Ellison Island

A reclusive writer.An alcoholic surfer.

A sleepy island town that might save them both.

“A very compelling story...the characters feel real and make me want to know more about them."

– Karen Kingsbury, New York Times Bestselling Author

There was salt in the air on Ellison Island.
Salt and the smell of pluff mud baking in the sun and thunderstorms lingering over the marsh grass...

When Avis Foster’s life comes crashing down she throws her few possessions into her car, abandons her life in Boston, and drives until she finds herself on South Carolina's Ellison Island.

Avis finds an “abandoned” ramshackle house and decides it's a good place to write. Turns out it's not abandoned, and the owner is a charming surfer with two dogs, a soft spot for social misfits, and a knack for making her feel at home.

When Rafe discovers the winsome stranger perched on his roof writing the sun up, he’s immediately drawn to her. She has a way of digging beneath his carefree exterior and catching him off guard with her penetrating eyes and stubborn refusal to live life according to anyone else’s rules.

But, Avis’s fledgling romance with Rafe is jeopardized by her inability to let go of her ex-fiancé. Things get complicated when Rafe’s struggle with alcoholism comes to light. Then, a charming young doctor arrives in town with his eye on Avis, and local secrets are dredged up with the tide.

Avis smiled then and for a split second forgot everything but the fact that it was warm out and the water was blue and Rafe was beside her.

There was salt in the air on Ellison Island.
Salt and the smell of pluff mud baking in the sun and thunderstorms lingering over the marsh grass...

Hi, I'm Ellery. Author of Ellison Island.

The inspiration for this book came from my favorite house on Sullivan's Island - a ramshackle blue beach house with peeling paint and sagging front steps and a yard overgrown with waist-high weeds. I fell in love with that house and built a story around it, the kind of book you’d want to read on your mom’s front porch in the summertime with a glass of iced tea and a breeze coming off the water.

I started writing fourteen years ago, and am deeply passionate about the power of stories to build empathy. Click here to learn more about me.

“The moon is a failure. It’s someone’s leftovers when they were trying to make the sun.” She shivered, suddenly cold in the palpable heat. She felt his arm move and she instinctively tensed. But he stopped and only rested it on his knee.

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ELLISON ISLAND

“A very compelling story...the characters feel real and make me want to know more about them."

There was salt in the air on Ellison Island. Salt and the smell of pluff mud baking in the sun and thunderstorms lingering over the marsh grass...

Avis smiled then and for a split second forgot everything but the fact that it was warm out and the water was blue and Rafe was beside her.

There was salt in the air on Ellison Island. Salt and the smell of pluff mud baking in the sun and thunderstorms lingering over the marsh grass...

Hi, I'm Ellery. Author of Ellison Island.

“The moon is a failure. It’s someone’s leftovers when they were trying to make the sun.” She shivered, suddenly cold in the palpable heat. She felt his arm move and she instinctively tensed. But he stopped and only rested it on his knee.

CHEERS FROM CHARLESTON A monthly (or nearly monthly) installment in your inbox. It’s my favorite way to share what I’m reading, what I’m learning as a writer, and the best hidden gems of Charleston living.

There was salt in the air on Ellison Island.
Salt and the smell of pluff mud baking in the sun and thunderstorms lingering over the marsh grass...

There was salt in the air on Ellison Island.
Salt and the smell of pluff mud baking in the sun and thunderstorms lingering over the marsh grass...

CHEERS FROM CHARLESTON

A monthly (or nearly monthly) installment in your inbox. It’s my favorite way to share what I’m reading, what I’m learning as a writer, and the best hidden gems of Charleston living.