What readers are saying:
“Elly is the kind of heroine who felt like a friend, even after only a few pages in. I found myself laughing with her, cheering for her, celebrating her victories, and sharing in her heartbreak. She’s a relatably flawed, hilariously charming every woman with universal appeal.”
“Elly in Bloom is such a refreshing and inspiring read for women everywhere. A great lesson in finding happiness with who you are, and about picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and moving on to better things.”
The Author
“Colleen Oakes is a crisp, intelligent new voice in chick lit fiction, adept at handling both a character’s inner and outer world. Her dialogue is brisk and clever, and her plotting is a smooth invitation to keep turning pages.”
– Andrea Waggener, Author of Alternate Beauty
Colleen Oakes was born in Denver, Colorado to her parents, Ronald and Tricia. She was soon joined by a little sister Cynthia, who she quickly decided was her archnemesis. When she was in 4th grade at her public elementary school, Colleen told her teacher, Ms. Brown, that she wanted to be a writer. Ms. Brown agreed and began giving her special writing projects. Out of this came the brilliant four page novel, “Why I hate Casey”, complete with illustrations. It has yet to be published.
She attended Denver Lutheran High School for most of her high school career, where she had the good graces to befriend many wonderful teachers and students and the occasional homeless man. She graduated in 1998 (to Greenday’s “Time of Your Life” the anthem of everyone who graduated that year) and continued on to college at Concordia College in Bronxville, NY. In Bronxville, she truly hit her stride, and excelled at art, academics, journalism and having more than two friends. (She had four.) Her junior year she wrote a play entitled “The Problem with Faith” and it was performed at the college over a long Spring weekend. In addition, she wrote frequently for the newspaper and the school’s literary journal.