We chat with author Emily Paxman about All We Have Left, which is a heartwarming post-apocalyptic romance is perfect for fans of Fable for the End of the World and Emily Henry.
Hi, Emily! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello, readers! I’m an author/artist/musician/general all-around artsy-fartsy person from Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. I have my MFA in creative writing, so getting to write books for a living is such a dream come true. When I’m not writing, I spend a lot of time gardening and participating in local community theatre. I tend to get cast as villains, comedic relief, and divas with big, brassy belting songs. That about sums me up personality wise!
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Stories have always been huge parts of my life and I can remember even as a tiny child, wanting to learn how to spell and use grammar just so that I could write stories more clearly. I wrote my first “book” in kindergarten, by stapling pieces of paper together. In Grade Four, nothing excited me more than when my teacher taught us how to punctuate dialogue properly, because that always felt like the thing that held me back from telling REAL stories.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: A board book called Let’s Grow a Garden! which I made my mother read to me almost every night. I have always been very on-brand.
- The one that made you want to become an author: I’ve always wanted to be an author, but I think it’s worth shouting out The Wizard of Oz, which kickstarted my love of science fiction and fantasy stories.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. One of my all-time favourites!
Your latest novel, All We Have Left, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Cozy Canadian post-apocalyptic romance!
What can readers expect?
All We Have Left is a book that is less about how the world ends and much more about how our lives move on after tragedy. It’s a deliberately quiet story, set in the ruins of civilization, thirty-two years after a massive earthquake levels the Pacific Northwest. At the centre of the story is Kayla, an embittered survivor who has single-handedly kept herself and her younger sister alive for years in the wilderness. But when her sister, April, falls seriously ill, she realizes she’ll have to compromise their independence and (oh no!) try to trust people again. In order to secure medical care for April, she ends up marrying a relative stranger in order to gain access to healthcare in one of the few functioning communities left on Earth.
Where did the inspiration for All We Have Left come from?
So many things served as inspiration for All We Have Left, but foremost was growing up on an island that has always had the threat of natural disaster looming over it. That sense of impending doom has only intensified with global warming and other societal ills, and I found myself thinking more and more about what things I really thought were necessary to survive the end of the world. I’ve often joked that this book is about saving the world through gardening, rather than shooting zombies, but even that’s a bit reductive. It’s about my belief in community and how there’s no future for anyone, unless we can trust each other enough to work together.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
When I initially started writing this book, I was most excited to write all the smooching and simmering tension. And those were a blast to write! But as time went on, I realized how much the book was actually about a healing journey, too. I really loved the depth that this added to the story. We need the bitter to truly appreciate the sweet, and that was how I felt as I unpeeled Kayla’s various traumas as I wrote this book.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Up until this book, I’ve generally avoided writing real world settings. I am a fantasy girlie at my core, and it was a bit overwhelming, tackling a type of world building where I could get things wrong. My work-around was to write about places and things I knew well. This book is really a love letter to the islands where I grew up. I wouldn’t have been able to set a story like this anywhere else.
What’s next for you?
I’m drafting a few different projects right now, including a middle grade novel I’m really excited about! During my MFA, I specialized quite a bit in children’s lit, and I’ve always felt a bit sad that I haven’t published anything but adult books so far. Hopefully, that will change soon!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
I’m really looking forward to picking up Mirrorwoven by Bori Cser! It’s a delightful sapphic, Venice-inspired, YA romantasy that I got to read an early version of and I CANNOT WAIT to have the real thing in my hands this summer!
Naturally, I read the latest Murderbot Diaries as soon as it came out. Shannon Chakraborty’s The Tapestry of Fate was an auto-buy book for me, too! In terms of older releases, I’m working my way through The Realm of the Elderlings series and absolutely loving it.
