Nicole Wachell

Row Three, Position Four. New illustration of Sebastian Barnabas' Homecoming King crown alongside the Homecoming Queen tiara.

Writers don’t just write…some compete on trivia shows. Check out Jeopardy! on Friday, March 25th to find out if being a novelist translates into game show cred.

“The Right Amount of Brilliance” is now available for purchase from the Book Jewel, a local, independent bookstore in Westchester. I’m so grateful that I get to place my novel next to works by Alice Walker and David Foster Wallace 📚 Drop by their location and check out all of their fantastic offerings.

Check out the coverage from the Beach Reporter!

Teacher Nicole Wachell debuts novel combining literature, math and art A new novel by author Nicole Wachell combines story with art, an interactive website and a math concept known as Pascal's Triangle.

Unlocking the cover of the novel. Want to learn about the connections between Pascal's triangle and the book's graphics? Check out the images.

Row Three, Position Two. Red Rose and Monster Hands. This is another symbolic representation of a character’s internal conflict. Rachel Washington struggles with infertility and feels tormented by the red roses in her front yard. Check the website to read some corresponding passages.

Row Three, Position One. Pint of Beer and Microscopic View of Meteorite. I FINALLY finished this one last night after spending way too many hours on the detail work. It captures a scene where Jake Washington drowns his frustrations at a local bar after his scientific research is stolen from him. The carbonation in the beer reminds him of the complex patterns of meteorite samples viewed through a microscope. Check the website to read a corresponding passage from the novel. Thanks for the inspiration, the Smithsonian!

Row Two, Position Three. Smashed Guitar and Hand-painted Case. In a dream sequence, Sebastian carries his father's old guitar case from the '60s and '70s. When the case flies open, the guitar smashes in the street. Check out www.pascalstrianglenovel.com to read the related passage.

Row Two, Position Two. Lincoln Logs. In a flashback chapter section, young Jake Washington builds a toy cabin with his imaginary twin by his side. Once Jake realizes his imaginary friend disturbs his mother, his companion dies, and Jake is left alone.

Row Two, Position One. Trellis with blackberries and yellow nasturtiums. Once Jake learns about his adoptive roots, he scavenges his mind for fragments of memories. He can only summon rare images, like this trellis from his birth mother's home.

Row One, Position Two. Mathematician's Identity. Sebastian "was convinced that his heart was constructed out of binary code; his lungs, plotted on a Cartesian plane; and his hands, mere vessels for logarithms." Check the website to read a longer portion of the corresponding passage from the novel.

Row One, Position One. Mutilated Bookshelf. This illustration is a symbolic (rather than literal) representation of an event in the book. The gore replicates the feelings Jake Washington has when he carves into his bookshelf. He does so to prevent his wife from moving the furniture into the living room, and his outburst exposes his emotional vulnerabilities. Check the website to see the corresponding passage from the novel.

The Zero Row of Pascal's triangle. This illustration features the Helix Nebula, intertwined with the double helix of DNA (of course!). On the website, this image accompanies a passage where Jake Washington admires the nebula through a telescope. Fittingly, he meditates on the sight after learning that he has an estranged twin.

Check out the new Instagram account and website for illustrations related to the novel!