The Narrative Author Q&A: Emma Cowell

Emma lives in Cornwall with her husband, Tony, and their fur baby, a Russian Blue called Papoushka Gerald Cowell. A former actress and BBC presenter,  Emma has worked in the fundraising division of children’s palliative care for the last decade and is currently Head of Philanthropy for national charity Together for Short Lives.

Segueing from being paid to talk for a living into writing was a natural progression, since story telling has been at the heart of her career to date. Also, a keen linguist, Emma is attempting to learn Greek to maintain her love affair with the country where she has set her novels. She is yet to achieve a level of language proficiency outside of tavernas and bakeries.

Her sweeping and evocative bestselling debut novel One Last Letter from Greece was published by Harper Collins in 2022. Her second novel, The House in the Olive Grove went straight on to the UK bestsellers list upon publication in May 2023 and is a current xigxag Top Pick. As xigxag is based in Cornwall and keen to support Cornish authors, we were thrilled when Emma agreed to participate in The Narrative Author Q&A. We hope you enjoy reading her brilliant responses.

Your first novel, One Last Letter From Greece, is a beautiful story about loss and love. Can you tell us about what inspired you to write it?

I had the idea for my novel during the lengthy train journey from London to Cornwall. I saw a writing competition asking for 500 words on ‘The Outfit I’ll Never Wear Again’. I had time on my hands and a bubble of a story. My mind immediately travelled to my mother’s funeral in 2013. She died very suddenly the week before Christmas at the age of fifty-nine. I was still in shock and grappling with my grief although this was a few years later.

We asked those attending her funeral to avoid wearing black, she was so colourful in life and we wanted to keep that essence alive even upon her death. I wore a bright pink cocktail dress with absurdly high shoes and the broach I bought her for Christmas that she never got to unwrap. The memories attached to the purchase of the dress came alive for me as I wrote, a long lunch with Mum, followed by a successful mission to find me an outfit for a pink themed Bat Mitzvah. I never expected to wear it to her funeral.

They say write what you know but I wrote what I felt. I had been through a life-changing experience and placing my grief into a fictional scenario was cathartic and a therapy of sorts. My 500 words didn’t win the writing competition, but I continued to pour out the story over lockdown and beyond. Those words I wrote on that train journey became the opening to my debut novel, One Last Letter From Greece.

What drew you to set your books in Greece? Was there a specific experience or aspect of the country that appealed to you?

I first set foot on the Greek mainland fifteen years ago and something inside clicked. It almost felt like coming home, I can’t describe it nor pinpoint why. If you believe in such things, perhaps it was an echo from another life. Regardless, it was love at first sight!

I was obsessed with gods and goddesses of ancient Greece as a child- the myths, monsters and legends were my slightly dark choice of fairy tale. Being able to walk in the footsteps of ancient man when I first visited Greece felt special. There is a magical quality in the air and being able to visit archaeological digs and see the excavations as they happen is incredible.

What captured my heart, aside from the immense history, was the food. My experience of the Greek culture is that food is front and centre and the power of breaking bread across a table with family or with strangers is a bonding experience like no other. Food is also a fast track way to immerse yourself in a new place and have new experiences.

My novels are a love letter to the Greek culture and the sense from me and The House in the Olive Grove is most certainly a glorious celebration of the food I’ve come to love.

You currently live in Cornwall. How has living in this region influenced your writing, and in what ways has it become a source of inspiration for your stories?

Cornwall has always inspired me, and it’s been my home for twenty years. What appeals to me about it, aside from the stunning landscape is the sense of traditional and community. When so many parts of our lives are divided and fractured, Cornwall feels like a united force.

As a writer, there is something innately romantic about the traditions of fishing and farming. The love interest in my first novel is a fisherman and it was a small way to be able to shine a light on the danger of the profession by writing it with such admiration yet highlight the beautiful simplicity of man pitting himself against nature. I feel attached to a line from my book: ‘No matter how technology evolves, there will always be a need for a man, a boat and a net…’

One year in Greece, I was watching a man sardine fishing in a small wooden punt just off the beach and it reminded me of Cornwall back in the pilchard industry days. There are a lot of similarities between Cornwall and Greece – if you put aside the climate- and the fierce pride of history and tradition still rings true today as it did hundreds of years ago.

The House in the Olive Grove came out in May (and is a current Top Pick on xigxag!). It centres on the friendship between three women. Is there a particular character or friendship in your book that you feel especially connected to?

Thank you xigxag for your amazing support! I didn’t consciously set out to celebrate female friendship, and write three such powerful women, but I’m glad I did. They each have their own journey of self discovery and almost hold a mirror up to one another. Not that it’s plain sailing between them at all, two of the characters really rub each other up the wrong way!

I love all three of them for very different reasons, but Maria is very special. Her ability to heal and counsel others is selfless but she is persecuted by some of the locals in her village for being different.

Her character was a way to amplify the power of community both good and bad and the difference we can make when we come together united in a cause. The friendship she forms with Alessandra and Kayla is unexpected and encourages her to take the time to heal herself and not just focus on those around her.

Your titles have been narrated by the brilliant Kristen Atherton. What attributes were you hoping for in a narrator, and what do you think listeners will enjoy most about Kristen’s narration?

Oh, Kristen is just incredible and such a powerhouse of velvety vocal wonder! I was overjoyed that she agreed to narrate both my novels and I would love to work with her again. Hearing her voice my debut was such a thrill and an honour. She also candidly shared in our bonus audiobook chat about one of the issues in the novel that had affected her life and that really moved me.

When I heard her version of The House in the Olive Grove, I wept, because she voiced the characters precisely as I heard them in my head when I was writing. It was more than I could have dreamed of, and I am so grateful to her for being so flipping brilliant and bringing my words to life in her own beautiful way.

What can listeners expect from your next novel?

For the first time, I am leaving the Greek mainland for the setting and heading to the island of Hydra! It’s a fabulous place off the coast of Athens with no cars, just mules and water taxis being the only available transport. I am utterly in love with the place, so I had to set a story there.

The book is a love story, more about a love lost and found than love at first sight. It’s about two sisters with a very complex dynamic; one is utterly neurotic yet desperately unhappy, though she keeps up appearances by trying to control everyone around her. The other is a photographer who is a creative free spirit but refuses to settle down because her heart was so badly broken years ago.

The man who broke her heart wrote a world famous love song about their relationship and she spends her time in the most remote places of the world to avoid it, but it haunts her everywhere she goes- even on Hydra. Both sisters have secrets that threaten to spill out on the island and change their relationship forever. There is Greece, love, music and food- all things you’d expect from my stories.

What are you listening to at the moment? 

I have The Three Musketeers on the go as I am nuts about the classics re-told and this version by Marty Ross is brilliant. I’ve also started Miriam Margolyes’ biography. I adore her- she is fearless, unapologetic and inimitable, truly one of a kind.

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Emma for participating in The Narrative Author Q&A – we really appreciate the support. Check out her wonderful titles on the app, or by using the links above, and transport yourself to sunny Greece for the summer – bliss!