Nicole unveils debut novel The Wall during recent book signing
Kelsey Tara Nicole is excited to finally unveil her debut novel after beginning the project over five years ago.
Nicole held a book signing at Coles on June 8 to finalize an idea she originally started back in 2013.
“In the beginning it was a little bit more of exploring the concept and me getting it out on paper. I kind of had an idea and so I put it together and it took several years for it to come together,” she admitted during the book signing.
She said the book is fiction/ fantasy, and it delves into the uncertainly to what lies on the other side of a wall which surrounds a city which is plagued by poverty and corruption.
“There’s a wall outside of the city and no one really knows what’s behind the wall, or when it got there, or what it’s for. They kind of just ignore it out of fear. Ignorance is bliss. But the main character she gets this rare opportunity to find out what’s behind it and she kind of has to decide if what’s behind it is safe, and if it’s good or not.”
“But deeper than that, it’s actually a lot of my personal story. So it actually delves a lot into things like insecurity and loss. And a lot of it deals also with that deep rooted need to have affirmation from a father figure.”
“It kind of delves a lot into I guess that need to have that strong father figure in your life, and the fear of letting one in, as well as just slowly learning to trust in people and to not have to feel like you need to earn love or need to deserve value.”
And while it is not necessarily a Christian book, she admits there are certainly some underlying Christian themes.
“The purpose that I wrote it for is to have a conversation about those insecurities that people feel and bring that to light. And let other people know that if they’re struggling, they’re not alone.”
Ironically, Nicole admits to not being a big reader.
“I actually don’t read a whole lot to be honest. I grew up on stories like The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis), and I used to read quite a bit when I was younger. But in the recent years its almost been a bit of a chore for me to read. I still keep up with writing. I do a little bit of blogging, and I do speaking at my church once in a while. So I really love just getting into that vulnerable side.”
“I just had an idea and explored it for a few years. Late last year I decided maybe I should just jump into the water and see how it goes. For me it’s such a personal story. And I’ve actually run into a few other people that have the same kind of feelings.”