffirmation of the covenant between God
and the people of Israel. In chapter 8 we are asked not to forget the Lord God by failing to keep
his commandments, His ordinances, and His statutes. All the laws, statues, and ordinances are
laid out for us to obey. Chapter 30: 19-20: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today
that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your
descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that
means life to you and length of days, . . .” This book is very important to all Christians and Jews
really. It tells us how we should live. For me, this book offers a choice for how I will live my life.
Will I follow his laws and have a long, and fruitful life, or will I choose curses, not follow Him
and make trouble and hardships for myself. The Ten Commandments are in Deuteronomy also.
3. Blessings and Curses is about a woman who is ambivalent about becoming a priest after
she’s completed seminary. Why would one feel that way after going through her studies?
During my research, I found out that a good many people who enter seminary decide that they
don’t want to be a priest. Some don’t finish, some don’t graduate from the seminary and some do
graduate. In that group, those who do graduate do nothing with the degree. I was surprised at that
since becoming a priest is a calling.
4. Your story celebrates the better side of human nature. How challenging was it to pen a
heart-warming but heart-wrenching story?
I want to express the need to love everyone. I think, given what is going on in our communities
now, where people aren’t accepting some groups, and people are experiencing discrimination,
that we need to remember that we are all people, and that all of us, not just one group, but all of
us, must accept and love people as individuals. We must realize the value of a person and
understand a person’s circumstances. I wanted to express that idea in Blessings and Curses. A
belief in the concept and a desire to see a positive change made, a change that benefits makes a
story heart-warming. Looking at the opposite side of a positive change, or a negative change
makes a story heart-wrenching. I don’t believe that I have to write about things I experience, but I

must feel what it would be like in the shoes of another. Making a story both heart-warming and
heart-wrenching brings more depth, a deeper dimension, and meaning to a story.
5. Your book includes a moment where a priest prays with an inmate on death row, should
capital punishment be abolished?
It would be nice to just wipe out everyone whom we believe has taken another’s life or punish
people who don’t abide by the laws. But we all break the laws. Most of us steal. How many
people have taken home a stapler from the office, or rubber bands, paper, tape? You didn’t buy
those things, they don’t belong to you. Should you go to prison for that? It is stealing. Many
people behind bars have done something wrong. I believe that the prison system should do what it
was created to do – rehabilitate. We need to offer many more classes and work programs to give
inmates back their dignity and value and help them become contributing members of society. I
believe that many want to be contributing members of society. The money we spend on keeping a
person in prison is much more than the average person spends on him/herself. This is outrageous.
Why not spend that money more wisely by educating those who want to continue their education
and prepare them for the work world? Also we must realize that prison is a community and just
like a person adapts to a new country or community, an inmate does also. Some inmates may not
be able to adapt back to the outside world, again. So we also need to consider an emotional or
mental program to help some.
6. As the inmate asks the priest for help in honoring his dying wishes, she stumbles onto
something in her past that threatens to uproot her ordinary life. How does she desperately
struggle to hold onto her intensity and sense of self-worth?
I don’t want to give the story away, but my main character finds out something about herself that
could turn her down a dark road. She could choose a blessing or a curse for herself. Since we
have free will, it is up to her to decide what she was designed to do and the person she was
designed to be.
7. How autobiographical are some of the book’s elements?
She is the opposite of me. I wanted to create a strong character, someone who would do
something I wouldn’t do. I think I accomplished that. She went to a prison to pray with an inmate
who humiliated her. I wouldn’t go back after that, but my character thought it was her duty, her
responsibility to the inmate to return. She put aside herself and thought about the needs of the
inmate. Also, I think she is appealing because her strength makes her a little on the “Wonder
Woman” side to me. She represents possibility, ability, power, the ability to decide, the ability to
do and know what she needs to do.
8. How did you go about crafting believable characters and making the book realistic?
Recently, someone asked me about the scene were Olivia enters the prison for the first time. The
person said that she felt like she was right there with Olivia, feeling everything she felt and
thinking what she thought Olivia was thinking. Strong characters are created by allowing the
reader to feel, think, and fear what the character is feeling at the same time the character is going
through it. I want my readers to get close to all my characters, to know them like they would their
friends and family. Strong characters are people. I don’t create characters, I create people. I give
them a “wholeness” like people have. I select the characteristics I need, to make the person I
need, for the plot I want. I take those characteristics, select a name, and form a person. My
characters or people have flaws and try to cover up, make mistakes, and get angry just like
anybody else. I want the readers to relate to each one of them, to feel for them, understand when
they fail, empathize with them when they are sad, and root for them to succeed. I hope the readers
see his/her flaws and can turn those flaws into assets or characteristics that can work for rather
than hinder.

