Dasha Kelly is a dynamo. A former poet laureate of both Milwaukee and Wisconsin, Kelly has published three books of poetry, four novels, is a spoken word performer (Makin’ Cake), and is involved with The Moth. As she discusses her latest novel, Baker’s Dozen (Jaded Ibis Press), she calls it a mystery, but not a whodunnit.

“I’m as surprised as anyone in terms of what happens,” she says of her writing process, admitting she enjoyed “learning this character as I learned the story.”

The novel alternates chapters between the third person narrative of Royal and the second-person thoughts of his best friend, Shay. The mystery takes the form of a quest, as Royal researches Shay through conversations with her other friends, trying to decipher messages she sent to those friends before her death by suicide.

Kelly says Baker’s Dozen is “a reminder for all of us that we carry something — I call it a smudge on the image of yourself. People around you may not know what it is, but you do, and it can guide how you walk through the world.”

The use of second person for Shay’s chapters “was definitely a choice to keep us close to Shay,” says Kelly, a way for the reader to experience, not just observe, Shay’s dilemmas, and to not judge her. “That’s what we tend to do in real life, myself included.”

Ultimately, Baker’s Dozen focuses on “the mystery of people, and with figuring out who are these people [Shay] has been reaching out to.”

Dasha Kelly will read from and discuss the novel on Oct. 17 with Angela Russell of the Black Oxygen podcast.