What happens when you wake up to a life you don't recognize—or like? Bestselling author Emma Grey explores this haunting question in her powerful new novel PICTURES OF YOU, a story that will stay with readers long after the final page. Fresh off the remarkable success of THE LAST LOVE NOTE, Emma sits down with me to share the deeply personal inspirations behind her latest work, including the real-life conversations and relationships that shaped this unforgettable tale of loss, hope, and second chances. Pour yourself a cup of tea and join us for this week's heartfelt Jen's Jewels author interview.
Jennifer Vido: PICTURES OF YOU has such an emotional depth. What inspired you to write about a character dealing with memory loss and second chances?
Emma Grey: Evie has woken up in a life she doesn’t recognize — or like — after the car accident that killed her husband. Amnesia heightens her sense of confusion and loss and, as the writer, it kept me guessing as I explored the story, desperate to discover what went so wrong in her marriage.
I think many of us hold a “what if?” question from our past, whether it’s about a relationship, a career choice or the unfolding of something else that took us away from a path we’d imagined. I love exploring those thoughts, and also suggesting it’s never too late to change direction.
Jen: Evie’s journey feels so real and raw. Can you walk us through your writing process for developing such layered characters and complex emotions?
Emma: This story was sewn together from decades of conversations with the women in my life from high school onwards. I’ve been Evie’s best friend, Bree, multiple times, watching the insidious way that dangerous relationships develop, knowing how hard it is to break away, wishing things were different.
Conversations with my daughter, Hannah Robertson, drove home the importance of this topic. She is nearing completion of a criminology PhD at the Australian National University, researching gendered violence. This book takes themes from her academic field and fictionalizes the topic in a way that I’m hoping is accessible and relatable to readers.
I get to know each character more deeply in every draft, and often layer in elements from my own life. It’s the scenes that are closest to home that probably read the best. I lost my mum while I was writing this book, and I think that comes through emotionally on the page. The more of yourself you give to a story, the closer it feels to readers.
Jen: Did you know where Evie’s journey would take her from the beginning, or did her story evolve as you wrote it?
Emma: No, I’m a committed “pantser”, with no plotting at any stage. This cost me 30,000 words at one point, when the story had veered wildly off track. It’s thrilling (and hair-raising) writing this way, but the discoveries you make along the way as the author keep the joy of writing alive for me. I’m just glad Evie and I figured it all out together in the end!
Jen: Who is your favorite character in this book and why?
Emma: I think it’s Drew. He’s so calm and patient and so loyal to her, through so much tumult. I think there’s a little bit of Gilbert Blythe in him, and I was just so happy to give him the promise for his future that he so richly deserves.
Jen: Your last book, THE LAST LOVE NOTE, is one of my favorite reads! How did that experience shape your approach to writing this new novel?
Emma: It made it more daunting! Readers warmly embraced THE LAST LOVE NOTE, and it became a bestseller in the US and in Australia. Knowing that readers were waiting for the next novel, I worried I would let them down. You’re in the midst of a messy first draft, and have to remember not to compare it to the polished book you’ve just released. It’s quite a mindset challenge.
Writing is one of those jobs where your work is on display for the world to see and comment upon, and hopefully readers also see progress. This is an ambitious novel, more complex than the first and on another topic that deeply matters, so I hope I have done it justice!
Jen: What role does social media play in your connection with readers, and do you have a favorite platform for sharing updates and behind-the-scenes glimpses?
Emma: I truly love engaging with readers online, and value everyone’s time and support. I’ve built real friendships with readers over the last year or so. One lovely story is connected with a high-school senior from Illinois who made a playlist for THE LAST LOVE NOTE and shared it. I loved this so much, I appointed her “Official Playlist Creator” for PICTURES OF YOU and we’re hoping to meet up on my book tour.
Jen: What are you currently reading? Are there any books or authors who inspire your own writing style?