9. What does the reader learn and come to appreciate about prison ministries?
Prison ministries open inmates to the fact that they are loved and not forgotten. In the story, the
inmate couldn’t say it, but he didn’t want to die alone. Many people don’t want to die alone,
especially if they believe they won’t go to heaven. Prison ministry enables an inmate to see that
someone cares and that they are not alone. Groups are now going into prisons and teaching
prisoners how to read. Many inmates never reached high school. Some dropped out in elementary
school. You would not believe how many prisoners can’t read or write. Many were denied an
education because they were nothing but trouble. They teachers ignored them. A person who has
served his time can’t leave prison the way he came in. He’ll be back soon. Many groups are
seeing this. Their programs are helping inmates see what they did was wrong, but they didn’t
have the skills to do better. Blessings and Curses offers readers a glimpse of one man who
obviously didn’t finish school. The story should also help us see the value of an education.
10. How does the priest, Olivia, persist in working with a prisoner despite knowing he
kidnapped and slaughtered numerous women and children?
That’s the strength in her. She didn’t see the killer in him. She saw a vulnerable man who was
going to die and didn’t want to die alone. She saw that he could love and care for others, and she
saw that he wasn’t born a killer. If we take the time, we can see beyond a person’s outer shell. We
can see what they are hiding, how they are hurting, what they feel they lack, or the person
beneath the surface. We are called to love one another and take care of each other. One simple
sentence, that is so expansive, so wide and so deep that it can be so hard for some of us to do.
Yet, for some, it is so simple to just love others and take care of them. We see it all the time. We
saw Olivia do it.
11. Is the psychology of a serial killer too twisted for us to identify with – or do we understand
all too well the evil that lives inside of us?
Some believe that serial killers are born. Others believe that a person can become a serial killer
after going through a trauma, such as lack of love, watching someone take a life. But, the ability
to kill in most people happens when we or a family member is threatened. Ordinarily, we don’t
think about taking the life of another. Many serial killers come from really traumatic backgrounds
where they have watched someone in their family kill, assisted in killing or have undergone the
worse kind of treatment by a parent, parents, friends, or anybody. This is the life they see and
understand. If we encountered a person like this outside of prison, we’d be in real trouble. A
person can get so twisted that they can’t come back from it and that life is the one they lead.
Olivia met this man in prison where she was able to manage better.
12. Your book is really about the flaws that makes us human. What do we learn about
ourselves in your book?
We learn that we all have flaws because we all are human. But because we do, we can use those
flaws to make us better people, by turning them into assets. Some flaws are not believing in
yourself, not trusting others, or yourself, not telling the truth, being afraid, over protective,
ignoring things, jumping to conclusions. There are many and we all have many. In Blessings and
Curses, I want the reader to see his/her flaws to identify their flaws and see how Olivia manages
her flaws so that the readers can think about how to manage their flaws. Some flaws are foibles –
minor things that can be tolerated or ignored by many. But some halt the individual, stop a person
from growing.

13. As a teacher for many years, including your current work at the college level, what do you
seek to convey to your students when it comes to writing?
I always encourage by students to put their thoughts down, no matter what. Write what you feel,
write what you think, but if you need to do research first, then do it. I always let them know that
their thoughts are important and worthy. Encouraging students gives them security and helps
them feel better about themselves. Students will write when they are encouraged. I generally meet
with students one at a time and help them get out their thoughts and then organize those thought.

14. How does this book compare to your earlier works?
Blessings and Curses is a darker story than That Ever Died So Young. However, the concepts of
love, family, and the understanding of one’s self and a value for life are in both stories. I love to
write about people, their problems and how they can get passed their problems. That Ever Died
So Young is a story about a man who felt guilty over the death of his mother. He found a way to
turn that guilt into love and honored his mother. The two stories are very different, but we don’t
all have the same problem or the same type of problem. We don’t solve our problems in the same
way. I want to show my readers that loving one another and taking care of each other can be
done. It’s not that complex problem that we make it. We make it complex when we decide we
don’t like someone for a particular reason. Olivia looked in the heart of her inmate. She went
back to see him because she loved him. Scott was hurting because he didn’t love himself until he
thought about his mother and took care of her by honoring her through developing her project.
15. What message do you hope readers will be left with?
I sincerely hope that people, particularly women, who have been sexually abused will see that
they don’t have to allow men to determine who and what they are. A woman needs to determine
that for herself. We don’t have to be sex objects. I would like us to show our brain power, to
think, create and develop instead of wearing clothing that reveal our body parts that make us
more sex objects. Many women are talented and creative people. I want people to know that we
may be flawed, but we can turn those flaws into characteristics that are lovable and endearing. I
also want people to know that if a family member has had something tragic that happened to
them, the other members must not turn away and let the person try to solve it themselves. The
other family members are affected by the actions and behaviors of the one injured. The other
family members must offer support to the one who has suffered. Finally, we are called to love one
another and take care of each other. More than anything else, I hope that theme is clear.

