1–What is the title of your latest release?
The Wedding Engagement
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Planning a wedding is so romantic – except when it’s not yours and you’re planning it with the guy you’re secretly crushing on.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
This a follow up to my book The Ex-Mas Holidays (though it can be read as a stand-alone). I set the series in the Scottish Highlands because I live in Scotland and wanted a Scottish setting. I liked the idea of a backdrop of a small town in the highlands for winter in my first book and springtime in this book. There will hopefully be a summer book to come in the future too…
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Yes. Liv is the cool dichotomy of a Jane Austen fan who is a karate blackbelt. She also loves tea and scones and I’m always up for having those!
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Quirky, empathic, and kickass.
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
In Nigeria they have an insult whereby if you are called a “Dundee United” it means you’re an idiot. My male main character Arran is half Nigerian and half Scottish and so I liked this quirky fact that joins the two countries. It seems to originate from when Dundee United football (soccer) team were part of a tour of West Africa in the 1970s, heralded as a big European team, matched against small local teams and expected to win easily. They went on to lose badly and then the insult was born.
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I used to edit as I went but it took an age to get a first draft down, and so I switched to no editing until the first draft was complete and this seems more efficient for me.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Anything chocolate related gets me! And I love pairing it with coffee.
9–Describe your writing space/office!
My husband transformed our dark, cramped and cluttered study into a bright and airy writing for me a couple of years ago. I have a small writing desk with a bookshelf on one side and a canvas of a Scottish beach scene by Scottish artist Scott Naismith on the other side. Then there’s a little reading corner with a comfy chair and a small coffee table plus a huge book stack!
10–Who is an author you admire?
Sarah Morgan got me into reading romance again after a decade long reading slump and she also inspired me to start writing romance.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
Probably the first in Sarah Morgan’s Snow Crystal trilogy because it got me back into reading romance and then reading more of her works inspired me to start writing.
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I signed with my agent, Hannah Todd from the Madeleine Milburn agency, in spring 2022 and shortly after that we signed a deal with Berkley and HQ Digital for The Ex-Mas Holidays and The Wedding Engagement. I was absolutely ecstatic to be working with such renowned publishers.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
Romance is my favorite and in particular, rom coms. I love the escapism and the happy endings.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
This is a difficult one because I’m too eclectic. I love classic 80s movies from when I was a kid such as Ghostbusters, Star Wars, The Goonies and Back to the Future. I also love rom coms from the 2000s like She’s the Man. In more recent times I’ve enjoyed the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
15–What is your favorite season?
I like both summer because I like being outside reading in the sunshine, and winter because I like being inside reading under a cosy blanket with a hot drink!
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I like to have a lazy day with my family and then go out for dinner.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I love the Bridgerton TV series. I never read the books but was attracted to the first series due to the diversity I saw displayed on a photo of the actors in a magazine. The spectacle of a historical story with modern touches and a diverse cast is amazing.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Again, I’m too eclectic to choose! I love Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Scottish cuisine. I suppose I just love food and variety, really.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
Answer: In my free time is when I have to shoehorn in writing because I have a busy day job. But out with that I like reading, the movies, music, and spending time with my family and friends.
20–What can readers expect from you next?
I’ve got ideas for more contemporary romances (including the third in this series!) but also some speculative romance ideas, where fantastical things happen.
THE WEDDING ENGAGEMENT by Zoe Allison
Planning a wedding is so romantic . . . except when it’s not yours, and you’re planning it with the guy you’re secretly crushing on.
Scottish schoolteacher Liv Holland has a secret. She’s been carrying a torch for Arran Adebayo, her brother’s best friend, for years. A blind date gone wrong cements in Liv’s mind that Arran has no romantic interest in her whatsoever. But then, with her brother set to marry her own best friend, she and Arran are enlisted to help plan the festivities…
After being left at the altar by his ex, single father Arran is having trouble managing his growing feelings towards the woman who is both his best friend’s sister and his son’s teacher: Liv. Then his mind is blown when fate thrusts them together for an unexpected blind date, but he messes up his chance to tell her how he feels.
As the big day approaches and Liv and Arran’s connection intensifies, their chemistry chafes against their checkered romantic histories. Risking everything for love could mean losing each other forever . . . or being the next ones to find their happy ever after.
Romance Contemporary [Berkley, On Sale: October 8, 2024, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593550090 / eISBN: 9780593550106]
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About Zoe Allison
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 it’s ‘happily 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 and that positive masculinity is much more attractive to women and healthier for men.
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