ABOUT
Brown County Living is a hometown magazine that aims to showcase the vibrant life and colorful culture of Brown County, Texas. Published twice per year, our magazine covers a wide range of topics, including local events, community news, arts and entertainment, food and drink, and much more. We are passionate about bringing our readers the best of Brown County, and we hope you enjoy reading our magazine as much as we enjoy creating it.
The Faces Behind The Pages
Editor
Kelsy Bellah
Kelsy Bellah moved to Brownwood in 2015, where she completed her degree in English and Education at Howard Payne University. She taught sophomore English at Brownwood High School before becoming a stay-at-home mom upon the birth of her son, Kylan. In 2020, Kelsy lost her husband, Chase, in a tragic plane crash. Her husband’s accident centered her passion for reading and writing on the human condition and the personal stories of those around her. Kelsy has a genuine interest in people. Sharing one another’s stories is integral to being a Christian, a citizen, and simply a human. Kelsy’s biggest hope for the magazine is to develop connections and empathy between one another. She believes that a love for others begins at home.
Kelsy enjoys traveling, hiking, and camping with her son and two dogs, Nala and Alfie. At home, she delights in spending time in the yard with her family, cooking up science experiments and building train tracks with Kylan, or curling up on the couch with a good book.
"Stories are a communal currency of humanity."
Tahir Shah
Photographer
Brie Williams Photography
Brie Williams is a wedding and lifestyle photographer residing in Brownwood, Texas, with her husband Eli. She has loved taking pictures since she was a little girl. Brie bought her first camera when she was about nine-years-old. It was a small, turquoise digital camera with a wrist strap, and it sparked a passion in her for capturing memories and creating beauty through photos.
Brie loves a warm cup of coffee, baking at home on a Saturday, and an early morning run. However, knowing and serving people is one of her greatest joys. She is passionate about Jesus and sharing His love and grace with the people around her. Brie's ultimate goal with photography is to genuinely love and serve the people she comes into contact with.
Writer
Peggy Morales
Raised in the Houston area, Howard Payne University brought me to Brownwood. After graduating, I taught in Austin for a year, but returned to teach English at Brownwood Middle School. A few years later, I was introduced to Dave Morales. He had recently completed his residency in Kansas City and was starting his Internal Medicine career in Brownwood. Consequently, for 28 years, Dave and I, our three sons, several dogs, and an outnumbered cat have called Brownwood home. The Brownwood and Early community experience helped form my family’s lives. For all of us, life in Brown County made our realized dreams and aspirations possible.
The opportunity to teach again presented itself in 2012. I returned to the classroom at Early High School, and for 8 busy years taught English, AP Junior and Senior English, and coached Future Problem Solving at Early High School. I added Gifted and Talented certification to my credentials, along with graduate hours through the Dallas Institute of Humanities, and I continue to cherish the student and fellow teacher relationships formed during that time. I currently enjoy the rewarding yet flexible schedule that substitute teaching and college application tutoring allows.
With our youngest son now a freshman at Notre Dame, I look forward to time–time for more reading, more yoga, more Peloton rides, more travel, and more treks to Cloudcroft, NM. And most of all, time to observe–to discover–the awe inspiring and blessed moments present in daily living.
Writer
Connie Lewis Leonard
Connie Lewis Leonard lives with her husband, Gary, in Granbury, Texas. They have two adult children, three grandchildren, three rescue dogs, and one horse. Gary served as lead pastor for over forty years. After teaching English and Language Arts for twenty-five years, Connie retired to follow her dream of writing. She loves writing good news articles for small-town and county magazines about people and organizations that make a positive difference in the world. She has written a women's fiction novel, Big C, little c, and one devotional Bible study titled A Psalm a Day. Her “In Texas” contemporary Christian series includes Somebody Somewhere in Texas, Light up My Life in Texas, Play Me Back Home in Texas, Hidden Away Somewhere in Texas, and Following the Ghost Lights in Texas. You can find her books at Amazon.
Writer
Rick Mauch
Rick Mauch is a freelance writer from Weatherford, Texas. He has written about everything and everyone, from the Olympic Trials to Hollywood celebrities. He has worked as an editor at numerous publications and even enjoyed some time as a publisher in Colorado before realizing his true passion is writing. Rick’s career began with ten years in radio broadcasting, working his way to morning drive time in the Birmingham, Alabama, market before the writing bug bit him. Rick has written for Brown County Living magazine for over five years. When he is not writing, he can often be found on a golf course turning bogeys into birdies. He also loves spending time with his beautiful wife Junell and their three magnificent granddaughters, two who live across town and another who gives him and Junell a reason to escape to the mountains of Colorado several times each year. And when there is an Alabama sporting event on TV, you are welcome to stop by but understand the only visiting will be during commercials.
Join Our Team
We are always searching for new writers and photographers in the area to join our team! If you are interested, please reach out! We would love to see your work and have it featured in our magazine!