Selected Excerpts

.
At The Prison
“Olivia turned toward the huge dreadful-looking mass of gray. A Bastille, a place of confinement stood
before her, the only home the man she was to visit, had seen in a long time, and the home in which he
would take his last breath. Standing in front of what appeared to be the front, she searched for the name
on the building, or some entrance sign. She saw nothing on the side where she stood. Beyond the barbed
wire fence and the many locked gates, sat a huge concrete box that though miles from anywhere, was
otherwise free of trees, bushes or flowering vegetation. Still, there seemed to be no way to enter. Just
about the time she thought she would have to stand outside in the snow for an hour waiting for Will to
return, people walking across the parking lot, some with umbrellas, moved toward her and formed a line
just outside what she discovered was the entrance. In about five minutes, two guards came and opened the
gates for the visitors.”
Confronting A Murderer
“Well, he is on death row, so he must have taken a life,” her father said. “Death row. You have to kill
someone or maybe even many people to get on death row, don’t you?” her mother asked.
“I don’t know,” Olivia said.
“I wonder how many people he killed,” Kara said. She took a sip of wine. “It has to be at least one, and
that one has to be such a heinous act that it’s unforgivable to the court,” her father said. He said it with
confidence, and gave a slight nod.
“If I were you, Livvy, I would like to know how many people he killed and how he murdered them.
Aren’t you even curious about that at all?” Kara
asked. She said it like Olivia was either crazy or stupid for not wanting to know more about his gruesome
acts.
“I don’t need to know that to pray with him,” Olivia said. “That’s right, the priest thing, huh? Well,
maybe I’m just being the reporter, now.”
Olivia studied Kara for a moment. The question of how many people this man had killed or how he did it
never occurred to her.”
We’re Just Getting Started
“Captain Johns opened the door and stuck his head in at the same time a loud, piercing intermittent blast
like that of a foghorn went off. The noise was so loud and intrusive that Olivia frowning, covered her
ears. She saw guards run by the door.
“Ms. Douglass, visiting hours are over. The guards have to take him back now.” Wesley yelled over the
loud noise.
“Naw, we’re just getting started, aren’t we, Sugar?”
“Hey, watch it. I thought we talked about what to say to her and what not to say,” Captain Johns said.
“Get him out of here.”
She heard the urgency in his voice and just knew something was wrong. “Come back tomorrow. Please,”
Leon said. “Come back tomorrow.”
“I can come back one more time.” As she stood to go, she had a strong desire to get out of there
immediately. The blasting of the horn and the
exigency she heard in Wesley John’s voice created an anxiousness in the air and in her; and she knew that
there was a reason they had to leave and that there was trouble with the inmates.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Leon. “Okay, then, okay.” He smiled an uncanny smile at Olivia.”

