How beautiful is that cover? I’m looking out at the sea as I’m typing this up and on a rather soggy and grey day, it certainly doesn’t look like that! I love the sound of The House in the Olive Grove by Emma Cowell, which is due out tomorrow from Avon Books, but just couldn’t fit it in right now. Instead, I’m pleased to share some information about the book and, first of all, #TenThings the author would like to share with her readers. It’s a really interesting mix!
1: My first novel, One Last Letter From Greece, was my lockdown project. I’d made sourdough, decorated the bathroom and needed something else to occupy my mind while I was on furlough. I picked up an idea I’d had a couple of years before for a novel and carried on writing……
2: I love fishing! I used to hold a record in Cornwall where I live, but alas it is one that got away.
3: I am trying to learn Greek but have form for getting mixed up. The Greek word for meat and wine is quite similar. I don’t eat red meat, but I definitely drink wine! I once went into a bakery and wanted to check if there was beef or pork in a pie, but it came out in my terrible Greek as- ‘is there any wine in the pie?’ Everyone was most confused.
4: I play the piano, guitar and flute. I wanted to play the saxophone at school but was told that girls can only choose the flute or violin!
5: I used to be an actress and my last role was playing Juliet in Romeo & Juliet and Stephen Hawking was in the audience one night.
6: When I was little, I wanted to be an archaeologist and a ballerina.
7: When I write, I have a specific candle scent that I choose for each book. My current work in progress (book 3) smells of Whiskey and Oak.
8: My dream is to be able to write full time and live in glorious Greece.
9: I’ve worked in children’s palliative care fundraising for sixteen years. It’s a challenge to balance it with writing as my day job is all consuming, but so far, I’m managing to keep all the plates spinning.
10: I have double jointed elbows.
About the book
Will one week in Greece change their lives for ever?
Chef Maria is running a successful cookery school in her home village of Petalidi, Greece – but she is also running from the secrets of her past.
Food journalist Kayla thought this was going to be just another work trip. But right before she leaves for Greece, she discovers that her whole life is built on a lie.
Jewellery-maker Alessandra has always lived according to her own rules – despite what it has cost her to do so. But she has just had some devastating news.
As these three very different women come together at the house in the olive grove, unlikely friendships blossom and a season of self-discovery begins. Will the sumptuous flavours, sapphire waters and golden sands of Greece give each of them the answers they so desperately seek?
Buying Link: The House in the Olive Grove
About the Author
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 is currently Head of Philanthropy for national charity Together for Short Lives. Outside of work, Emma is a keen angler and held a Cornish record for over 10 years until her crown was toppled. She is yet to get over it but tries to keep calm by practising yoga. 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 proficiency outside of tavernas and bakeries.
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