Carolyn D. Cowen
EDUCATOR & STORYTELLER
ABOUT ME
The great-great granddaughter of a sea captain, I grew up in the coastal town near the site of the shipwreck featured in my first novel, WEB OF LEGACIES. After stints as a white-water riverguide and outdoor-adventure instructor, I earned a master’s degree at Harvard Graduate School of Education, then settled into a career in schools and nonprofits focused on needs of children with dyslexia—which runs in my family and as an undercurrent in my life and first novel.
Writing credentials include editing and writing articles and chapters in academic publications. Currently, I serve as Executive Editor-in-Chief for the International Dyslexia Association’s editorial boards.
When not dealing with the “tyranny-of-the-urgent” in real (?) life, I’m seeking representation for WEB OF LEGACIES and working on my second novel. Here’s a sneak peek: When a dysfunctional group of women on a Maine Island retreat for authors afflicted with sudden acute writers’ block (SAWB) discover their miraculous recoveries actually are a ghost taking possession of their writing, they must work together to solve 100-year-old murder mystery … or never write again.
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My young-adult daughters have flown the nest, so now my journalist husband and I live in Marshfield MA with an opposable-thumbed Maine Coon Cat (aka, a “Hemingway cat”) who is bent on world domination.
WEB OF LEGACIES: A SNAPSHOT
Inspired by a true story, WEB OF LEGACIES follows a matrilineal Irish-American family that gets off to a precarious start after a nor’easter sinks a Boston-bound Irish famine ship and a baby girl washes ashore alone. Generations later, the saga might end where it began—at the shipwreck’s site during another epic storm—unless a thrill-seeking woman defeats a man who wants her dead.
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Set in the mid 19th and 20th centuries, WEB OF LEGACIES flirts with the paranormal as it follows four generations of an Irish-American family from immigration to assimilation. Their tale opens with scenes from a true story.
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On a cold October morning in 1849 off coastal Massachusetts, a nor’easter ravaged the Irish famine ship, the St. John. Captain and crew abandoned the brig, leaving passengers to perish. Most did. But at dusk, an infant girl washed ashore into the arms of a man pulling wreckage and bodies from the surf. She was taken in by a local family, then disappeared from recorded history.
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WEB OF LEGACIES imagines the harrowing final hours aboard the St. John and how a timid mother, desperate to save her baby, dies making a brave choice—one that enables a matrilineal family to plant tender roots in a hostile landscape and chase their dreams. Buffeted by tempests and treacheries, four resolute but flawed women (three with dyslexia) tell their stories as their dreams diverge and as their lives intertwine and clash with a powerful Yankee dynasty.
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Mairéad believes her family’s future depends on knowing their past but doesn’t know she’s about to die in a shipwreck. Her orphan daughter, Peggy, doesn’t know the secrets she keeps will destroy her dream of a loving family. Her spoiled daughter, Margaret, doesn’t know her soulless quest for status will bring wealth but cost her everything. And her rebellious daughter, Margot, doesn’t know her reckless crusade to escape her family’s web of legacies will compel her to fight for her life on the storm-lashed ocean ledges that claimed her great-grandmother a century before. Their story seems fated to end where it began, until Margot hears a mysterious but familiar voice.
Mairéad
Mairéad sacrifices herself, hoping to save her baby, but her spirit lingers, watching over her progeny.
READ AN EXCERPT of Mairéad's story here.
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Peggy
STORYTELLING
Peggy (Mairéad’s orphan daughter) finally achieves her dream—a family—but threatens its wellbeing by keeping a heart-breaking secret and overindulging her daughter.
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READ AN EXCERPT of Peggy's story here
Margaret
Ashamed of her Irish-immigrant heritage, Margaret (Peggy’s spoiled daughter), must abandon her soulless quest for social status or lose everything, even herself.
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READ AN EXCERPT of Margaret's story here
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Margot
CONSULTING
Caught in a web of legacies, Margot (Margaret’s rebellious daughter) must confront her demons while fighting for her life on the storm-lashed ocean ledges that claimed Mairéad. As Margot surrenders to a fate seemingly scripted a century before, she senses her great-grandmother’s loving spirit and renews her struggle to survive.
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READ AN EXCERPT of Margot's story here
At its heart, this tale of mothers and daughters is about three women who are desperate to fit in and one who is determined to break out. With stopovers in NYC, Madrid, Paris, and London, WEB OF LEGACIES traverses the landscapes of coastal Massachusetts and the human spirit to explore how the legacies of trauma and love echo across generations. Dyslexia also runs as a powerful undercurrent throughout this story.
THE PROTAGONISTS
MOOD BOARDS & PLAYLISTS
These are some mood boards I created for pitch events. Also, here is a beautiful playlist inspired by WEB OF LEGACIES that my daughter, Abby Wilpers, helped me create (click here to listen). My other daughter, Melissa Wilpers, took my author photo, and my husband, John Wilpers, helped me build this website. Love'em all to pieces!
FUN TWITTER PITCHES
I've had a blast playing with the various Twitter pitch events. These three pitches are from #MoodPitch (Fall 2022), which blends traditional 280-character text pitching with mood boards. It's definitely one of my favorite pitch events on Twitter!
All Videos
COASTAL QUISINE STEEPED IN HISTORY
Coastal Massachusetts cuisine is steeped in a rich history rooted in the region’s natural resources. Maple syrup, cranberries, blueberries, squash, corn, and especially seafood are native and iconic. So, of course, food finds its way into WEB OF LEGACIES! Click here two recipes.