Drink cocktails at the festival, supper with your literary hero (even special book signature): What is the real thing about writing a bestseller

Last June, on a cool rainy night, I walked out of the Scottish Daily Mail newsroom for the last time, with my colleagues deafening sounds on the table.

They weren’t trying to drive me to the door (or I got guaranteed later), but were involved in the old newspaper tradition that originated from the printing press.

Usually retired staff are “exploded” as respect from colleagues. I was moved and a little surprised. After all, I wasn’t retired, but left my work in Wings, praying and writing novels in books deals with Hod and Stotton.

I was horrified when my 27-year career and my outstanding, supportive colleagues closed down. What do I think I’m doing?

Almost a year, I’ve almost managed to answer a question. In “Emma Cowing”, for nearly thirty years, I am now “novelist Emma Cowing”.

My debut novel The Show Woman was published on May 1 and since I left the email, I have completed my second novel, The Palace of Entertainment, which was published in spring 2026.

Once I spent a few days interviewing politicians and celebrities, attending this newspaper’s daily press conference and writing article columns, now I’ve spent it at home, convening a fictional world.

I wrote historical novels (both books were in the Edwardian era), which meant that I was no longer immersed in the daily news agenda, alerting to every breakthrough story, but spent hours browsing British newspaper archives and ancient dusty tomes, studying days and life. Yes, every once in a while, I dress up and join some of my favorite writers for a grand publishing dinner, but more will be available later.

This book was inspired by Emma’s great aunt Violet (Aut Autt)

So how did I end up with a long career in the fast-paced world of everyday newspapers throughout my life?

It all started in the fall of 2021, when my mom and I were browsing a box of old chocolates filled with family photos, one that caught my attention.

The woman in the tan image wears earrings, an embroidered vest with a headband tied around her head, a headdress made of coins. Like I’ve seen it before.

“Who is that?” I asked my mother.

“Ah,” she replied. “That’s your great aunt violet.”

Violet is a flying artist and bareback rider who performed at the famous Pinder’s Circus, Violet is the daughter of the Scottish Fair, who lives in a caravan and spends the winter at the fair in Glasgow.

Talk to my mom, they recalled old family stories, and I learned that my great-grandparents ran a travel theater that crisscrossed the old exhibitions in Scotland between the 1880s and 1910s, with their seven children being towed away.

I was fascinated by that, I began browsing official documents on the Scottish People’s website, rooted in birth, death and marriage certificates, as well as census records, to learn about this interesting and all forgotten lifestyle.

Emma submitted a copy from the fortress case in the Afghan camp.

One appeared soon. When it comes to women in my family, they are almost described as “acting women.”

This is a word I don’t know. We all know what the performer is, and of course there is a singing girl. But a performing woman?

I did more research and learned about the era that showed that women had amazing control over their lives. They ran out of the show, processed the money, and took over the death of the husband or father, literally watching the show.

A story began to form four unusual women in my mind who gathered together in Edwardian Scotland to form the first all-female circus. I tinkered for about 18 months on vacation and weekends (like many journalists, I always wanted to write a book, but rarely had time to do it) until my hands were forced.

I typed the top 5,000 words in a writing contest called the Cheshire Novel Awards and found myself on the long-term list and if I had a shortlist, I had two months to put on the full manuscript. There is only one problem: I don’t have a complete manuscript. Actually, I have less than 20,000 words. But I also have what I always need: deadlines.

I beat the whole book in eight weeks, shortlisted for the book, and then for two other writing awards, all of which led me to win my literary agent and just six months later, I did two books with Hodder & Stoughton.

It was a well-known whirlwind, but it also brought me toward the intersection. I have been a journalist since I was 19 and I love it almost every moment (almost). But writing novels was something I wanted to do when I was a kid, and it was the idea to make it a fantasy. Now, this is my chance. At the age of 46, I could start a whole new career. Exciting, yes. Almost certainly, a terrible leap of faith.

I’m lucky to have a great publisher at Hodder & Stoughton and have had the above “pinch me” moments over the past year. Ranked the highest among the top ten novels by women and women in 2025. Get a laser review in Woman Weekly (Woman Weekly! My grandma will be very excited).

Emma and bookstore Waterstones’ first novel

Some of my favorite writers, including Clare Leslie Hall, whose Broken Land has now spent two months on the New York Times bestseller list, is a Reese Witherspoon BookClub Pick in March, and bestseller Jenny Colgan, who I interviewed this paper not long ago to write amazing representations for women in performing.

See my novel named on the Waterstones website under “Our Best New Novels”, as well as new works by authors such as John Boyne and Edward St Aubyn. I once made a comment in a newspaper I used to use glowing, and the reviewers I always admired, the only critics they criticized why it took me so long to become a novelist. Why is it true?

Then it was the day my publisher sent me the trailer (yes, now there are trailers) to the performance women, which looked more like Hollywood production than what I wrote on the kitchen table. Listed with some of Hodder’s famous writers, including one Stephen King. Participating in a discussion about covering design, marketing, and publicity (publishing a book is definitely a team effort, and I didn’t know that until I was in a strait).

Because for security reasons you even had to create an author signature because you couldn’t sign the way the book was signed, which made me feel naive because I tried the new Swirly signature signature to prepare the book signature.

There is also some charm. Bookstore dinner with my favorite writers, including David Mitchell, twice with the author of the Cloud Atlas, who was very kind and encouraging, and an A-level TV host and writer gave me a huge hug and wished me all the best of luck around the globe.

I discovered the world of Book Festival and had a magical few days at Cheltenham Trimatal Festival last fall, debuted last fall in 2025 with an afternoon of martini before making my own Book Festival debut in the beautiful town of Tring in Hertfordshire last November.

I will be attending Wimbledon Book Festival later this year, currently in the UK for a mini book tour, dating in Manchester, Northumberland and Ayrshire in the journal. I’ve spent more time in the bookstore over the past year, which is more than I’ve spent my whole life, a nerdy happiness like me.

Then there was my book release, held on Glasgow Sauchiehall Street, where friends, family and the public came to drink and listen to me talk about my book. This included my primary school 2 teacher, who gave me a hug and told me how proud she was. Yes, I’m indeed crying.

The honest fact, though, is that I’m not sure if I could do anything without those 27 years of newspapers. A lot of things I learned in journalism, I brought me into novel writing.

I’m still good at hit deadlines and writing very quickly. Many novelists talk about the need for muse to visit and create the perfect environment before writing a sentence – bright candles, totally silent, in a cottage in the Cotswolds, there is a week-long writing retreat with roses around the door – but, as someone who submits stories from cars, cafes and frontline combat areas, I can write almost any time.

Most importantly, I see novel writing as a job because it is my job. I’m at my desk by 9.30am most mornings. I spent about an hour and finished it around 6.30 pm. I write every day.

So what do I miss my old job? Well, even though he is fluffy, so the cat is not as good as my former colleagues. I miss inserting into what is happening in the world in a way that I realize now that newsrooms are unique to.

The world changed dramatically the year I left work. There is a Labor administration in Westminster, Trump is back in the White House, and Alex Salmond is no longer with us.

When I stubbornly studied Edwardian quirks, such as the correct length of grass on copper lawns (four inches), and how people in 1908 drank pimm (with ice and lemonade), I used to be immersed in the background, I used to be immersed in the background, I used to be immersed in the background.

But there are other benefits, after 27 years in the newsroom, I can’t deny that I like it. No morning commutes, keep watching, wondering what traffic would be like if I would have a decent parking space.

Actually, one of my favorite things about my new life is getting up early and getting myself a cup of tea and an hour. They say that all the greatest writers are big readers, so I can almost convince myself of my work.

But by far the most magical moments come from readers. Those who contacted me told me how much they loved the book, or that made them cry or laugh, reminded them of their family history, or prompted them to study their own family history.

That way, it’s still kind of like working for mail. When I’m in this article, one of my favorite jobs is to hear from readers. Many people have ideas about my columns, and some want to know what I think of certain topics. Some people even agreed with me.

Because when it comes to it, this is the most important part of writing, whether it is a newspaper or a novel: the reader.

The Lady of Emma Cowing’s performance, published by Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99.