When interviewed by Lola Sparks in Purple Pens, Ms Kelly identified the following writers as having influenced her:
- Louisa May Alcott
- The Hornblower novels of C. S. Forester
- R. F. Delderfield
- Joseph Conrad
- Nevil Shute
- Jack Schaefer
- Ernest Haycox
- Charles King
In her author profile on the e-Harlequin site, Ms Kelly says her three favorite fictional works have remained constant through the years, although their rankings tend to shift: War and Peace, The Lawrenceville Stories, and A Town Like Alice. Favorite historical works are One Vast Winter Count, On the Border with Mackenzie and Crossing the Line. Favorite crime fiction authors are Michael Connelly, John Harvey and Peter Robinson.