Ask the Author: Ellen Baker
Answered Questions (4)
Ellen Baker
I'm originally from northern Minnesota. My parents live in Duluth now, and I lived in Superior, Wisconsin, for a number of years (many years ago now). I love Duluth! :) Thank you so much for reading CECILY -- I'm glad you felt like your city was well represented!
Ellen Baker
I'm working on a family saga set on the coast of Maine which spans from the 1930s to 2010, with three generations of strong women at its heart.
Ellen Baker
Everyone says “don’t give up” and “stay in your chair.” I agree with those pieces of advice! One thing I would also add is “find your true voice.” Write about things you truly care about, in a way that sounds right to you. Authentic storytelling is what will finally resonate with readers – not with all of them, but with the ones you’re meant to find, and who are meant to find you.
Ellen Baker
As a person who’s lived all my life in small towns, I started wondering whether it would be possible to keep a significant secret across a long lifetime, and then what the consequences would be once that secret came out. I knew right away that my small town would be in northern Minnesota, where I was born and which still feels to me like ‘home.’ I also quickly decided that my main character would be a very conventional-seeming pillar of the community with an excellent reputation. I wanted her to be someone with a great deal to lose; someone whose fall from grace – if she did indeed fall – would be spectacular. Then I had to start to try to imagine what sorts of secrets would be consequential enough to still matter, after decades.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more