Local author publishes first book
Blackmail, road trips and handsome British strangers highlight first-time author and 2009 Owen Valley High School graduate Nikota Brault’s self-published novel, “Where Beauty Never Fades: A Destined Encounters Novel.”
Brault hosted a book signing event on Feb. 18 at the Owen County Public Library (OCPL) in Spencer, where among other details, the first-time novelist discussed the book’s central character, 23-year-old Remy Montgomery.
“Remy seems to have it all, but in reality, she has lived in a gilded cage her entire life on the Upper East Side of NYC,” she explained. “Blackmailed into an engagement by her womanizing, egotistical boyfriend wasn’t on Remy’s to-do list, but here she is. After all, how could she have predicted that her controlling mother would have constructed this awful situation? If Remy stays, she is subjecting herself to a lifetime of unhappiness but, if she leaves, Remy risks the happiness of the one person she cares for most, her dad.”
Ultimately, Remy is forced to make an impossible decision.
“On the eve of her wedding, Remy finds a lucky opportunity to escape her unwanted life sentence with the help of Oliver Aldey, a handsome British stranger,” Brault continued. “Together they embark on a multi-city journey that eventually leads Remy to her safe haven and a place where beauty never fades.”
Brault is no stranger to storytelling, cultivating a love of writing that began in the third grade into her first novel, a labor of love that took seven years to complete from start to finish.
“I don't have the luxury of writing full-time,” Brault said. “The first line of the novel just popped into my head one day and was just rolling around over and over and over, and the main character just started talking to me over the course of the next seven years.”
A 15-year employee of the OCPL where she serves as head of circulation in the Youth Services Department, Brault said she enjoys the creative freedom of writing in her spare time.
“It’s a good outlet for getting things out of your head and for getting ideas down on paper,” she explained. “It’s an outlet for your emotions and another way to express yourself.”
Brault, who now makes her home in nearby Bloomington with her husband Russell Knapp, said she had already begun working on her second book, though the future release date is not known.
“I'm about six chapters in,” she said. “I already have a lot of people chasing me down wanting to know when it will be published, which means a lot."
As for how many books she envisions writing in the series, Brault said “two for sure, but there could potentially be a third based on another character in the world the book encompasses.”
Geared toward the new adults and adult book categories, “Where Beauty Never Fades: A Destined Encounters Novel” involves a series of twists, turns and romance that no doubt has readers clamoring for the second installment in the series.
“Where Beauty Never Fades” is available for purchase online through Amazon, Walmart, Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million to name a few. The book can also be purchased directly from the author by contacting her via email at nikotawrites@gmail.com.
Brault can also be found on various social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok by searching Nikota Writes.
