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Fan favorites in the Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction and Thriller genres
SHORT STORIES
BOOKS
SHORT STORIES
SHORT STORIES
SHORT STORIES
The critically-acclaimed debut collection praised in the
New York Times
NEW on May 26th
A heartwarming story to remind us that forgiveness, like the sea, has tides and it’s never too late to sail toward the sunrise.
When Catherine Moran’s long-lost brother bequeaths her a boat in Key West, she’s not sure what hurts more: his death or the decades they’ve been estranged.
The fifty-seven-year-old thinks this could be the answer to her financial strain since putting their mother in a memory care facility, but when she arrives on the island, her bonanza is a bust. The boat is a dilapidated trawler supposedly once owned by Ernest Hemingway, and a handsome buddy of her brother is living onboard but refuses to jump ship.
Because both Catherine and her brother were named after Hemingway characters, she can’t shake the author’s shadow. Instead of unwinding, Catherine ends up crisscrossing the island trying to drum up interest in the barely operable vessel.
Key West is south of her normal. However, if she wants to unravel the mystery of the boat and her brother, that’s exactly the direction Catherine needs to go.
BOOK TRAILER
PUBLISHED WORKS
ABOUT
A PASSION FOR WRITING
Brett Ellen Block received her undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from the University of Michigan, where she was awarded the prestigious Hopwood and Haugh Prizes for Fiction. She went on to earn graduate degrees at the renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the University of East Anglia’s esteemed Fiction Writing Program in England.
PUBLICATIONS
Her debut collection of short stories, Destination Known, won the Drue Heinz Literary Prize, garnered her the distinguished Michener-Copernicus Fellowship and was reviewed in The New York Times and The Atlantic Monthly. She is also the author of the critically celebrated novel The Grave of God’s Daughter and the Macavity Award-nominated thriller The Lightning Rule. She then went on to write Women's Fiction under Ellen Block and released the internationally lauded novels The Language of Sand and The Definition of Wind. Her work has been translated into numerous languages around the world.
WHAT'S NEXT
In October 2024, Brett won the Launch Pad Prose Competition with her novel Hemingway Slept Here. Soon after, she signed with a literary agent to represent the book, which is now being released by Lake Union under the new title The Secret of Sunrises. Brett has also been a finalist in over 30 screenwriting competitions in 2024-2025.
REVIEWS
THE DEFINITION OF WIND
THE DEFINITION OF WIND
THE DEFINITION OF WIND
"Block's second installment in this entertaining series will make solid beach reading for fans of Women's Fiction."
– Booklist
"The Definition of Wind is an enjoyable read and Ms. Block is an author to watch."
– Reader to Reader
"A breezy read with a charming heroine and a treasure-hunting mystery, this is the perfect book to go along on vacation with you."
– Parkersburg News and Sentinel
"The Definition of Wind is the entertaining and engaging follow up to The Language of Sand...it's thought provoking, bittersweet and funny"
– Night Owl Reviews
THE LANGUAGE OF SAND
THE DEFINITION OF WIND
THE DEFINITION OF WIND
"Life-affirming...(a) book-club-friendly read that will have readers itching for a sequel."
– Booklist
"The Language of Sand has something for everyone: myths, mystery, community, humor, grief, and ultimately healing...Block manages to hold sass and heartfelt emotion in perfect equilibrium."
– Brunonia Barry, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Lace Reader
"Block writes gracefully about heartache and the mending of an injured soul."
– Publisher's Weekly
"A brilliant character-driven novel, The Language of Sand is a Perfect 10."
– Romance Reviews Today
"Featured Author and Featured Novel."
– L.A. Magazine
THE LIGHTNING RULE
THE DEFINITION OF WIND
THE GRAVE OF GOD'S DAUGHTER
"An expertly plotted novel that reminds us that human nature never changes."
– USA Today
"Evocative...(a) vivid portrayal."
– Booklist
"The plot moves briskly, delivering tightly coiled suspense."
– South Florida Sun-Sentinel
"The prodigiously talented Block...uses the Newark riots as the background for her third book, "The Lightning Rule," a painful and often poetic story."
– Chicago Tribune
THE GRAVE OF GOD'S DAUGHTER
THE GRAVE OF GOD'S DAUGHTER
THE GRAVE OF GOD'S DAUGHTER
"Haunting, lyrical...Doubles as a coming-of-age tale and a well-crafted mystery in a graceful way."
– Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"Block's fluid prose makes the (story) especially intoxicating, and her ability to uncover the shadowy, dangerous heart of a wartime mill town is just as impressive."
– Publisher's Weekly
"After a well-received collection of short stories entitled Destination Known...The Grave of God's Daughter affirms the literary promise indicated by the author's shorter work."
– Z-Wire
DESTINATION KNOWN
THE GRAVE OF GOD'S DAUGHTER
DESTINATION KNOWN
"In language that is truthful, focused, deceptively ordinary, and always observant, Block crafts stories...(that) combine the blue collar texture and bulldog perplexity we associate with Raymond Carver and, on the other hand, the clipped economies of William Carlos Williams.”
– Atlantic Monthly
"The stories in Block’s new collection are motion-blurred as snapshots taken from a moving car...Block catches the transients, drifters and runaways that populate her best stories in mid-flight, when a moment’s hesitation or a step in a different direction makes all the difference in the world."
– New York Times