boo(ks) 👻

salutations from the other side of a book launch

First, because it’s Halloween: a treat.

Kasee at Longhand Pencils recently sent me the most gorgeous Heartbreak Hotel-themed pencil sets, complete with foil-stamped quotes from the book and that distinctly nostalgic back-to-school pencil smell:

✏️ so I’m doing a giveaway! ❤️‍🩹

To win a signed paperback of The Heartbreak Hotel + a set of custom pencils from Longhand Pencils:

1. Make sure you’re subscribed to this Substack

2. Enter by filling out this google form

I’ll randomly pick two winners on Monday, November 3, and reach out via email to coordinate shipping. U.S. only!

Next: a recap.

Since we met here last, I launched a whole book. It’s been an absolute everything of a month — exhilarating, overwhelming, incredible, complex. There’s been so much going on both personally and professionally, but one thing that’s simple and true is how verklempt I am over all the ways readers have shown up for The Heartbreak Hotel.

Signing preorders at Boulder Bookstore // Gifts & love notes from tour

My last launch event for Henry & Lou was only last weekend, so it really feels like I’m just now coming up for air. I wish I could outline every single moment of it here — every conversation with a reader, every steadying breath I took before an interview, every stunning photo aesthetic someone made for this book and posted to Instagram. But this newsletter really would be as long as the book. So I’ll just say: it was a lot, in the biggest and most wonderful sense of the word. And it has all meant so very much to me.

The Heartbreak Hotel has gone into two more printings since its publication in September. Thank you for supporting this book so well that we needed to make more of it. None of it is lost on me. ❤️

Now what?

Nearly every event and interview recently has ended with: What’s next for you?

Such a good question, and—frankly—a welcome reminder that my existence does not begin and end with The Heartbreak Hotel. For me, putting a book into the world takes so much love and focus that it can feel entirely consuming (am I even a person, or am I just a corporeal conduit for Louisa Walsh and Henry Rhodes?).

But there’s a whole life (mine) to get back to. Orange leaves falling in the back yard, sun to feel on my face, two little dogs who can’t read and are honestly getting tired of this entire household revolving around a novel.

Over the summer I turned in a manuscript that’ll be yours by this time next year — another love story that’s sort of intolerably close to my heart. I can’t wait to tell you more about it soon.

Until then, I’ve got one more signing on the docket for 2025. And I’ve been having such a heart-bursting time popping in to join book clubs (both virtually and here in Colorado). So if your people are discussing The Heartbreak Hotel, don’t hesitate to reach out — I’d love to join you if I can.

Sunday, Nov. 23, 2-4pm at Composition Shop | Longmont, CO | In-store signing

Fall TBR shelf

A few ARCs and new releases high on my list to read before the end of the year!

When life gets stressful, reading is usually the first thing to go, so I haven’t been doing much of it lately. (A ridiculous habit, considering how much reading calms me down. Will I ever learn? Stay tuned.)

And, finally, I want to leave you with this — no context required.

See you back here next time. ❤️

xo, Ellen

P.S. If you’d like a signed copy of The Heartbreak Hotel—or any of my books—those are always available through Boulder Bookstore.