Abbe Rolnick grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland. Her first major cultural jolt occurred at age 15 when her family moved to Miami Beach, Florida. To find perspective, she climbed the only non-palm tree at her condo complex and wrote what she observed. History came alive with her exposure to Cuban culture. After attending Boston University, she lived in Puerto Rico, where she owned a bookstore. Once Stateside, she capitalized on the knowledge she gained as an independent bookstore owner and worked for one of the finest bookstores, Village Books, in Bellingham, WA.   Once a CEO of a manufacturing firm and owner of a healthy foods café, she is now retired.

River of Angels flows from her experiences in Puerto Rico and is the first novel in her Generations of Secrets series. She continues with Color of Lies, bringing the reader to the Pacific Northwest where she presently resides. Here she blends stories from island life with characters in Skagit Valley. The third in the series, Founding Stones was recently published and continues with characters from her two previous novels. Her readers describe the series as “deep and meaningful,” with “complex relationships” that “transport you to a different place” and “a plot worthy of the cedar-scented NW atmosphere.”

Her recent experiences with her husband’s cancer inspired Cocoon of Cancer: An Invitation to Love Deeply, a love story that shares intimate tips for caregivers and family. Tattle Tales: Essays and Stories Along the Way is a compilation of twenty years of writing. These two books show a “skill for writing that brings a cluster of sunshine through the dim of darkness,” where “you can feel the author’s presence.”

Bubbie’s Magical Hair is her first children’s illustrated book—a combination of lyrical text and playful illustrations that takes readers on a whimsical journey as Bubbie and her grandchildren grow older, remind us of all the ways grandparents bring us joy, comfort, and inspiration.

An avid world traveler, Abbe can be found with her husband Jim in Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, Sri Lanka, the Middle East, and other exotic countries when they aren’t at their home amid twenty acres in Skagit Valley, Washington, or visiting with her grown children and grandkids.

What are you working on now?

I wrote a short story about a woman in her sixties, faced with a disturbing picture of her mother, long deceased, with a gentleman other than her father. Without realizing it, the story grew into what is now considered the half-way point of a full novel. The working title is Sealy. This is a complete departure from other novels. I’m letting Sealy speak and direct me. I’m always surprised.