After being told by her doctor in 2009 that she would never work again, Éilísh decided to prove medical officials wrong rather than wallow in grief. Having decades of writing experience, Éilísh saw the opportunity to pursue her dreams full-time. Now, with 13 novels in various stages of the publication process, Éilísh is launching her writing career with the hope of inspiring others who have similar life situations. The Magic of the Piney Woods: Born in Dallas, yet not a city girl, Éilísh grew up on a small farm in the heart of the Piney Woods just off the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation, minutes from Woodville, TX. Running barefoot through the trees, her imagination soared. It was there that she fell in love with the art of storytelling. Her grandmother would tell stories every night after dinner, and Éilísh looked forward to every one. She received her first typewriter at 8 years old. The Piney Woods Saga is a women’s fiction series based in the very woods she spent her childhood in. Éilísh Hawes-Fraser is a wife, mother, grandmother, and fur-mom to four dogs and three cats. When she’s not writing, she’s crocheting and watching Outlander — often at the same time. Her goal with her writing career is to give society reason to connect. “As a society, we've become too busy, self-absorbed. We've forgotten what it is to be a compassionate people. I see compassion in the world, here and there. But, what I'm talking about is where we look out for one another, as a way of life.”