Ellen Marie Wiseman tells us no lies...plus a book giveaway

We are so pleased to have Ellen Marie Wiseman back at CLC today to talk about her latest novel, The Lies They Told, which will be available next week. Melissa is a huge fan of her writing and has only good things to say about this novel on her Bookstagram. (Full review coming soon.) Ellen has TWO copies to share with a lucky reader!

Ellen Marie Wiseman is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the highly acclaimed historical fiction novels The Orphan Collector, What She Left Behind, The Plum Tree, Coal River, The Life She Was Given, and The Lost Girls of Willowbrook. Her seventh novel, The Lies They Told, will be released by Kensington Publishing on July 29, 2025. 

Born and raised in Three Mile Bay, a tiny hamlet in northern New York, she’s a first-generation German American who discovered her love of reading and writing while attending first grade in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in New York State. Since then, her novels have been published worldwide, translated into twenty languages, and sold more than one million copies in the United States alone. A mother of two, Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her husband. (Bio courtesy of Ellen's website.)

Visit Ellen online:

Website * Facebook * Instagram

Synopsis:
When Lena Conti—a young, unwed mother—sees immigrant families being forcibly separated on Ellis Island, she vows not to let the officers take her two-year old daughter. But the inspection process is more rigorous than she imagined, and she is separated from her mother and teenage brother, who are labeled burdens to society, denied entry, and deported back to Germany. Now, alone but determined to give her daughter a better life after years of living in poverty and near starvation, she finds herself facing a future unlike anything she had envisioned.

Silas Wolfe, a widowed family relative, reluctantly brings Lena and her daughter to his weathered cabin in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains to care for his home and children. Though the hills around Wolfe Hollow remind Lena of her homeland, she struggles to adjust. Worse, she is stunned to learn the children in her care have been taught to hide when the sheriff comes around. As Lena meets their neighbors, she realizes the community is vibrant and tight knit, but also senses growing unease. The State of Virginia is scheming to paint them as ignorant, immoral, and backwards so they can evict them from their land, seize children from parents, and deal with those possessing “inferior genes.”

After a social worker from the Eugenics Office accuses Lena of promiscuity and feeblemindedness, her own worst fears come true. Sent to the Virginia State Colony for the Feebleminded and Epileptics, Lena face impossible choices in hopes of reuniting with her daughter—and protecting the people, and the land, she has grown to love. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Praise for Ellen's writing:

"An immersive historical tale with chilling twists and turns. Beautifully told and richly imagined." 

—Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author (on The Orphan Collector)

“A must read for WWII Fiction aficionados—and any reader who loves a transporting story.” 

—Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us (on The Plum Tree)

What is one thing you would tell the debut novelist version of yourself? 
If I could tell my debut novelist self one thing, it would be this: keep the faith—because what’s ahead for your books is beyond anything you could imagine!

What is something you learned from writing your previous novels that you applied to The Lies They Told? 
That’s a tough question because every novel feels like a completely new challenge—no matter how many I’ve written, it never really gets easier. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned and brought with me into writing THE LIES THEY TOLD, it’s to trust my instincts.

If The Lies They Told were made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles?
Silas Wolfe—Bradley Cooper 
Lena Conti—Amanda Seyfried
Bonnie Wolfe—Vivien Lyra Blair
Jack Henry Wolfe—Grant Feely
Mariam Sizer—Ann Dowd
George Pollock—Benedict Cumberbatch 

What is the last thing you had a good laugh about?
I’m not sure I can pick one thing because my six grandkids make me laugh all the time. 

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it? 
I have to pick my favorite, Meryl Streep. 

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
First, I’d take you for a boat ride on the beautiful waters of Lake Ontario, where we’d explore charming bays and quaint little villages along the shore. Then we’d head to the St. Lawrence River and the stunning 1000 Islands to see the massive freighters, incredible islands, and Boldt Castle—a full-scale Rhineland castle on picturesque Heart Island in Alexandria Bay. It was built in the early 1900s by George C. Boldt, millionaire proprietor of the world famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.  

Thanks to Ellen for chatting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends July 29th at midnight EST.

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