Another summer is about to begin on Nantucket Island, and I am thrilled to be publishing my tenth novel, Silver Girl.  Silver Girl is about a woman whose husband commits massive financial fraud; it was inspired by the real-life saga of Ruth Madoff.  I read an article in the New York Times Sunday Style section in April of 2009 that detailed the way Mrs. Madoff's life had fallen apart since her husband's indictment.  I thought to myself that if she was guilty of conspiring in the crimes, this wasn't an interesting story, but if she wasn't guilty, it was enormously interesting.  I decided I wanted to write a novel about a woman who was in Mrs. Madoff's position and had no idea what her husband was doing until it was revealed to the world.  In the article, it said that Mrs. Madoff still had one remaining friend whom she had known since pre-school, and this was the detail I seized upon.  Because this is an Elin Hilderbrand novel, my character, Meredith Delinn, grew up on the Main Line in Philadelphia, and she had one remaining friend from pre-school and that friend, Constance Flute, owned a summer home on Nantucket.  Connie whisks Meredith away to Nantucket for the summer, where the two women start the process of healing and moving on.

I have set all ten of my novels on Nantucket, which is the island where I have lived year-round for nearly eighteen years.  Nantucket is my inspiration and my muse.  It's one of the last remaining authentic places in America.  The town of Nantucket has cobblestone streets and 300-year-old whaling captain's homes and Quaker meeting houses.  There are fifty miles of pristine, undeveloped public beach.  In the summer months, I pack a lunch (I make my own lobster salad with fresh corn added in) and I pack up my legal pads, hop on my bike and ride the scant mile from my house to the south shore.  I write on the beach about the beach -- and I know there is no one with a better view from her office!

I hope you enjoy Silver Girl.  Happy summer and happy reading!

EH

Another summer is about to begin on Nantucket Island, and I am thrilled to be publishing my tenth novel, Silver Girl.  Silver Girl is about a woman whose husband commits massive financial fraud; it was inspired by the real-life saga of Ruth Madoff.  I read an article in the New York Times Sunday Style section in April of 2009 that detailed the way Mrs. Madoff's life had fallen apart since her husband's indictment.  I thought to myself that if she was guilty of conspiring in the crimes, this wasn't an interesting story, but if she wasn't guilty, it was enormously interesting.  I decided I wanted to write a novel about a woman who was in Mrs. Madoff's position and had no idea what her husband was doing until it was revealed to the world.  In the article, it said that Mrs. Madoff still had one remaining friend whom she had known since pre-school, and this was the detail I seized upon.  Because this is an Elin Hilderbrand novel, my character, Meredith Delinn, grew up on the Main Line in Philadelphia, and she had one remaining friend from pre-school and that friend, Constance Flute, owned a summer home on Nantucket.  Connie whisks Meredith away to Nantucket for the summer, where the two women start the process of healing and moving on.

I have set all ten of my novels on Nantucket, which is the island where I have lived year-round for nearly eighteen years.  Nantucket is my inspiration and my muse.  It's one of the last remaining authentic places in America.  The town of Nantucket has cobblestone streets and 300-year-old whaling captain's homes and Quaker meeting houses.  There are fifty miles of pristine, undeveloped public beach.  In the summer months, I pack a lunch (I make my own lobster salad with fresh corn added in) and I pack up my legal pads, hop on my bike and ride the scant mile from my house to the south shore.  I write on the beach about the beach -- and I know there is no one with a better view from her office!

I hope you enjoy Silver Girl.  Happy summer and happy reading!

EH