Kelli Estes lived in the deserts of eastern Washington state and Arizona before settling in the Seattle area, which she loves so much she plans to forever live near the water. She's passionate about stories that help us see how the past shaped who we are today, and is still very relevant, and how we all have more in common than not. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. Her first novel, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk, was a USA Today bestseller. Today We Go Home is her second novel.
Kelli Estes's website
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The main characters in Today We Go Home served in the military. Did you ever serve?
As a kid, I didn't think anyone in my family had ever served in the military, because it was never discussed. Only later did I learn that my father served in the National Guard. I grew up thinking that only boys served in the military, so it never crossed my mind as an option for me. But, even if I had wanted to serve, I would not have qualified, since I am totally blind in my left eye.
What inspired the story? How did you discover that women served in battle in the Civil War?
As I was searching for new story ideas, I did an online search for strong women in history and got a result of several names, three of which were women who disguised themselves as men to fight in the Civil War. This was the first time I had ever heard that any women had been in battle during that war, and I was fascinated to read these women's stories. This led to books, articles, and anything else I could find on the subject, and it wasn't long before I knew I had to write about these brave women. One thing that really frustrated me in my research was learning that Victorian sensibilities twisted these women's service into something somehow shameful, and I ...
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