Meeting A Killer
“The room smelled like rotten meat and blood mixed with alcohol, along with other odors she couldn’t
distinguish. As she walked to Tony’s bed, she tried to keep herself from throwing up the smell was so
rancid. She had begun to think that seeing Tony was a bad idea until he managed to turn his head in her
direction.
“Hi, you come to see me?” he whispered, his face straining as he tried to smile.
“Hello, Tony. You don’t know me. My name is Olivia Douglass.” Olivia moved closer to his bed.
“You’re Olivia. There’s a chair, if you like.” He tried to point to a chair. It took all his strength, so she
grabbed the chair.”
Struggling To Be Understood
“The guards sat him down and chained him to the table as usual.
“You came back to see me, huh?”
He made it sound like she volunteered.
“Yes, you asked remember?”
He gave her a depreciatory look.
He needed to believe that she came back on her own. “I agreed to come back again,” she said, giving in to
him. This was his last week and maybe a little give here and there wouldn’t hurt.
He gave her a quick smile.
“Tell me more about your children, Leon. Can you talk to me about them?”
“You want to know about my kids? Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’ll help me understand you.”
“Nobody understands me. Sometimes I don’t understand me.” He looked around the room, toward the
guards, back at her. “I love my kids, every one of them. I know I favored one over all the others, but I
love them all.”
She heard something in his voice, a slight stop, a quiver.”
Let’s Have A Drink
“Olivia entered the dimly lit almost empty barroom. When she panned the area, she was drawn to a
woman, and a group of men in the back near the kitchen door. There, she noticed Kara balancing herself,
arms out, and walking on the edge of one of the long and empty steam tables, as if she were
walking a tightrope in a circus. Olivia’s heart sank. She would have given anything to know that Kara was
working on a story. Kara was dressed in a white, low-cut blouse and a skin-tight blue skirt that stopped
mid-way up her thin, but muscular thighs. The skirt was so tight that when Kara turned sharply to go back
the opposite direction on the steam table, she couldn’t take a wide enough step and almost lost her
balance. Arms extended and rocking sideways, she managed to steady herself before she tried to walk
again. A man dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, and who was sweaty like he’d just finished taking his run,
stood up to help her. He reached out his hand, but she ignored it. “Whoooa,” she said now bending over.
She eased herself up, and waved her arms. She suddenly stopped to give some kind of speech to the other
two men sitting at one of the tables. But Olivia saw it as “drunk talk”– idle prattle from people who drink
too much.
As Olivia crossed the bar and moved closer to the group, she saw another man in jeans and a jeans jacket
who seemed to be trying to get Kara down from the table, by standing beside her and running his hand up
the inside of her thighs.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” said Jeans.
Kara took his hand away, and jumped down off the steam table. She grabbed Jeans by his belt, pulled him
close to her and kissed him. She pushed herself close to him. Then pulled away from him and stumbled
over to the other two men, laughing and swaying.
“I need another drink,” she said.

Jeans motioned for the bartender to bring Kara another drink. The bartender shook his head. “No,” he
yelled back, “and don’t climb up on that steam table again.”
“She’s had enough. Don’t do that,” said the runner seated at the table.
“I just need another drink. That’ll make it all right. I swear it will,” Kara slurred out. The other men
laughed.
The runner at the table took her by the hand and sat her down in one of the chairs at the table. “I’ll call a
cab for you. You need to go home.”
At The Piano
“Come on,” he said grabbing Olivia’s hand and leading her toward the stage.
“Wait a minute. What’s going on?”
He sat her down on the bench at the piano. “This is a Praise Bar, House of God, you know? HOG?
Sometimes I play with the band. I asked if you could join us.”
“But, Wesley, I don’t know how to play anything. You mean on the piano?
Oh no, I don’t know how to play the piano.”
“You don’t have to. I’m going to give you something to play and all you have to do is play that
throughout the song, okay?”
“Wesley—”
“You’ll love it. I promise. And you’ll do well. See this is all you have to do.”
He began playing a simple scale and asked Olivia to play the scale with him, an octave higher.”

Summaries Of Judy Kelly’s Previous Book

That Ever Died So Young
Scott Kersey speeds off to the park’s bike and run trail to help his mother. When he and his father arrive,
Scott sees the police, an ambulance, and someone in a body bag. After realizing that the body in the bag
is his mother, he regrets the fact that he deliberately didn’t answer her when she asked him to run with her
that morning. Scott blames himself for her death. If he could just do the entire morning over again…if he
could just retrace his actions, answer her or go with her. Consumed with guilt, Scott feels the only way
he can correct his wrong is to bring his mother’s murder to justice. But can he? Other than guzzling large
pitchers of beer and whatever else at parties and bars, he’s never really done anything risky. Committing
to the task, Scott begins a journey of discovery and self-fulfillment. Filled with mystery, gentle romance,
and powerful suspense, That Ever Died So Young is an unforgettable story about a family’s struggles to
maintain their humanity and their sense of forgiveness. This wonderful story explores the complexity of
guilt and forgiveness and unveils the human need to seek truth and understand life.

Finding the Way Home
Finding the Way Home is a book of ten short stories that get at the raw emotions of each of the main
characters. These stories are about love, trust, and making a choice that leads to a different life – a life of
happiness and a different responsibility.

The Last Caress
In The Last Caress Elaine is called the hospital to see her dying grandfather who raised her after her
mother walked off and left her with him when she was five. Elaine and her grandfather developed a
relationship where he became not only her grandfather, but someone she could rely on. He taught her
how to play the piano and violin, and that she didn’t have to be sad become her mother ran off and left
her. He taught her how to love and be loved. When her grandfather asked her to come to the hospital, he
told her tat her mother was there with him. Elaine didn’t want to go because the woman who turned her
back on her, this “bad mother,” would be there. Elaine thought that she, too, carried the “bad mother”
gene and was afraid of her mother.