Ellen B. Alden

Author of Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke

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Recent Posts

  • It Takes Two! The art of collaboration
  • Jumping into a children’s picture book…
  • Leaving a piece of my heart in Ireland
  • Florence Burke is heading home (again!)
  • THE GREAT FAMINE ROADSHOW

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A window into the past reveals Irish love, bravery, and resilience…

June 13, 2016 by Ellen Alden Leave a Comment

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Now that my book is released and the book launch is just days away, I wanted to give a “sneak peak” into the letters that my Irish immigrant ancestor wrote to his wife and children…His words are heartfelt and genuine. His motivation for joining the war was not political nor for personal pride; it was to benefit his family. Florence Burke joined the Union Army as a “substitute.” In other words he took the draft of a wealthy man in exchange for cash and a plot of land. He made a desperate gamble because he knew that owning land would be a life-changer for his family. Did his gamble pay off? (You’ll have to read the book to find out!)

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: County Cork, family history, Great Potato Famine, Irish, Writing

That’s it! I’m self-publishing!

May 8, 2016 by Ellen Alden 14 Comments

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I’ve never been good at waiting. After all, how do you move forward if you’re stuck in one place? My debut novel, a historical fiction entitled Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke, has been caught in “publishing purgatory” for seven months now, and I’m frustrated with the snail’s pace that Literary Agents and publisher’s move. 

There has been interest in my book; in fact it has been sitting on the desk (probably on the bottom of a huge stack of other manuscripts) at a literary agent in London and New York and at a small publisher in Boston. But I can’t get an answer from them! A simple “yes” or “no” is all I am asking for so I can plan my next move. I prefer straight up rejections (and I’ve gotten plenty of those).

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: County Cork, Florence Burke, Great Potato Famine, Irish

Meeting John L. O’ Sullivan: Fate or Luck of the Irish?

June 14, 2015 by Ellen Alden 14 Comments

Historian John L. O'Sullivan assisting Ellen Alden with research in Ballinhassig, Ireland

Historian John L. O’Sullivan assisting me with research in Ballinhassig, Ireland

The best part of researching my great-great grandfather’s past was taking my whole family on a trip to Ireland. We hopped on Air Lingus as soon as our children were dismissed for summer vacation. Although it was the end of June when we touched down in Ireland, the temperature was in the 50’s, and, of course, it was raining. However, it didn’t deter us from driving along the western coast; stopping to take photos of the rolling green hills, endless pastures filled with cows, and the beautiful foggy views of the ocean.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: County Cork, Ellen Alden, family history, Florence Burke, Irish, Yours Faithfully

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