Every story worth reading has a good beginning. From “Moby Dick” and “Pride and Prejudice” to “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, good stories often hinge on how impactful the first few chapters are. 

The first few chapters of Mary Ellen Gilliland’s life were not only memorable to her, but also sent her on a career path that has since resulted in close to 20 books being published under her name.

Gilliland first got into writing when she was just 10 years old. Instructed by her teacher to write a story based on a given outline, Gilliland crafted an elaborate piece of work that shocked the teacher.

“The teacher said, ‘This is very good,'” Gilliland said. “She gave me an A-plus and told me I could be a writer when I grow up. And I went, ‘Wow.'”

Inspired by the kind words from her teacher, Gilliland continued to dabble in writing throughout grade school until she decided to take her writing to the next level at the age of 16. With a burning desire to expand her skills, Gilliland loaded a Greyhound bus by herself and went to Ohio in order to attend her first journalism writer camp.

“It was amazingly good,” Gilliland said. “I learned to write what I loved to read. Laura Ingalls Wilder and the “Little House on the Prairie” series was my absolute wonderment. They contain very vivid, concrete details, like what people ate and what it looked like and how it tasted. It makes a vivid picture in the reader’s mind.”

With Wilder’s work serving as a blueprint, Gilliland published her first book after she graduated college. While working at Family Circle Magazine, Gilliland published a home decorating guide. After putting out her first book, Gilliland continued to write with a passion. Gilliland wrote a book on the art objects of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel while living in Hawaii before moving to Summit County and becoming fascinated with the area’s pioneers. 

Always a huge fan of history, Gilliland found it easy to spend hours researching and talking to people about the gold rush and homestead eras in the county. 

“I love history and I love Americana — American history,” Gilliland said. 

With this newfound knowledge, Gilliland would spend her time writing local history magazine articles for the “Summit Sentinel”. Summit County residents showed a strong appetite for the articles, many of which uncovered pieces of local history previously unknown to much of the community.

Gilliland’s articles for the “Summit Sentinel” eventually morphed into her publishing her third book, which she titled, “Summit: A Gold Rush History of Summit County, Colorado.”

Composed of 501 pages, Gilliland offers a detailed look into what Summit County looked, felt, smelt and even tasted like during the gold rush era. With so many stories to tell and track, Gilliland would spend hours in the Denver Public Library poring over historical records and old newspapers.

“I went to the Denver Public Library’s fourth floor, which is the Western History Department, and they had the mother lode of history,” Gilliland said. “They handed me an 1879 first edition of the newspaper in Kokomo. The highest newspaper in the world.”

After hours of research, writing and edits, Gilliland put out a book that is well-loved to this day. 

“The pent-up interest in local history that my articles had stirred created a market for the book,” Gilliland said.”When we published it, I figured my mother would buy one — that’s it. But no, we had a big response. It just started rolling and it really hasn’t stopped.” 

Riding off the coattails of her first book to see widespread success, Gilliland kept her pen to the paper and soon published subsequent books. In 1997, Gilliland wrote “The Summit Hiker” which details 40 historic hikes in the Summit County area. 

Similar to “Summit: A Gold Rush History of Summit County, Colorado” the book saw almost immediate success and continues to sell well to this day. 

“I was sitting at a craft fair and an acquaintance of mine came up to me and told me I was going to write a book about hiking in Summit County,” Gilliland said. “… It started with 40 hikes and then as with any guide book, you have to keep on it because the facts change, things change.”

Most recently, Gilliland published a book that details the history of her ancestor, George Soule. Titled “George Soule, Mayflower Pilgrim, and His Descendants: An American Story”, Gilliland explores the story of Soule, who was a passenger on the Mayflower and came to America as an indentured servant. 

With 18 books and nearly 200 articles to her name, Gilliland was recently recognized by the American Heritage Committee of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution with the prestigious Women in the Arts Recognition Award.

A presentation took place at the Summit Historical Society in Dillon on May 31, giving Gilliland the opportunity to be properly applauded for her work in the region and across the state of Colorado. 

“I thought I would go over there and get a little paper and go home,” Gilliland said. “I found out it was from the Red Rocks chapter, but when I got there I found out it is a national award and they have all these people there that they brought up to make the presentation. … I was just stunned, I am still stunned.”

A day after receiving the national award, Gilliland was notified by the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame that she will be inducted into this year’s hall of fame class due to her work throughout her career. 

“They said they were presenting me with an induction into the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame,” Gilliland said. “That includes some very notable names like John Denver for his songs and John Fielder for his photographs and Clive Cussler for all of his novels.”

Gilliland will receive the award at a gala dinner later this year on Sept. 6. 

“I think I was weak in the knees — I really still am about the whole thing,” Gilliland said.