Kirsten Pursell is a best selling and award winning indie author known for engaging narratives that often blend romance with deeper emotional themes. Finding Scarletis her fifth novel and continues the exploration into the post-divorce landscape of self-discovery, new beginnings, and friendships (Finding Scarlet was originally published as The Scarlet D in November 2024). The Scarlet D earned several literary awards, including two TheBookFest awards, however, Pursell felt a new name and cover would better represent the book to readers. Her fourth book, Long Enough to Love You, earned numerous awards in women’s fiction, divorce fiction and contemporary romance and has been an Amazon best seller. Previous works include her memoir, On Becoming Me: Memoir of an 80’s Teenager, and two additional novels: Harvard and Company Clown. A member of Romance Writers of America, her books have been purchased or downloaded over 20,000 times and have been #1 in select Amazon categories. She recently finished writing a stand-alone novel based on Missy from Finding Scarlet. The Unabridged Life of Missy Kinkaid will be available on October 14, 2025. Preorder at Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.
Outside of writing, she is an avid swimmer who enjoys training and competing in open water and pool events near and far. She is fluent in German, loves to channel her inner mermaid through SCUBA adventures, and will travel just about anywhere given the opportunity. Time with her now adult children is her favorite (a nonfat latte a strong second). She lives in Southern California.
Kirsten Pursell is a best selling and award winning indie author known for engaging narratives that often blend romance with deeper emotional themes. Finding Scarletis her fifth novel and continues the exploration into the post-divorce landscape of self-discovery, new beginnings, and friendships (Finding Scarlet was originally published as The Scarlet D in November 2024). The Scarlet D earned several literary awards, including two TheBookFest...
From award-winning author Kirsten Pursell, follow Scarlet as she navigates self-discovery, love and friendship later in life in this coming-of-middle-age romance. [Previously published as The Scarlet D*]
Fueled by the unrealistic expectations of Nicholas Sparks' novels, Scarlet sets her sights on South Carolina as...
“Life is supposed to challenge us. So many things we wish were different, but the parts to get there were sometimes the greatest moments in our lives.”
Missy Kinkaid has always been the light of Sullivan’s Island—bold, unapologetic, and the beating heart of her family, friends, and Scarlet’s Harlots, the renegade divorced women changing the...
*Amazon Best Seller* Firebird Book Awards First Place: Fiction, Divorce Fiction, and Romance (2024) Book Excellence Winner - Divorce Fiction (2024) The BookFest Second Place Award Contemporary Romance (Spring 2023) A Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner (2023) Reader’s Favorite 5 Stars (2023)
Jenn, fifty-something and empty-nesting, feels like a...
I am so excited to share that The Unabridged Life of Missy Kinkaid is available for preorder! Readers fell in love with the sassy, unapologetic Missy in Finding Scarlet. But,...
When I entered this contest, I had not yet decided to change The Scarlet D to Finding Scarlet. It was a huge surprise to discover The Scarlet D had been awarded 2nd place in...
Solo Travel for Women Over 50 inspired me to post on Facebook recently. The post went something like this:
I love the honesty and openness of this group. I divorced two years ago after a 29 year marriage and went straight into a long term relationship - sharing his home. That ended a few months ago and I felt heartache on a level I had never experienced...at 57 years old. I suppose I was simultaenously mourning my marriage and that relationship ending. Ugh. My biggest struggle became figuring...
In the wake of heartbreak post a divorce I was afforded a soft landing from, I am grieving, reassessing, but mainly reflecting on how I got there to begin with. It allows me to process how I let myself love so deeply and why I’m struggling in the aftermath.
I am fifty-seven years old and experiencing heartache on a level I did not know possible. Divorce was a process. It was years in the making. I grieved that ending in those moments. When it came time to move on, I was ready. This heartbreak...
I am empty nesting. Redefining who I am. Parts of me were put on hold during those years when the focus shifted from me to raising my children. My children have successfully made their way to college and beyond. The immediacy of my day-to-day involvement has waned. And I have found those parts of me that were buried, scratching at the surface, clawing their way from the depths they were tucked away, and itching to be re-exposed. The athlete I'd been all my life wanted out.
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