{"id":177928,"date":"2025-04-22T10:44:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T08:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=177928"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:46","slug":"medicine-student-emma-trouwborst-has-written-a-debut-novel-about-espionage-and-romance-my-characters-sometimes-feel-so-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/04\/22\/medicine-student-emma-trouwborst-has-written-a-debut-novel-about-espionage-and-romance-my-characters-sometimes-feel-so-real\/","title":{"rendered":"Medicine student Emma Trouwborst has written a debut novel about espionage and romance: ‘My characters sometimes feel so real’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Medicine student Emma Trouwborst (22) published her first book this month: a young adult novel full of suspense, adventure and a hint of forbidden love. She managed to make her writing dreams come true in between lectures and internships.<\/p>\n

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Emma worked on her book in the evenings and at weekends, in between medical internships.<\/span><\/p>

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\u201cSomeone pushed a microphone into my hand at the book launch. It was awful; I was so nervous\u201d, Emma laughs. Yet, there she was last week: in front of a room of more than 40 people, including friends, family and strangers. Her book, Masker van verraad<\/em> (Mask of Betrayal), is the result of six years of writing, rewriting and a publisher she won in a writing competition. \u201cI still can\u2019t believe that people can go out and buy my book now.\u201d<\/p>\n

A hobby that got out of control <\/h2>

Emma wrote most of her book \u2013 about a spy who falls in love with the prince she is spying on \u2013 when she was 16. Which is why it\u2019s a young adult book, aimed at readers aged 15 and older: \u201cI was about this age myself at the time, so it made complete sense to write about the world as I saw it then.\u201d She completed her manuscript in less than a year. Although she continued to write as a hobby afterwards, none of her other stories ever felt as good as this one. It had never crossed her mind to publish her story, let alone enter a writing competition.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018I\u2019ve always said that it can\u2019t ever be anything more than a hobby; my study comes first\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n
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Emma at her book launch.<\/span><\/p>

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If wasn\u2019t until years later, in 2023, that Emma decided to bite the bullet and enter a writing competition \u2013 and she won. Which got her through the doors of book publisher Rebel Books. Everything started to happen really quickly after that. She started to rewrite her story, which turned out to be an intensive process: from tightening up the plot to refining the sentence structure.<\/p>\n

Emma is now 22 and a fifth-year medical student. She worked on her book in the evenings and at weekends, in between medical internships. \u201cI\u2019ve always said that it can\u2019t ever be anything more than a hobby; my study comes first. I wrote when I felt like it. So, no pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emma has published her book under the name Emma Francis, a pseudonym she chose so she could keep her future career as a doctor separate from her work as a writer. Francis is her middle name, which Emma thinks has a much better ring to it than Trouwborst for an author.<\/p>\n

Adventure with a touch of realism <\/h2>
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Emma signing her young adult book.<\/span><\/p>

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Masker van verraad <\/em>is a young adult book with everything you might expect of the genre: action, suspense and a hint of forbidden love. But there\u2019s also doubts, mistakes and personal struggles. \u201cI wanted my characters to be human. Rebellious, but with a sensitive side. No one\u2019s perfect.\u201d She\u2019s most proud of the action and dialogue scenes. \u201cI invent my characters, but they sometimes feel so real \u2013 it\u2019s as if I\u2019m just writing down what they whisper in my ear.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Masker van verraad<\/em>, the reader follows Ara, a spy who has been sent on a mission to Waldenen to bring down an enemy court. But when she meets headstrong Prince Alexander, she finds herself faced with a difficult choice: how to spy for one state while losing her heart to the prince of another state?<\/p>\n

Emma gets her inspiration from literally everywhere: books, films, conversations with others and even when she\u2019s sat on a train. \u201cI\u2019ll be staring out the window when an idea will suddenly pop into my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Themes with depth <\/h2>

Besides an exciting story, Emma also presents her readers with some bigger questions: \u201cHow will you respond in a situation where you have to do something you don\u2019t want to do? How can you make sure you stay true to yourself? Themes like this recur throughout the book.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emma identifies most with Ara, her female protagonist. \u201cI see a lot of myself in her. But I also enjoyed giving her traits that I don\u2019t have. That was an interesting challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Book one of two? <\/h2>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018I want to make sure I take the time to enjoy this special moment\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Anyone who reads Masker van verraad<\/em> will soon realise that the story isn\u2019t over. Will there be a sequel? Emma nods cautiously. \u201cThe manuscript was actually split in two because the story was too long to fit into one book.\u201d She\u2019s stopping at part one for the time being and will wait to see how this book is received before starting part two. \u201cI want to make sure I take the time to enjoy this special moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

But reading between the lines, it\u2019s clear that this is unlikely to be Emma\u2019s last book. During her internships, she records special experiences in a diary. \u201cWho knows, I might do something with them one day\u201d, she says. \u201cI\u2019ve got lots of ideas \u2013 I haven\u2019t entirely given up the habit of jotting them down.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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Masker van verraad<\/em> is available via Bol.com, Bruna and other chains. Anyone who would like an extra special copy can buy a signed version at Paagman in Leidschendam.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t