Emma: One of the perks of being a writer is having ARCs sent for blurbing! I’m currently loving Tilda Is Visible by another Australian author, Jane Tara, which releases in the US in February. Other recent Aussie faves published in the US have been Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder (Kerryn Mayne) and The Borrowed Life of Frederick (Anna Johnstone).
Jen: Fall is such a cozy, introspective season. What’s your favorite thing about autumn, and does it influence your writing atmosphere or themes?
Emma: It’s my favorite season too. We call it Autumn here. I adore the colors and often get out with my camera, crunching around in the leaves trying to capture the warmth of it. As an introvert, I think I enjoy the promise of the cozy indoors. Lots of writing time!
Jen: After exploring themes of memory, love, and second chances in this novel, are there any new themes you’re excited to write about next?
Emma: I’m contracted for my next novel, Start at the End, for early 2026. This will play with the idea of who really controls the narrative in a relationship. And I haven’t told ANYONE this, but I’m currently planning a holiday novel, which I would love to see end up with Netflix or Hallmark!
Jen: Lastly, what message or feeling do you hope readers walk away with after finishing this book?
Emma: I want it to be a message of hope. My heart goes to the women who feel trapped in relationships like Evie’s, and I want them to know a better life is possible. I love the quote by Ram Dass: “We’re all just walking each other home”. That’s really the message in this novel, so long as we can stand by our friends through their turmoil. I feel grateful to have friends in my life like Drew and Bree, who’ve always been there for me, and I aim to be that sort of friend myself.
What would you do if you could start over? Imagine having a second chance with the one you never forgot.
From the author of the global breakout bestseller The Last Love Note comes the story of a young woman struggling to piece her life back together in the wake of a tragic accident, and the man who gives up everything to help her.
Evie Hudson should be grieving her dead husband, but since the car crash that claimed his life and landed her in the hospital, she can’t remember him at all. The only person who can help her piece her past together is her high-school best friend Drew Kennedy.
When snippets of her memory start falling into place, Evie wonders exactly how she ended up in a life that couldn’t be further from the one she dreamed of. This time around, she’s seeing all the things she missed—and the life she gets to choose . . . again.
Coming of Age [Zibby Books, On Sale: November 12, 2024, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781958506462 / eISBN: 9781958506486]
Emma is a novelist, feature writer, photographer, professional speaker and accountability coach.
She has been writing fiction since she first fell for Anne of Green Gables at fourteen and is the author of the YA novels Unrequited: Boy band meets girl, Tilly Maguire and the Royal Wedding Mess, the non-fiction title, I Don’t Have Time (co-authored with Audrey Thomas), and the parenting memoir Wits’ End Before Breakfast! Confessions of a Working Mum.
Along with her schoolfriend, dual ARIA-winning composer, Sally Whitwell, Emma co-wrote two musicals, Deadpan Anti-Fan and Fairytale Derail, based on her teen novels.
She wrote her first adult novel, The Last Love Note, in the wake of her husband’s death. It’s a fictional tribute to their love, an attempt to articulate the magnitude of her loss and a life-affirming commitment to hope.
Emma lives just outside Canberra, where her world centres on her two adult daughters, young son, loved step-children and step-grandchildren, writing, photography and endlessly chasing the Aurora Australis.
Jennifer Vido writes sweet romances set in the Lowcountry, earning acclaim as the award-winning author of the Gull Island series. Her debut novel, "Serendipity by the Sea," secured the prestigious Best First Book award from the New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Contest. In 2024, Vido's talent garnered further accolades, with Baltimore Magazine readers naming her Best Local Author in their annual Best of Baltimore poll, while the Baltimore Sun acknowledged her with an Honorable Mention in their Best of 2024 Author category. When not writing fiction, she interviews authors for her weekly Jen’s Jewels column, leads water exercise classes, and directs a legal nonprofit. Currently residing in Maryland, she and her husband are proud parents to two grown sons and a rescue dog named Fripp.
No comments posted.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy