Even though Ellen was born in Germany, she was raised in New Jersey (insert Jersey joke here). That’s probably why she suffered extreme culture shock when her family moved to South Carolina when she was sixteen.

After all, it's hard to be uprooted from a pretty colonial town, say goodbye to lifelong friends, and be dragged 800 miles south by your parents. Ellen freely admits that the transformation from Jersey Girl to Southern Belle was a rocky one.

But steeped in history, the Lowcountry of South Carolina is the perfect place for a writer to live, because Charleston’s gorgeous historic houses, cobblestone streets, and moss-draped gardens serve as the ultimate “romance laboratory.”

So 40 years later has Ellen acclimated to living here? "Heck yeah, y’all."