ELLE ENGEL

Hello! I guess I’ll kick off the first post of this website with the essentials:

1. I am very, very bad at social media.

This is in no way intended as a slight against the chronically online (I am one of you), or against anyone in the social media salt mines just trying to get their art seen (I’ll be one of you soon).

I’ve always been a very private person. That’s the gist of it. I had a few lurker accounts that kept me very online in high school and college, nuked them all during lockdown, and never really found my way back.

Until now, that is, because —

2. I’m trying to sell my writing, which means I have to do my own promo.

I’ve been dodging it for years, but now that I have a bona fide book deal, I can’t put off making a website anymore.

Speaking of:

Cat’s out the bag. I can finally talk about this!

My debut novel, HE ALWAYS COMES BACK, will be published this time next year, as a part of akaStory’s inaugural list of novels! I’ll be part of an incredible cohort of writers, including Cynthia W. Gentry, April Vellacott, Kelly Young Chang, Kristen Chaudière, and Madi Stine. I’m still over the moon about this and I’m beyond grateful to my editor, Kate Roddy, for bringing me into the fold, and to my agent, Valentina Sainato, for pulling this deal off.

It’s been a long, long, long time coming, but that’s a story for another day. Especially since I’m under deadline to get my next manuscript done.