Rehoboth resident, UD professor publishes novel
Rehoboth resident Ethan Joella realized a lifelong dream with the publication of his first novel, “A Little Hope,” by Simon & Schuster, available Nov. 16.
Set in a small Connecticut town, Joella’s debut novel follows the intertwining lives of a dozen neighbors as they confront everyday desires and fears. Joella has authored essays, poems and chapbooks in the past, and he said he knew there was something special about this book.
In 2016, his wife’s mother died of leukemia; he started the book the fall after she died, when he had gained an understanding of grief and carrying on after loss.
“It changed how I looked at the world,” Joella said. “I started appreciating the small moments of life. Going through that with my wife taught me a lot, and you don’t realize people are going through that every day, losing people they can’t lose.”
Over the years, Joella said he had queried hundreds of agents, “until almost none were left.” At midnight one night, he sent out three queries to agents he had not yet contacted. The last one he emailed replied at noon the next day.
“She read the two sample chapters I sent and wanted more,” Joella said.
As it happened, the agent was based in London but planning a trip to New York. The Joella family had tickets to a Broadway show during the same time period; a meeting was planned to discuss options, and his agent subsequently sold the book to Simon & Schuster a few months later.
“It was a dream come true,” Joella said; Simon & Schuster even signed him on for a second book before the first one even was even available for sale.
To celebrate the book’s launch, Browseabout Books will feature Joella at a reception and reading event from 4 to 6 p.m., Friday, Nov. 19 at Rehoboth Beach Country Club.
Browseabout will donate 10% of all sales of “A Little Hope” to the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild, said Browseabout owner Susan Kehoe, who said Joella uses the language of a poet to pull back the curtains of his characters’ lives and allow the reader to peer into their broken, but hopeful, hearts.
“You’ll become invested in the lives of these interconnected families,” Kehoe said. “You’ll laugh when they find unexpected joy, and cry when they realize that some loves are gone forever."
Joella grew up in Pennsylvania, and his family has been vacationing in Rehoboth since the 1950s, he said. His parents bought their home in the 1980s, and as a child, he was a frequent patron of Browseabout, so for the bookstore to host a reception for his first novel is very special, Joella said.
In 2010, Joella joined the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild, an organization whose members, particularly Maribeth Fischer, supported and challenged him as he worked, Joella said; he now serves as the guild’s board president.
Currently an English and psychology professor at University of Delaware’s Georgetown campus, Joella has taught at the high school and college level since he was 21. He lives in Rehoboth with his wife, also a college professor, and their two teenage daughters.
Register for the Nov. 19 launch party at bit.ly/3pAGZrr.
