For my most recent book that just came out a month ago, The Forest Feast Mediterranean, I traveled with my family for three months to gather all the recipe inspiration and take all the photos around Europe. Once I got home, I sorted through thousands of photos on my computer and came up with my list of about 100 vegetarian recipes I planned to make, inspired by our trip. Then I started cooking! Right now, I am just starting to shoot my next book: A California road-trip cookbook that will come out in 2021. In terms of general inspiration, I look to design, fashion, and food—anything with color and pattern. I love magazines as well; the three I have subscribed to for years are T Magazine (with the Sunday New York Times), Bon Appetit, and Vogue. I always find it’s a hard balance between seeking out inspiration and letting it come to me. Sometimes I try not to look too far so that I can avoid becoming overly influenced. I’ve found that just staying in my own head on a quiet walk in the hills near my house can offer many ideas and might help me create something more authentic. I now work from about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., four days a week, then I go pick up the kids from school. One day a week, I stay home with our toddler. I am very grateful to have a job that allows me to be flexible with my kids’ schedules and a husband who works long hours to make that possible for me. When I am working on a book deadline and my part-time schedule doesn’t cut it, I head up to my studio after the kids go to bed to finish my work. Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,000 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes. She’s spoken about the intersection of self-care and sustainability on podcasts and live events alongside environmental thought leaders like Marci Zaroff, Gay Browne, and Summer Rayne Oakes.
