Celebrating Women • Rules Weaken Near Salt Water • Debut Novel 2026 • Grey Ellis Press •
Maria Grey Ellis was born in Bremerton, Washington, before living in South East Asia during her childhood and teenage years. She has traveled and lived all over the United States and has since settled back in the Pacific Northwest, where she is trying to make peace with the rain.
She has loved writing since winning her first writing award in the 2nd grade. She has been an Austen devotee since she was twelve, when Sense and Sensibility pulled her in and never quite let go. That obsession quietly shaped everything that followed, including Rules Weaken Near Salt Water, her debut novel.
About
Maria Grey Ellis
Author & Storyteller
Debut novel
Rules Weaken Near Salt Water
New York, 1922. When Mr. Whitmore dies and his estate is gambled away by his son, Eleanor, Marian, and their mother are forced to abandon their Long Island life for a modest cottage on Cape Cod. Eleanor throws herself into work, Marian into grief, and neither expects to find anything in Westhaven beyond endurance.
But the salty sea air has a way of loosening rules that New York kept firmly in place. Witty, emotionally rich, and deeply felt, Rules Weaken Near Salt Water is inspired by Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility and set against the backdrop of Jazz Age America--a novel about grief, rebuilding, and the stubborn persistence of love.
Explore Maria Grey Ellis's Works
Maria Grey Ellis's debut novel will be available on August 25, 2026 across these major platforms. Stay tuned for future editions and upcoming novels.