Welcome to my tour stop with JustRead Publicity Tours!
Check out an exclusive author interview and enter the giveaway below...
Every seam hides a secret. Every valentine reveals the truth.
When Margaret Cooper departs the slums of East London for an apprenticeship in a quiet market town, she topples the established order—and no one feels it more than Peter Sloan, the handsome tailor forced to teach her his trade.
Margaret is steeled to prove her worth in a man’s world and has no leisure for courtship. But when anonymous Valentines begin to arrive, each with gifts and words that pierce her heart, she feels truly known for the first time. If only she could unmask the hand that distracts her from her aspirations.
Burdened by a failing business and an ill father, Peter has no patience for a female apprentice who upends his orderly life. Yet through a reckless wager, he finds himself sending Valentines to none other than Miss Cooper. What begins as halfhearted duty blossoms into admiration—and dangerous longing.
What inspired you to write a story where a woman apprenticed to a tailor?
In 1675, Louis XIV formed a dressmaking guild for women. This small fact drew me in and triggered my imagination. Imagine a world where men made all of women’s clothing. Imagine the design of women’s clothing left solely to men. Imagine the women who orchestrated the formation of the female-controlled guild. Imagine the women who forayed into this previously male profession. Meg, the main character of this novel, is one such woman. I also really love the movie You’ve Got Mail, so when I discovered that people used to exchange anonymous valentines, I had my story.
Would you tell us more about the main characters?
Meg’s difficult past has taught her not to rely on others. Her determination and ambition do not always serve her well. Her single-mindedness makes her blind to certain truths, and she almost misses out on love. On the other hand, she is one of the most giving and tender people I’ve written, hugely generous and empathetic.
Peter is more of a peacemaker. It takes a lot of pressure before he is moved to take action and explore things that might disrupt family and community expectations. Forced to train a female apprentice, he is already under more scrutiny than makes him comfortable.
At its core, The Gentlewoman Apprentice is story of two people discovering that they are brave enough to learn, to attempt what is difficult, and courageous enough to love.
What did you find the most entertaining about these characters or the story?
It was fun (and hard) to write the relationship between Meg and Peter, two people who knew one another both professionally and through the exchange of letters. Meg seems difficult to crack, but because of the valentine exchange, Peter comes to understand her heart. It was a difficult dynamic to balance since Meg doesn’t know she is receiving valentines from her master apprentice, nor that she is writing to him in return.
What did you find you learned as you wrote The Gentlewoman Apprentice?
The most surprising bit of research is that demand for chintz or printed cotton was instrumental in prompting the industrial revolution. Colorful stamped and painted cotton came in from India and was so popular, it threatened British wool and silk industries. Calico Acts outlawed its purchase to the point that women risked having their chintz gowns torn off them by angry wool workers. But women wanted cool, easy-care cotton, so industrialists figured out how to make it quickly and cheaply.
On a personal note, writing is therapeutic for me, and I often find my own concerns falling onto the page. This time, it was Meg’s relationship with her younger sibling, Samuel. She feels responsible for him in a way that is impossible for her fulfill. As my own children are striking out on their own, Meg’s sentiment is mine. Ultimately, I trust God to find them, hold them, and bring them home.
What was a book that made you cry, a book that made you laugh, and a book that made you swoon?
Cry: I don’t know why but just about every book I read has me crying at some point these days. I’ll go with James by Percival Everett, a poignant take on Huckleberry Finn.
Laugh: Beth Brower’s The Emma M. Lion series is so funny.
Swoon: The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow. I don’t usually like Pride and Prejudice spin offs, but I really loved this slow burn.
What are you working on next?
I am working on The Gentlewoman Scoundrel, a book of revenge and redemption that follows Meg’s housekeeper. Grace leaves Meg’s employ to become a highway robber in an attempt to even the score between herself and the nobleman whom she blames for destroying her family. She is a delightful character, full of fun and bluster. Distracted by a bee inside her veil, she accidently shoots and injures the love interest. It’s playful and great fun to write.
Emily Opal spent her childhood reading, having tea parties, and imagining she existed in another century. While pleased to live in a time when chamber pots are obsolete, she loves researching a bygone world full of hardships both foreign and relatable. Fortunate to find a spouse equally afflicted with wanderlust, Emily and her husband travel whenever and wherever they can. They live with their children and Labradoodle in Utah, where she enjoys mountain views and hiking but pretends to love skiing.
Connect with Emily by visiting emilyopal.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email newsletter updates.(3) winners will each receive a book box with 18th century bits and bobs and a $20 Amazon gift card!
Full tour schedule linked above. The giveaway begins at midnight September 7, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on September 14, 2026. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only for gift card. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
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