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I'M ELLEN

I have a background in psychology, American Studies, museum work and bookselling, and my passion is writing historical fiction. 

My new novel The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson (Mariner) was the HarperCollins Lead Read for Winter 2024 and a March 2024 Indie Next pick. It was featured in People magazine as a Best New Book, where it was described as "a sweeping tale of love and loss." It was also featured in Woman's World magazine as a Best New Book, named as one of winter's most anticipated books by Goodreads, and placed on multiple Best-of lists by BookBub, including Best Historical Fiction of 2024. Authors including Lisa Wingate, Tara Conklin, Kim Michele Richardson, Thao Thai and Kristin Harmel have praised it respectively as “colorful,” “gorgeous,” “electrifying,” “riveting” and “beautiful.”

My earlier novels, Keeping the House and I Gave My Heart to Know This (Random House), were called “masterful” (Booklist), “sensitive” (Publisher’s Weekly), “vivid” (Chicago Tribune), and “artful” (Philadelphia Inquirer). Keeping the House won the Great Lakes Book Award and was a Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year, as well as an Insider Discovery of the Literary Guild, a featured selection of the Doubleday Book Club and Random House Reader’s Circle, a BookSense Notable Book, and a Midwest Connections Pick. 

I love to help others fulfill their dream of writing and publishing a novel. I specialize in working with writers of historical fiction, but have also worked in genres ranging from thriller to mystery to romance to YA to general fiction. Interested in 1:1 editing services? Let's talk to see if we're the right fit!

Learn more about 1:1 editing services ->

Start your novel with my online course ->

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