Romantic novelist living near Chesterfield on shortlist for national award

Emma Pass is among the shortlisted contenders in Romantic Novelists' Association’s awards.

Her book, Before The Dawn, is set in 1943 when Sam and Ruby from opposite sides of the Atlantic are brought together by chance encounters, only to have their dreams of love and freedom from troubled lives interrupted by D-Day.

Emma, who lives near Chesterfield, said: “For this book to be shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel Awards means the world to me – it's a real honour, and I still can't quite believe it!

"‘I wrote Before the Dawn during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020, and escaping into Sam and Ruby's world was a welcome escape during a very difficult time as it's a story which is, ultimately, about hope.”

Emma, who found out that she had autism three years ago, is a full-time writer, creative writing teacher and editor. She has previously had two young adult fiction novels published (ACID and The Fearless) and written a non-fiction e-guide for The Literary Consultancy.

She will find out whether Before The Dawn has won her the Historical Romantic Award at a ten-category awards ceremony in London on March 6, 2023.

Raised in Surrey, Emma said: “ I had an unusual childhood, growing up at an environmental studies centre in rural south-east England where I was surrounded by nature and mad-scientist types. I realised I wanted to become a novelist when I was 13, after seeing Jurassic Park at the cinema. My first novel was a sequel to the film, and I wrote it at school, in maths lessons, with my notebook hidden under my work.

"My husband is from Derbyshire and I moved here in 2002.”

In 2020 Emma was commissioned to create Burn Bright, a poetry-film for the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage site exploring the role of enslaved peoples and women in the growth of Derbyshire's cotton mills during and after the Industrial Revolution.

A former library assistant, she enjoys reading, knitting, going for adventures in Vera, her campervan.