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Lian Dolan Books In Order

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Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Helen of Pasadena (2010)Description / Buy at Amazon
Elizabeth the First Wife (2013)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Sweeney Sisters (2020)Description / Buy at Amazon
Lost and Found in Paris (2022)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Marriage Sabbatical (2024)Description / Buy at Amazon

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

You're the Best (2015)Description / Buy at Amazon

Lian Dolan is a talk show host, wife, mother, Chaos Chronicle, Satellite Siter, and novelist. Her debut novel was the LA Times bestselling title “Helen of Pasadena” that she published in 2010. The novel is part social satire and part romantic comedy that was a hit with book clubs and critics alike. She followed that up with the 2013 published novel “Elizabeth the First Wife” and “The Sweeney Sisters” in 2020 both of which follow in the same tradition of romance, wit, and Shakespeare. Lian blogs and talks about her life and adventures in contemporary parenting from “The Chaos Chronicles,” the weekly podcast and Chaoschronicles.com her blog. Lian has often used her platform to discuss all facets of motherhood from overcoming handbag envy, all-consuming school volunteering, and common-sense parenting. She has made a name for herself with her witty take on contemporary issues women have to deal with regardless of where they are in the world. In 2010, she sold the TV rights to a half-hour comedy she developed based on her blog and podcast to Nickelodeon. Dolan is a regular columnist for several prestigious magazines including Working Mother Magazine, The Oprah Magazine, and Pasadena Magazine. She has also written for websites, radio, and TV.

After graduating from high school, Lian Dolan attended Pomona College from where she graduated with a bachelor’s in the Classics. After getting her degree, she became a producer/writer for various sporting manufacturers. She then graduated to freelance writing and wrote for several prestigious magazines before she got into fiction writing. Unlike many authors who decide to start writing, it was very different for Dolan. She had been working on a daily radio show for nearly a decade when out of the blue her show was terminated and she suddenly found herself jobless. She still had a lot of creative energy in the tank and so decided that she would try her hand at creative writing. She enrolled for an online writing class and began writing notes on possible book ideas. She felt that the story of a woman like her who had it very smooth sailing only to have to reinvent herself in mid-life would be very interesting. Within twelve months, she had finished writing the manuscript for her debut Helen of Pasadena. While she has been influenced by all manner of formats from Twitter to TV and essays, she has a few authors who have been a huge inspiration. She is particularly inspired by the sense of humanity and humor, and the breadth of work of the late Nora Ephron, Issa Rae, Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Anna Quindlen.

Apart from her writing, Lian Dolan is the host and producer of the “Satellite Sisters.” It is an esteemed talk show that she runs with four of her elder sisters. While she is the youngest of five grown sisters, she decided to bring together her siblings to reconnect and discuss issues they believe are important for a life in the contemporary world of women. They launched the podcast in 2000 and it has now become one of the fastest-growing programs on NPR, that is syndicated all across the United States. In the podcast, Dolan has conducted interviews with everyone from Big Bird to Madeleine Albright and Nora Ephron. Satellite Sisters is now a top women’s podcast that has come far from the days of humble beginnings as a radio show. The five sisters have also written the book “You’re the Best,” which has become one of the most popular titles at book clubs. Given her combination of heart and humor, Lian has become a well-liked speaker that has gone on shows such as “The Today Show,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” and several TV stations. Dolan has also spoken at the Orange County Festival of Women Authors, the Celebrity Authors Lunch in Santa Barbara, the LA Times Festival of Books and dozens of women’s organizations, schools, libraries, and book stores across the United States. She currently lives in Pasadena California with her husband and children.

“Helen of Pasadena” the debut novel by Lian Dolan is the story of Helen Fairchild. Her husband has just left her turning her life upside down. The man had died in a freak accident almost immediately after leaving while attending the RAOE Parade in Pasadena. To complicate matters even more, Helen is informed that she had very little money left and almost nothing from the divorce settlement and they may have to declare bankruptcy to survive. She now has to put her house on the market and get a job if she is to be able to provide for her son’s schooling and other needs. This makes her look anew at the choices she has made. She asserts that she would have preferred to be a member of the young mother’s club any day rather than be a grad student if she had the choice between the two. She soon gets a job with a new archeologist in town named Dr. Patrick O’Neill, who is examining the findings of another expert that was working on the ruins of Troy. He is a successful, charming handsome man who also happens to be single. In addition to being a research assistant, Helen needs to help Patrick navigate the social scene in town which includes a wide range of women vying for his attention.

Lian Dolan’s “Elizabeth the First Wife” is a novel about a Shakespearean teacher named Elizabeth Lancaster. She teaches at the Pasadena Community College even though she comes from a family of high achievers and meticulous people. Her father is a Nobel Prize-winning man and her mother is obsessed with having everything in perfect order. Elizabeth is the odd one out even among her siblings as her sister is a doctor, and another had married a wealthy man that is currently gunning for the governorship of California. Elizabeth is contented with her life until a famous movie star that was once upon a time her husband walks in with a proposal. He has been contracted to perform live theatre at the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland Oregon and he thinks Elizabeth would be the perfect literary advisor. She takes up the offer and tags along with her niece that she intends to have as an intern on the job. The Ashland scene shows the huge chasm between Hollywood and classical Shakespeare as the theatre’s director insists on having nudity in the script for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” In a desperate attempt to save face, Elizabeth convinces the director to edit the production but will it be enough?

“The Sweeney Sister” is Lian Dolan’s latest blockbuster novel that features three siblings whose lives are disrupted by the death of their father William Sweeney, who had been a famous author. Liza the eldest daughter was meeting clients in Southport, Connecticut when she was informed that her father had a heart attack. It is not a huge surprise since he was in poor health after years of drinking heavily. Maggie the middle sibling is a talented artist who is struggling to make ends meet while battling depression. Tricia the youngest is the happiest of them all as she has a successful career as a lawyer. The sisters come together for the reading of the will and are shocked to learn that they had another sister who had been born before Liza. They band together and reject their half-sister Serena Tucker who had been the only child in the house next door to where they had lived. They feel that she is an intruder into their family and find it hard to accept that their father had sired a child out of wedlock. They decide to go on a quest to find a missing manuscript they believe will have all the answers they have regarding Serena and their father.

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