Ellen Doyle Hudson is an aspiring author of both literary and upmarket fiction and is a member of the Chicago Writer’s Association and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. She lives in a quiet southwestern suburb of Chicago with her husband, Kevin. Her family includes three grown children, a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law, and three wonderful grandchildren, as well as a large extended family she refers to as “the Doyles”. Ellen’s “babies” are now her cats Bitsy, Chardonnay, Ginger, and Winnie, and a red-eared slider turtle, Tim.
When Ellen proudly received her first library card, she’d tote home armloads of books. As a child of lower-middle-class origins, any nonessential expense was a treat. She recalls being enrolled in a Book-of-the-Month Club. “I imagine I dismayed my mother by consuming my Happy Hollisters book in a single session, while her own monthly novel lasted an entire month.” Ellen says she caught the writing bug at an early age. “In childhood, I began mentally writing stories, which has continued throughout my life. I observe people in public and can’t resist imagining their lives.”
If you’ve read this far, you already share something with Ellen: a curiosity about people and why they behave the way they do. She explains her inspiration for her prose. “When I took early retirement from my medical career, I put my imagination to work. I drew upon years of witnessing people in the hospital setting, where they were often at significant moments in their lives. I could pass a mother joyfully being wheeled out with a newborn on her lap, then turn a corner to find a family huddled in an embrace, weeping. You’d have to be pretty inhumane to be oblivious to all the stories unfolding around you.”
To date, Ellen has authored three manuscripts: BELIEVE, Secrets, and Motherload, and continues navigating the challenging “publishing waters” to get noticed and published. She has started on her fourth effort, which is entitled Scribes.
Ellen enjoys time spent with her family, reading, and following current developments in health, science, and politics. You might spot her commenting on the writing forum WriterUnboxed, and as “Miselle” on Substack forums such as Heather Cox Richardson’s Letter from An American; TCinLA’s That’s Another Fine Mess; and Dr. Ryan McCormick’s Examined. She doesn’t enjoy exercising as much as she enjoys eating dark chocolate, but knows it is a necessity.
Photo courtesy of Jenn Collins