When Emma lost her husband, Jeff, 6 and a half years ago, I watched her descend into unimaginable depths of grief. It was the kind of grief we fear. ‘Worst nightmare’ territory.

And in the years that have passed since, I’ve watched her claw her way through it. That included selling up and building a new house, moving schools, getting kids through primary and high school and uni. Along with our work together, it also included throwing herself at creative endeavours - including writing two teenage novels and a musical and taking up photography in a serious way.

But it’s her new adult novel, The Last Love Note, that has been the biggest achievement. It’s about a midlife widow processing her husband’s death while she falls in love again. I’ve read it about ten times, in various iterations of the drafts, and I can say that it's truly a wonderful book and I've loved it every time I've had the privilege to read it. Emma's ability to evoke tears of both mirth and heartbreak (often on the same page!) through her beautifully skillful storytelling, is awe-inspiring.

The novel has potential to be a worldwide hit. Before it hit the shelves here, Emma was offered a two-book deal for World English rights with Zibby Owens in New York. Within a week of its Australian release, it was chosen as the fiction extract in the Australian Women’s Weekly and film companies began circling.

I couldn't be more proud of Emma and all she has achieved, and I feel incredibly grateful to be on her BFF cheer squad, whooping excitedly as her brilliance continues to shine ❤️.