Six weeks and three hundred hours
The first book was written and illustrated at the same time, from an outline saved years earlier in a phone notes app — and finished while Keely was navigating significant health challenges.
About the author
Keely Marie
Author, advocate, songwriter, entrepreneur and creator of the Rainbow Series, where storytelling, emotional growth and everyday childhood experiences come together.
Keely Marie has been a storyteller for as long as she can remember. Before she ever called herself an author she was writing songs, poems and stories simply because she loved creating. That passion led her into music, entrepreneurship and eventually children’s literature. She released her first album at nineteen and still writes poetry, lyrics and screenplays alongside her books.
Becoming a mother gave that writing a deeper purpose. Watching her son grow, she began creating stories drawn from everyday moments — the meltdowns, the mealtimes, the small victories — and found she wanted to write books that families could enjoy together while opening conversations that continue long after the last page is turned.
Today she is also studying psychology, because she believes creativity and education work best hand in hand. Her studies in child development, emotional regulation and positive reinforcement shape every page of the Rainbow Series, alongside what she has learned in real family life.
“Every child, regardless of background or ability, deserves to see themselves reflected — and to know their feelings matter.”
The series
Written for every child.
The Rainbow Series was inspired in part by Keely’s own family, and she is an advocate within the autism community. But these books were written deliberately for all children, all families and all backgrounds — because every child experiences feelings, and every child meets a new food.
That inclusiveness is a design decision, not an afterthought. No page names a diagnosis. No page assumes a particular kind of family. What each page offers is a color, a feeling or a food, and permission to move at your own pace.
An ending that became a middle
When the original conclusion came up short of publishing requirements, she expanded the journey with brown, black and white. The old ending became the climax, and the story got deeper for it.
The moment that mattered most
Finding her son lying on his belly, chin in his hands, quietly reading the book she wrote. A few weeks later he had the whole thing memorized.
Beyond the books
Songs, poems and what comes next.
Keely writes in more than one form. Poetry and songwriting came first and have never stopped — she has recently returned to music with new original singles, and a memoir has been started, if not yet finished.
The Rainbow Series is the beginning of a longer project: stories children grow up with, remember, and one day pass down.
“The rainbow feels like hope. Feels like following your dreams.”
More books in the Rainbow Series are on the way. Join the list and you’ll hear about the next one first.