Valerie Van Orman holds a Ph.D. in communication studies and is currently a university professor in Pennsylvania, where she resides with her husband and cat. Her academic publications include 40+ peer-reviewed research articles, book reviews, and book chapters, as well as the academic book Public Memory and the Television Series Outlander. She is passionate about creating public memory of women's stories that have been lost to history and sharing her own family history stories through fiction.
""Exquisitely written, Helen of Holliday's Cove both warmed my heart and gave me chills. Strong characters, especially trailblazing women who fought for rights and kept their families' together, explores love and loss through the small and big moments that shape lives, and the supernatural bonds of generations that connect us all."" -- Nichola D. Gutgold, Ph.D., best-selling author and scholar ""Helen of Holliday's Cove is a captivating tale filled with complex character development, warmth and nostalgia. The riveting prologue establishes a plot that seamlessly moves between the past and present until the gripping, page-turner ending. In this tale of a multi-generational family, Van Orman incorporates rich imagery that transports readers back to the early 1900s and kitschy pop-culture references that captured the zeitgeist of the 1990s. Van Orman masterfully interweaves love, loss and a handful of taboo topics in this heartfelt tale. Helen's story is one of strength, fortitude, bravery, heartbreak and love. She proves to be the perfect protagonist whose story can now live on for generations to come. While on her journey to uncover her own familial history, Van Orman creates a novel that reminds readers of the importance of generational stories, tradition, and family values."" -- Jessica L. Neu, author of Overcoming Polarization: An Exploration of Deliberative Democracy, Communication Ethics, and Post-Truth America