📚 10 Things You Might Not Know About The Essence of Bliss by Emily Astillberry #10things

 

Paula Omokhomion is a Master of Public Policy student at the UC Riverside School of Public Policy, though she’s fairly certain that won’t be forever. She holds a B.S. in Public Health Nutrition from UNC Chapel Hill, where she also minored in Creative Writing (Fiction) and graduated with highest honors for her 120-page thesis novella, New Age Taffeta.

Emily Astillberry is an author and RSPCA Inspector from Norfolk, England. She has a degree in English Literature and Linguistics from York University and has been investigating animal cruelty and neglect and rescuing sick and injured animals for 20 years. In her day job, Emily deals with very difficult and often emotional situations and meets all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds. Her career provides some of the inspiration for themes and characters that can be found in her fictional work.

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.

10 Things You Might Not Know About The Essence of Bliss by Emily Astillberry

 

1. The Essence of Bliss took Emily Astillberry 3 years to write, in between working and caring for her 5 children and a menagerie of rescued animals, with her husband, in a 250 year old cottage in rural Norfolk, England. 
2. The protagonist, Isabel Bliss, can experience and influence the emotions of other people. Throughout the book, she gradually discovers the true power of her gift and the potential that lies within her mind and soul.
3. Isabel is a reception class teacher and when Emily began writing, her son, Arthur was that very age. He and his friends provided a lot of the inspiration for the classroom scenes. 
4. As a child, Isabel accidentally stumbled across a terrified old lady at the end of her life, and gave the lady peace in her final moments, instinctually understanding and sharing her deepest fears, easing her mind and releasing her soul. 
5. The beach scenes are set on Emily’s favourite local beach at Burnham Overy Staithe in Norfolk, England.
6. The cabin pictured on the front cover features in some of the most emotionally charged chapters of the book.
7. What begins as a spark of concern about the emotions of a boy in her class, propels Isabel deeply into the affairs of a family suffering horrifying torment. 
8. The Christmas scenes are inspired by Emily’s own family Christmases, shared with her mum, dad and younger sister, just like the Bliss family in the book.
9. During the awakening of her true power, Isabel discovers that she has been lied to, her whole life, by someone who she should have been able to trust above everyone else.
10. Some of the lines from the reception class nativity play were the exact lines that Emily spoke in her own play in 1988, at the age of 5 (and yes, she can remember back all that way!)

 

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Title: The Essence of Bliss

Author: Emily Astillberry

Publisher: Blossom Spring Publishing

Publication Date: December 16, 2024

Pages: 615

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Speculative Fiction

Formats: Paperback, Kindle

Isabel Bliss is a reception class teacher. She experiences other people’s emotions and can influence how they feel but she doesn’t truly understand her gift and has been encouraged, by her mum, to hide it from others. She often feels lost and alone. 

When a child in her class experiences chronic distress that only she can perceive, Isabel uses her ability to relieve his suffering, but his situation continues to worsen. Eventually she is forced to take matters into her own hands, escorting him home where she finds horrific signs of abuse. She saves his mum’s life and his father is arrested for the brutal torture he has inflicted upon his family. 

A wealthy family moves to town and Isabel meets the two sons. She recoils from Daniel, who is hateful, rude and emotionally deficient but is inexorably drawn to Scott, who awakens something magical, deep inside her. They are like her. They are fluencers and have the ability to sense, read and willfully manipulate emotional energies. Isabel confronts her mum and uncovers hurtful lies and deceit within her own family. 

She falls deeply in love and ultimately discovers the untold potential of her gift and the passion and power that dwells within.

Read a sample here.

The Essence of Bliss is available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.