At home, in a very old cottage in the country, Emily has a husband, 5 children, a dog, a cat, an axolotl, 2 giant African land snails and a varying number of rescue hens, so finding time to write can be a challenge. She is happiest outdoors, growing fruit and vegetables in the garden, walking the dog and family holidays usually involve walking up mountains in summer, skiing down them in winter and sleeping in a tent whenever possible.
Emily loves spending time with her large, noisy, chaotic family, cooking meals for friends and playing board games. She always has at least one book on the go and has always dreamed of writing her own novel. She now dreams of writing more.
Visit her website at https://emilyastillberry.com.
You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.
The Essence of Bliss is her latest book.
I am so excited about your book, The Voice I Couldn't Ignore. Why did you choose this particular story to write?
I was always going to write something emotional. The power and depth of human emotions and connections is unfathomable and it is the relationships between people that I believe really makes a good novel, great. I wanted to set my novel in the real world, enhanced by a subtle magic, otherworldly enough to offer escapism and yet relatable to my audience. I wanted to create a concept that was fresh and almost believable. I wanted my readers to wonder, to come away asking what if?
The Essence of Bliss is an emotional rollercoaster, an exploration of human emotion wrapped up in a story that will make you examine those big questions, such as chance, choice and destiny and my leading lady, Isabel Bliss, became the focus of my concept. She is, for the most part, a normal person, leading a normal life. She has a family, a boyfriend, a best friend and a job that she loves and is great at. However, Isabel also has something that sets her apart from anyone she has ever met, she has an extraordinary relationship with human emotions. She can feel emotional energy, be impacted by it, experience and influence the emotions of the people around her.
Once I had my concept and my protagonist, I needed a story. I wanted my readers to explore the potential of Isabel’s gift alongside her, which is why The Essence of Bliss became a first person narrative, a journey of discovery for Isabel, peppered with twists and turns that I hope will surprise,
upset and delight. I started to craft the story around her, following her as she deals with a pretty horrific situation involving a little boy in her class, and then discovers a huge betrayal in her life and a whole world of possibility that will change her forever.
“A warmth had settled into my being, ignited by that kiss and something had begun that could never be
undone. A pledge unspoken and yet no less consequential in its silence. A promise of hearts and minds: The Essence of Bliss.”
Isabel Bliss is a devoted reception class teacher with a remarkable sensitivity to the emotions of the people around her. She experiences other people's emotions as if they were her own, sometimes to an unsettling or even crippling degree. Her gift can be both a blessing and a curse. When a boy in her class experiences unspeakable suffering, she alone must find a way to rescue him from his torment.
When a new affluent family moves to town, Isabel has instant and profound reactions to the two sons; recoiling from one and being inexorably drawn to the other. Propelled into a tangled web of love, passion and power underpinned by secrets, deceit and betrayal, she is set on an emotional journey of self discovery, challenging the very concepts of chance, choice and destiny.
Can you tell us a little about the main characters?
Isabel Bliss is a reception class teacher in her late twenties. She is an ordinary woman with an extraordinary sensitivity to the emotions of the people around her. Having been encouraged to keep her ability to herself, she has never spoken of it to anyone except her mum, but when she helps a young boy in her class who is experiencing unspeakable suffering, and later meets a kindred spirit, Isabel begins to realise the potential of her gift.
Isabel begins the story in a long-term relationship with childhood sweetheart, Jack, her parents are Beth and Max, and she has a younger sister, Stephanie. She also has a best friend called Donna. Isabel’s family are very close. Beth is eccentric and complicated but Isabel has always felt loved. As the story progresses, a new family moves to town. The Callahans take up residency in the Big House at the top of the hill and their family consists of Nicholas, an extremely successful barrister with an incredible professional record, his beautiful wife Georgina and their two sons, Scott and Daniel.
Where and when does this book take place?
Ramsey Bridge is a fictional town, which exists only in my imagination and within the pages of The Essence of Bliss. I was deliberately vague about its location so that readers are free to use their own imagination. However, I couldn’t help picturing my local area when I was writing and the beach scenes are based very closely on one of my favourite local beaches, Burnham Overy Staithe on the North Norfolk Coast, which I believe is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
As for when, it is a contemporary novel. The exact year isn’t important.
They say all books of fiction have at least one pivotal point where the reader just can’t put the book down. What is one of the pivotal points in The Essence of Bliss?
In the first phase of the book, Isabel becomes aware of a problem in the life of one of the young boys in her class. Her ability allows her to recognise that there is something seriously wrong with Josh but she is unable to determine what is causing his anguish. As she tries to uncover the truth, Josh’s torment comes to a head and I hope that the reader will be hooked and unable to put the book down until they discover Josh’s secret, and beyond.
Does your book carry a message?
The Essence of Bliss explores human emotion and the power and responsibility that goes hand in hand with an unseen influence over others. I hope that my book makes people wonder, makes people think about the potential of human emotions and the complexity of human relationships.
What's your next project?
The Essence of Bliss explores human emotion and the power and responsibility that goes hand in hand with an unseen influence over others. I hope that my book makes people wonder, makes people think about the potential of human emotions and the complexity of human relationships.
Where can we pick up copies of The Voice I Couldn't Ignore?
The Essence of Bliss is available on kindle and in paperback from Amazon at
Is there anything you’d like to tell your readers and fans?
I’d love to hear from my readers and invite them to learn more about me or make contact at:
https://www.instagram.com/emily.astillberry
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567176741752
and
