Q&A with Elizabeth Bass Parman

 

 

Elizabeth Bass Parman is the author of the new novel The Empress of Cooke County. She lives in Nashville.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Empress of Cooke County, and how did you create your characters Posey and Callie Jane?

 

A: A few years ago I was discussing the legend in my family that we are descendants of Pocahontas, who was called the Empress of Virginia. I thought that was a catchy title, and I started playing with it.

 

I first imagined a woman who wanted to be an empress in my home state of Tennessee, but realized reigning over the whole state seemed a little ambitious, so I settled on a more manageable area, the fictitious Cooke County, Tennessee and the town of Spark.

 

I looked up the difference between an empress and a queen and found the Empress tarot card. When pulled from the deck upright, the Empress represents qualities like abundance and generosity, but when pulled from the deck upside down, or reversed, the opposite is true.

 

At that moment I knew I had the hook for a dual-POV story about a mother and daughter, with Callie Jane being the Empress upright, and Posey being the Empress reversed.

 

Q: The novel is set in the 1960s--did you need to do any research to write it, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: I was born in the 1960s, so I was able to draw on my early memories for some of the story. I did the usual sorts of research to make sure I had my facts right, but I also spoke at length with my mother, who is the same age as Posey, about her experiences being a wife and mother during those turbulent times.

 

What surprised me the most was her story about being turned down for a Sears credit card because she was a woman, and being told her husband had to apply instead.

Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: Most of the story turned out the way I first envisioned it, with one major exception. When my book club read an early draft, some of the members objected to the ending and suggested I change that part of the story. I did, which made for a better book, so I am grateful for their honest input.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: By the front door of the house I named Cold Spring, there is a plaque reading “Love Conquers All.” The story is full of scandal and secrets, and has lots of gossip and fun pop culture references, but I hope readers realize that The Empress of Cooke County is ultimately about the most powerful force on earth, love.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: When writing The Empress of Cooke County, I included a cameo from two minor characters to use as the focus of Book 2.

 

This new book takes place in the summer of 1969, three years after the first book ends. Set against the backdrop of the first lunar landing, an event many thought was impossible, the story is about a young woman’s struggle to accomplish something she thinks is also impossible, living a happy and fulfilling life.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I am overwhelmed by the support I have received as a debut author. Our lives are so overfilled these days, and I am thankful to those who use some of their precious free time to read my story about found family, what it means to be loved, and just how far Posey and Callie Jane will go to be true to themselves.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb