When shaping her own female protagonist, she found many admirable qualities in the women of pop fiction but wanted to see larger casts of diverse female characters support and complement one another. One of her non-fiction books, “Hunting Girls: Sexual Violence From The Hunger Games to Campus Rape,” explores popular female protagonists like Katniss Everdeen of “The Hunger Games” or Bella Swan of “Twilight” in the context of modern issues like sexual violence. Oliver is no stranger to female characters in fiction. A Montana cowgirl who finds herself in the decidedly different culture of academia, James’ natural curiosity routinely lands her into trouble. These traits found their way into the character of Jessica James, a bright and headstrong philosophy grad student with “more wit than grace,” as Oliver describes her. “It’s in my blood, so I try to come back here as much as I can.” “The area is really close to my heart,” Oliver said.

Raised in the beauty of Montana, Idaho and Washington, she developed a deep appreciation for the lifestyles and cultures of the Northwest.

Herself a native of the Inland Northwest, Oliver has deep ties to Bonner County through her parents, who still live here. Sandpoint readers can get an early taste of the latest novel, “Coyote,” when Oliver hosts a book signing at the Corner Bookstore Saturday, Aug. The result is the “Jessica James Mystery” series. In the past few years, however, she’s made time to dive into another world, one filled with danger, corruption, mystery and female camaraderie.

Like Jessica James, the protagonist of her mystery series, Kelly Oliver is a woman of many talents.Ī professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University, Oliver has built a career teaching students, conducting research and writing nonfiction books.

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