Hello! I’m
Ellen Baker.
As a novelist, I tell women’s stories.
As a coach, I help rewrite them.
You’ve seen me in….
Official Bio
Over twenty years ago, I dropped out of grad school with the deep sense I was meant to write stories and the big dream of becoming a published novelist. That path led to my first two historical women’s fiction titles with Random House, Keeping the House and I Gave My Heart to Know This, followed by a long season of setbacks and growth that reshaped everything.
Women’s Stories, Women’s Lives
A 2010 move from the Midwest to the Maine coast became a turning point. While continuing to write, I trained as an energy healer, intuitive guide, and mindset coach. I integrated this work with my fiction writing expertise to create my signature Identity Rewrite Method and the Next Chapter Studio for women ready to become the author of their own lives.
My third novel, The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson, set in my original home of northern Minnesota, became a 2024 Indie Next pick and a People Best New Book. My next novel, Summerland Cove, set in my beloved coastal Maine, arrives June 2.
As a novelist, I tell women’s stories.
As a coach, I help rewrite them.
SUMMERLAND COVE
Out Now!!
Apples Never Fall meets Maine in this captivating novel of family secrets, summer celebrations, and putting things back together again after they’ve all fallen apart.
A best new book of Summer 2026 in Woman’s World magazine.
June 2, 2026 · Wiscasset, Maine
An Evening at the Cove
The water was shining, the room was full, and Summerland Cove was finally in readers' hands. Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate, you made this night unforgettable.
The Next Chapter Studio
As a fiction writer, I've learned that by changing my character's internal beliefs, I can change the outcome of her story.
The same is true in real life.
If you've been feeling like something in your life no longer quite fits, I created The Next Chapter Studio for this moment, a space for women ready to rewrite their old stories and author what comes next.
You're invited to step inside and explore for seven days at no cost, and see what begins to shift for you.
Listen. Read. Watch.
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Summerland Cove
A captivating novel of family secrets, summer celebrations, and putting things back together again after they’ve all fallen apart.
A best new book of Summer 2026 in Woman’s World magazine.
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The Midlife Edit podcast
What if the key to changing your life wasn't burning it down, but making a small edit to the story you've been telling yourself? Listen to hear about how reinvention happens for women inside The Next Chapter Studio.
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![A woman with a journal on the beach facing away]()
From the Blog · May 2026
Read my story of how I found the place that inspired my novel Summerland Cove.
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Conversation with The Erudite Bibliophile
A deep-dive conversation on Summerland Cove — the inspiration, the process, the launch, and more.
THE HIDDEN LIFE OF CECILY LARSON
Orphan Train meets Before We Were Yours meets Water for Elephants in this compelling multigenerational novel of survival, love, and the families we make.
An Indie Next pick, a People Best New Book, and a HarperCollins Lead Read. Now available in paperback.
Contact
Got questions? Want to work together? Use this form to send me a message.