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Elizabeth Bass Parman is the author of The Empress of Cooke County, which is out now.
Elizabeth Bass Parman grew up entranced by family stories, such as the time her grandmother woke to find Eleanor Roosevelt making breakfast in her kitchen. She worked for many years as a reading specialist for a non-profit and spends her summers in a cottage by a Canadian lake. She has two grown daughters and lives outside her native Nashville with her husband and maybe-Maltipoo, Pippin.
Here’s more about The Empress of Cooke County: Thirty-eight-year-old Posey Jarvis is the self-appointed “Empress” of rural Spark, in Cooke County, Tennessee. She spends her days following every word about her idol and look-alike Jackie Kennedy, avoiding her stalwart husband Vern, and struggling to control her newly defiant daughter Callie Jane–all while sneaking nips of gin.
Lee Smith meets Lessons in Chemistry in The Empress of Cooke County—a coming-of-age debut novel, where the latest chatter at the Curly Q Salon is betting on who’ll be first to get a new blue Foodarama refrigerator from Sears. But the mid-1960s are bringing bigger issues to contend with, and a mother and daughter find themselves facing a treacherous crisis that will change their lives forever.
Let’s get to know Elizabeth as she talks favorite novels, writing inspirations, the setting and more!
What are some of your favorite novels?
My favorite writer is Lee Smith, so I would say anything she wrote is at the top of my list. I adored Jane Eyre, and am still thinking about The Poisonwood Bible all these years later. Two recent favorites are Weyward by Emilia Hart and Remarkably Bright Creaturesby Shelby Van Pelt.
When did you know you wanted to become an author?
Right after my fourth birthday, a friend of my parents’ asked me what career I had chosen, as everyone had to commit on their fourth birthday. He was teasing, of course, but I took him seriously. After a day of pondering my options, I asked my mother two questions: were princesses real, and where did books come from. She said some princesses were real, and that people wrote books. I announced I wanted to be either an author or a princess. The princess thing didn’t work out, (although my husband might disagree), but I am delighted to finally fulfill that little four-year-old’s dream of becoming an author.
What inspired you to write The Empress of Cooke County?
A family story claims we are descendants of Pocahontas. She was known as the Empress of Virginia, which I thought made a great title. I played with the idea, moving the empress to my home state of Tennessee. Writing about a whole state was too overwhelming, so I narrowed the focus to the fictional Cooke County. I looked up the difference between a queen and an empress and found the Empress tarot card. I was immediately drawn to the two opposite meanings of the card, depending on whether it is drawn from the deck upright or upside down, and based my two main characters, Posey and Callie Jane, on the two opposite meanings.
Can you talk about why it was important to set the story during the ’60s?
My earliest memories are of the 1960’s, which was such a pivotal time in our country’s history. I was attracted to how the tension of that era could serve as a backdrop of a family dealing with tension of their own. I am also a big Beatles fan, and I loved the idea of the daughter in my story, Callie Jane, having the goal of going to their August, 1966 concert in Memphis.
What type of research did you embark on while working on the novel?
My favorite research was talking with my mother, who is the same as Posey. Even as a small child, I was aware that women did not have a lot of autonomy in the ‘60’s, which both puzzled and angered me. I was interested to her thoughts on some of the big topics in my book, such as marriage, motherhood, and wanting to be independent. I also spent time watching YouTube videos of the Beatles, particularly their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which I describe as changing the trajectory of Callie Jane’s life forever.
What was your favorite chapter/or part to write?
The social hub of Spark is the Curly Q beauty shop, and I really enjoyed writing those scenes. There’s something about a beauty shop—the smells, the comradery, the equality of the towel-turbaned hair—that makes women open up and discuss their lives honestly. I also love the character of Vern, who is partly based on my own father. Writing about Vern’s strong bond with his daughter, Callie Jane, brought back memories of the sweet things my father would do for me and my sisters. My dad is no longer with us, but the book is dedicated to his memory.
What are you currently reading and what’s on your TBR (to be read) list?
I am currently reading an advance copy of The Fabled Earth by Kimberly Brock, which I am savoring. It is so good! Next will be Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand, who I got to meet when she was in Nashville.
