In Hotel Abundancia the death of a dear friend awakens in Sara an emptiness she can no longer ignore. An unexpected gift allows her a short reprieve from her impoverished life. She embarks upon on an epic journey of the heart. This sojourn brings Sarah to a deeper understanding of self. But it is an understanding that may require the letting go of what she fought so hard – and travelled so far – to find. Each of the characters Sara encounters provides unexpected lessons, both painful and inspiring. And the mystical villages of Mexico, the pristine backwoods of Maine, the lush verdure of Vancouver Island, and the lake-bejeweled desert of the Okanagan Valley become characters unto themselves, as their influence guides Sara towards making the most difficult decision of her life.

Hotel Abundancia is full of small, vivid pleasures drawn from the familiar, and all the better for it.Ellen Arrand’s sensitive, layered writing weaves past and present in a tender exploration of a mid-life coming of age: it is never too early for regrets or too late to gather the courage to re-shape a life.
~ Marilyn Bowering

Ellen Arrand has written a sympathetic and perceptive story of a woman's journey of self-discovery.
~ Catherine Bush, author of Accusation, Claire’s Head and The Rules of Engagement

Ellen Arrand is a novelist, short story writer, and playwright. Her first novel, Public Works Private Souls, was published by Beach Holme in 1994. Her short stories have appeared in Grain, Waves, Room of One’s Own (now Room) and Random Thought. Her full-length play, The Trutch Street Women, was a finalist in Theatre BC’s National Playwriting Competition in 2005. Also in 2005, Bear Me Stiffly Up, a one-act play, was a winner in Grain Magazine’s monologue contest. Both plays were published by Ekstasis Editions and produced in Victoria by Theatre Inconnu. Ellen has a Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph-Humber.