Balancing Life and Writing by Zoe Allison – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Zoe Allison will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The main question everyone asks when I tell them that I’ve written a book and it’s getting published, is “how on earth did you have time?” To be honest I never really know how to answer. They inevitably move on to enquire how long it took to write and I’m not sure how to answer that either. Do they mean how long it took to write the first draft? How long it took to rewrite the book over and over until I felt cautiously able to let someone else read it? Or how long it took to get to the point where it was accepted for publication? Also I’m not sure whether to count from the date that I wrote the very first words or not, because there were many fits and starts along the way. Should I try to work out how long I spent on the book in writing hours, rather than how many years from first words to publication?

People wonder how I manage to write alongside my career in medicine, but they also ask how I fit it in with being a mum as well. I’m not too sure whether they would ask the same question if I were a man, I suspect not. However I do find that it’s difficult to balance writing with family life. When I’m not at work I’m mostly around my husband and kids and it’s difficult to write during those times because there are a lot of distractions, but also I feel guilty if I’m sat typing away and not interacting with them.

I started writing as an outlet and an escape, so I don’t want it to become a ‘chore’ that I have to cram in. What works for me is to write on my day off when I’m alone and the children are at school. However I have to manage my time carefully in order to achieve this, making sure that other tasks are fitted in elsewhere and adapting the day to make room for writing. You have to prioritise the things that you enjoy doing and that bring you peace of mind, in order to maintain a balance in all aspects of life.

Vampires are real, existing alongside regular humans as a secret subspecies. The malevolent of their kind exploit their powers and immortality at the expense of their human counterparts. The Organization, a league of benevolent vampires headed up by the anonymous Mr. X, works covertly to keep this threat in check. Amber Ridley is the company’s top agent, unique to the team as the only human working alongside her vampire allies. She is an ‘Impervious’, a rare human with powers that can be used against the malevolent.

When Amber’s latest mission takes her back to the UK to work with her close companion Valentino, she meets his old colleague Hayden Knight. Hayden is infamous to Amber as the man who betrayed their organization and abandoned her friend Valentino in the past. She dislikes Hayden instantly, and his arrogant, cold demeanour does nothing to aid this.

Amber and Hayden are forced to work together on The Organization’s most important mission to date, and they must put aside their differences to take down the menace that threatens the very existence of their group. Amber must put her trust in Hayden, but is she impervious to love?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Victoria smiled, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder. She lifted her hand, turned her palm upward and brought her fingers toward herself in an invitation to the fight. Her insolent gesture had the desired effect. He growled, and in a blind rage ran in her direction. She had already pulled back her arm and, as he reached her, she smashed her fist into his face, sending him hurtling away toward the tree line, where he crashed into a thick trunk, cracking it in the process. Within a split second Victoria was upon him, pinning him in place. She glanced over at Amber, who was still hidden a few feet away, and nodded.

Amber was by Victoria’s side quickly, even though, unlike her partner, she wasn’t capable of vampire speed. The man’s black, dead-looking eyes met hers, and registered her human form. A sneer appeared on his face as he started to thrash in an attempt to escape Victoria’s grip and get at Amber. Before he could gain any purchase, Amber closed in, grabbing hold of the man’s head. He screamed in agony, and Victoria stepped away while Amber did her work.

A few seconds later, silence fell. Moonlight shone on the fir-lined clearing, devoid of any presence except a mound of ash sitting beside a cracked tree trunk.

About the Author:Zoe lives in Edinburgh, Scotland with her husband and two children. A medic by day, she started writing in her spare time as a means to counter burn out and found that this was a balm for the soul.

She is a fan of the romantic genre and its ‘happy ever after’ ethos. A sharp contrast to what she can, at times, see in her day job. Zoe is keen for the female lead in romantic fiction to disabuse stereotypes and walk on an equal footing with her male counterparts. She prefers male leads
who do not display signs of toxic masculinity and believes that positive masculinity is much more attractive to women and healthier for men.

Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Totally Bound.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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