Kellye Hollis compiled her “Shot of the Day” photos into a book chronicling her first year living in New York City (Photo courtesy of Kellye Hollis)
TAMMYE NASH | Managing Editor
Nash@DallasVoice.com
Kellye Hollis wasn’t a photographer; she owned an estate sale business. But then she set out on a grand adventure, moving from Dallas to New York City, and soon began chronicling her new life on social media photographically through what she dubbed her “Shot of the Day.”
Now, she has compiled a year’s worth of those photos into a book, 4,380,000 Steps: An Accidental Photo Journal of NYC. And Hollis headed back to Dallas to visit her friends here and to sign copies of her book.
The book-signing party will be Thursday, Oct. 15, from 6-8 p.m., at The Ivy Tavern, 5334 Lemmon Ave. Hollis said she may have a few paperbound copes of the book to sell on site, “but not many.” She noted that hardback copies of the book have already sold out, but she has contacted her publisher about the possibility of printing more.
Hollis took a break from getting ready for her trip to Dallas this week to answer a few questions for Dallas Voice about how her book came to be.
Dallas Voice: Let’s start out with how you ended up in New York City. When did you move up there from Dallas? And why? What prompted the move? Kellye Hollis: After living in Dallas for 39 years, and having just turned 60, I wanted to go on a big adventure! NYC had always been my favorite place in the world, so it seemed like the obvious choice.
So, I took off on Feb. 1 of 2025 and landed in NYC with a couple of suitcases and full of excitement.
After you moved there, it seems that you would just explore and take photos of whatever caught your eye. Then you posted on your social media, and eventually you started each day specifically posting a “Shot of the Day.” What made you decide to start taking the photos in the first place? I started posting a single “Shot of the Day” nine days after I arrived in NYC. I wanted to stay in touch with my friends and family without “wearing them out” with too many photographs. So it hit me that posting one photograph a day might keep them interested.
When — and why — did you decide to take those photos and put them all together in a book? And how did you come up with the title? Did you actually count your steps? Publishing a book had never been on my bingo card, but social media friends and followers started encouraging me to think about it.
As for the name, I thought it would be cool to have a book with numbers in the title because you just don’t see it that often. Once I realized I had averaged 12,000+ steps a day, it seemed like a no-brainer, and I liked how 4,380,000 Steps looked in print.
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Just a few of Kellye Hollis’ personal favorite “Shot of the Day” images
(Photos by Kellye Hollis)
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Talk a little bit about the process of getting the book published? How did you choose which photos to use, first of all? Did you self-publish? Who did you talk to or where did you go to find out how to get the book published? I posted one photo a day, so it was easy to select the photos to go into the book.
I contacted a few publishing companies and found Danyel Meaham at Palmetto Publishing who took an immediate interest in my project, and I knew they were the company for me.
Do you have any advice for others who might be considering a project like this? My advice for anyone wanting to self-publish a book would be to plan for it to take longer than you would expect, and don’t look at self-publishing as a way to make money. If you can break even, call it a win!
Outside of the photos and the book, tell us what you’ve been up to in NYC. I love exploring New York City every day. I’m a New York Lawn Bowling Club board member and an avid fan of the New York Liberty WNBA basketball team. I volunteer with The Moth Radio Hour open-mic storytelling competitions, and I frequent all of the NYC flea markets. I also follow the art scene in Manhattan at The Met, Guggenheim, MoMA and Whitney Museum of American Art.
So, what’s next? Do you have another book in you? Are you still taking photos every day? Where do you go from here? No, I don’t have another book on my radar screen — but you never know!
I’m always taking photos, and have something up my sleeve on Instagram right now.
And last, what have I missed? What did I not ask about that you want to mention? I will never find another women’s community like the one we have in Dallas. I love all of those friends so much!