Kelsey Brickl's Blog: Kelsey Brickl - Author of Historical Fiction
August 28, 2017
About Hardtack
Hardtack is the story of Ellen “Nell” Armstrong, an iron-willed Kentucky girl, and her two best friends, Sam and Isaac. Their life in Paducah is uninterrupted by much of anything interesting… that is, until the Civil War sweeps over everyone, pulling Sam and Isaac in opposite directions. A complex web of love, marriage, and betrayal is soon woven around the trio. Can their friendship survive the conflict? Hardtack is a rap-scrabble romance on the banks of the Ohio, under the looming specter of war.
-- Sometimes the smoke from the factories and riverboats and trains would obscure the night sky entirely. But the town’s industrial breath was blowing somewhere else tonight, and so the Armstrong house was bathed in starlight. Nell studied the little white specks, like glittering dust on black velvet, and she asked,
“You boys ever wonder what it’d be like to be somewhere else?” --
In writing Hardtack, I strove to create a trio of loveable characters who wind up pulled down opposing paths. The conflicts that brew between them shatter the idyllic childhoods they shared. In writing Nell's story, I wanted to mirror the real-life experiences of being conflicted about relationships that so many endure.
-- Sometimes the smoke from the factories and riverboats and trains would obscure the night sky entirely. But the town’s industrial breath was blowing somewhere else tonight, and so the Armstrong house was bathed in starlight. Nell studied the little white specks, like glittering dust on black velvet, and she asked,
“You boys ever wonder what it’d be like to be somewhere else?” --
In writing Hardtack, I strove to create a trio of loveable characters who wind up pulled down opposing paths. The conflicts that brew between them shatter the idyllic childhoods they shared. In writing Nell's story, I wanted to mirror the real-life experiences of being conflicted about relationships that so many endure.
About Paint
FLORENCE, 1517
Suor Simona is a novice working in the apothecary of the convent of Le Murate. When a few stray strands of her copper hair catch the attention of the flighty and discontented painter Alesso Strozzi, a scandal is born. Jealousy and betrayal explode into a dangerous storm, and soon enough there’s more at stake than just broken promises. This historical fiction is a dark romance that explores the danger inherent in refusing to accept one’s situation.
“Ordinary sounds, the quiet hum of a city at night, but to my ears a luscious harmony of normalcy.”
I first fell in love with Florence during my first visit at age fifteen. As I studied the city's unique history - artistic and political alike - I realized that it was a truly special place with a cloak of mystery about it. Florence, therefore, serves as the perfect backdrop for a shadowy, winding story like Paint.PaintPaintPaint
Suor Simona is a novice working in the apothecary of the convent of Le Murate. When a few stray strands of her copper hair catch the attention of the flighty and discontented painter Alesso Strozzi, a scandal is born. Jealousy and betrayal explode into a dangerous storm, and soon enough there’s more at stake than just broken promises. This historical fiction is a dark romance that explores the danger inherent in refusing to accept one’s situation.
“Ordinary sounds, the quiet hum of a city at night, but to my ears a luscious harmony of normalcy.”
I first fell in love with Florence during my first visit at age fifteen. As I studied the city's unique history - artistic and political alike - I realized that it was a truly special place with a cloak of mystery about it. Florence, therefore, serves as the perfect backdrop for a shadowy, winding story like Paint.PaintPaintPaint
About Wolves and Urchins
Wolves and Urchins: The Early Years of Inspector Javert is a derivative work of Victor Hugo’s acclaimed and beloved Les Misérables. The character of Javert is among the most intriguing in Hugo’s novel, but the reader learns little of his existence prior to reuniting with Jean Valjean in 1823.
Wolves and Urchins explores Javert’s life up to this point. The novella examines how Javert’s life experiences shaped him into the unyielding legalist whose black-and-white view of right and wrong leads to his eventual plunge from the Pont au Change.
“Sometimes a revolution is begrudgingly accepted by a populace, as though they realize they have no choice but to become absorbed into the fray. At other times, a revolution is warmly embraced like a long-awaited friend. And sometimes revolution is kissed passionately, the amorous lover of the nation. Such was the case in Marseille, where the French Revolution was seized upon and thrust forward more eagerly than just about anywhere else.”
I have been a lifelong fan of the works of Victor Hugo and wrote Wolves and Urchins to explore my favorite character from my favorite novel.Wolves and Urchins: The Early Life of Inspector Javert
Wolves and Urchins explores Javert’s life up to this point. The novella examines how Javert’s life experiences shaped him into the unyielding legalist whose black-and-white view of right and wrong leads to his eventual plunge from the Pont au Change.
“Sometimes a revolution is begrudgingly accepted by a populace, as though they realize they have no choice but to become absorbed into the fray. At other times, a revolution is warmly embraced like a long-awaited friend. And sometimes revolution is kissed passionately, the amorous lover of the nation. Such was the case in Marseille, where the French Revolution was seized upon and thrust forward more eagerly than just about anywhere else.”
I have been a lifelong fan of the works of Victor Hugo and wrote Wolves and Urchins to explore my favorite character from my favorite novel.Wolves and Urchins: The Early Life of Inspector Javert
Kelsey Brickl - Author of Historical Fiction
Kelsey Brickl is a wife, mother, language enthusiast, travel addict, unabashed history nerd, and writer living in the Chicago area. She is a graduate of Saint Mary's College and the University of Notr
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