REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.- Ethan Joella loves Rehoboth Beach.
The author and University of Delaware professor grew up coming to town as a child, and now calls it home with his wife and two children. So to see his new book "A Quiet Life" debut at his hometown bookstore, Browseabout, is a dream come true.
"I wish every writer could have that same kind of feeling," Joella tells WRDE. "You feel like you've come home. You've come full circle."
Joella's debut novel, "A Little Hope" made it big on the national book circuit. Today Show co-host Jenna Bush Hagar selected it as a bonus pick for the Read with Jenna book club. "A Little Hope" was also part of the popular subscription service Book of the Month. His new novel, "A Quiet Life" is receiving advanced praise.
"They're about people showing up for each other and caring for one another," Joella says, describing the books' similarities. "You find encouragement in unexpected places. You find healing in unexpected places when you are going through big things."
Joella says Rehoboth Beach has inspired him in more ways than one.
"I think in my writing, I try to create those little close knit communities and those picturesque places. So there's a lot of idealism in that, but I see that idealism every day in Rehoboth," he tells WRDE. "A lot of people are dislocated from where they grew up in Rehoboth, so I think you get a lot of found family [here] and you get a lot of found family in my books as well."
Browseabout Books and the Lewes Public Library are hosting the launch party for "A Quiet Life" on Tuesday. Tickets are free, and pre-orders for the book are at Browseabout.
Browseabout owner Susan Kehoe says Joella's career means a lot to the local community.
"I think it really does tell them that if you persevere, if you are good at your craft, that you're going to be rewarded for that," she says. "We are excited to see someone in our community do so well on a national level. It's just another reason to be proud of our community and the people who live here."
Joella credits the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild for lifting him up and improving his writing--calling the guild his "grown up MFA"--and says his next book will take place in Rehoboth Beach. His advice to young writers? A little progress each day on your book goes a long way, as does persistence.
"There's not this idea of overnight success with my story," he says. "It took hundreds of rejections from agents and editors. You get there, hopefully, if you keep at it."
Tickets for the launch party for "A Quiet Life" can be found here. Browseabout will donate 10 percent of the sales from the book to the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild.