Good morning, today I’m interviewing author Allison Pearl.
Allison, thank you for being a guest on my blog.
Let’s start with you telling us a little bit about yourself.
Hi! I’m Allison Pearl, a Romantic Suspense and Cozy Mystery writer. I love writing about close-knit worlds in both small towns and big cities inspired by the many different locations in which I’ve lived. When not plotting fictional crimes, I run an online book club (https://allison-pearl.com/allisons-book-club/) and regularly release a newsletter (https://allison-pearl.com/home/newsletter-signup/) with bookish blog posts, giveaways, and reading updates.
What is your book about?
Battered & Torn centers on Nora, a woman hiding from a murderous family while working at a billionaire’s estate, and Archie, the guarded heir who can’t ignore his growing attraction or the secrets surrounding her. As their connection deepens and danger closes in, trusting each other could lead them to the truth or cost them everything, including their lives.
Do you have a day job? If so, how do you find time in your day to write?
During my non-fiction writing hours, I write executive resumes and social media content for professionals looking to transition to a new role. Finding time to write fiction is not easy, and based on my progress balancing both, I only have bad advice 😉 I’ve tried better scheduling, getting up earlier, and more, with unpredictable success. What works today often doesn’t work tomorrow. At the end of the day, I just try to write when I can.
Are you a night owl or morning person?
Definitely not a morning person, but not the most successful night owl either given how much I love an early bedtime. I have some concentration and attention issues that make consistency a challenge which means everyday seems like a new game plan. The older I get, the more I realize that the harder I try to put myself in a box or rigid schedule, the quicker I fail. Ultimately, I’ve learned to give myself permission to adapt day by day.
That’s great advice for all of us.
Are you a plotter or a panster?
Definitely a pantser. I have so much respect for writers who plan and wish I could be them when I grow up, but I just end up turning story plotting into procrastination and avoidance. The only reason my books get finished is because I sit down, start writing, and see what happens. Honestly, my plot twists shock me as much as they shock my readers.
Do you experience writer’s block? What do you do to get through it?
All the time. How I get through it changes case by case, but one strategy I always try when I’m really stuck is good old pen and paper. I close my laptop, sit down with a notebook, and just start writing something. I don’t know why it works for me, but something about writing that way always helps me find my way out of whatever maze I’ve trapped myself in.
Another great tip!
Do you reward yourself when a book is finished? If so, what is your favorite treat?
Sometimes, I reward myself for finishing a chapter 😉 Some days the words come easily, while other days you have to fight for every one of them, so rewards feel like a necessity. I’ll usually go grab a treat or a coffee, or sometimes even take a walk around the store.
What does your family think of your writing?
I think their reactions usually fall somewhere between pride and confusion. Let’s just say a snarky, sailor-mouthed woman revealing a career writing faith-based romantic suspense may have seemed a little inexplicable, but despite the confusion, my family has been incredibly supportive and the best marketing team a person could have.
Allison, it was really great chatting with you.
What’s next for you as an author?
Right now, I’m working on the start of a cozy mystery series about a Pittsburgh-based mobile bookstore owner who has a knack for continually finding herself in trouble.
And before we go, where can readers find you online?
Readers can find me online at allison-pearl.com, where I share book updates, blog posts, giveaways, and newsletter sign-ups, as well as on social media under my author name, Allison Pearl.
In 2018, I began a story about a hometown football player and the valedictorian meeting up at their 15-year class reunion. Then I wrote a sequel to it. I went on to rewrite two contemporary novels from the past. In 2019 I signed a contract for my first holiday novella, then for the Reluctant Billionaire. In 2021 I signed a contract for the sequel holiday novella. I wrote another full-length contemporary that my editor rejected. I understood, it wasn’t ready for publication yet.
I didn’t write any fiction for a few years.
During that hiatus from fiction writing, I volunteered in children’s ministry at my local church. I created and wrote the curriculum we used for about 2 1/2 years. Then I couldn’t do it anymore. I lost my focus. I loved the children but I couldn’t keep up.
In 2024 I wrote my Thanksgiving novella and signed a contract for it. However, the publisher closed its doors before it could be published.
Last year, in 2025, I published that book, and no others. I had covers updated for the Courage series and the Billionaire story. I made a few sales, which equaled new readers. I had also taken a break from posting on my blog.
A few weeks ago I felt myself drifting into depression. Post holiday blues, cold weather, “stuck” at home. Then a couple of weeks ago I had spent two days with my sisters. We ate together, thrift shopped, laughed and I think there might have been a few tears. It was a welcome break in the middle of a hard month.
Last week I felt the weight of the month of February with all of its memorial dates: Pat’s birthday, Valentine’s Day, our anniversary all coming up in the first half of the month. So many memories of times spent together, the love we shared and the years after my loss.
So I made an appointment to see my counselor. I will go in this afternoon. I’ll talk to her about the hard days coming up, how I’ve been feeling the blues. She doesn’t tell me what to do, but she helps me see clearly so I know what I need to do to make things better.
Then on Sunday, maybe Saturday?
Inspiration hit.
First, I finished up the edits on that story about the quarterback and valedictorian. I hope to publish it this month and have printed copies available in March.
I hired a local editor to work on the second book about the quarterback’s brother.
I also hired the cover design for the second book.
I hope to have that book published and available in April.
I pulled up a book that I wrote years ago. At the time, we had received a used computer from a friend. I wrote 72 pages in three days. Then several years passed before I finished it.
Creative writing in the 21st century is very different from the 1900s. I’ve learned many things through the editing process with my previous publisher and editor. I am so thankful for those opportunities and what I’ve been able to put into practice.
I started editing the story, The Love We Knew, yesterday and woke up this morning excited to work on it again. It is on the schedule for publication in May.
I also dusted off the beach romance that was rejected to see if I could make it better.
I’m writing a sequel to the Lessons from Garage Sales book which will be called, Contentment at Home. Something I struggled with most of my married life and child-raising years.
Life has its twists and turns, its storms and quiet times, seasons of grief and mountaintops of joy. I am thankful that God has brought me through each moment. His grace has made living my life to the fullest possible.
I’m especially grateful that the inspiration to write has come to me again, even out of the gray and depressing month that I just passed through, and knowing the difficult days that lie ahead.
Here’s a look at the cover for the story about the high school reunion:
Over the weekend I attended a craft show that happened to be in the gym of my old elementary school. That school held some of the saddest memories of my life with very few good times. The above photo with me holding up the sign for our class photo was a special privilege that made me feel good about myself. But for most of my elementary school years I was sad.
It started in second grade, when we moved to a brand new house. The move meant I had to change schools. I was still in the same district, but I had to start second grade at a different elementary school.
That year my older sisters both were shuttled back to our previous elementary school for fourth and sixth grades. I was the new school by myself.
I don’t remember much about the first day until I was getting ready to go home. I couldn’t remember what bus to ride. I stood in the hallway, crying.
Somehow I got on the right bus that day, but I couldn’t adjust to my new school.
I struggled so much with crying and adjusting that I saw a school counselor. One day she told me to go home and write a story. We had a bunny rabbit that we were raising in the house, just a tiny thing. I wrote about the bunny.
My counselor liked my story. She had me read it to the kindergarten class.
An author was born. I was 7 years old.
Eventually, I adjusted to school. I was still sensitive, though. All anyone had to do was say curse words to me and I would cry.
In sixth grade, I spent time in the health room lying down.
But I also wrote stories about a squirrel and his woodland friends. They were plagiarized from a book I read but they were fun to write.
I had a church camp counselor who was good to me. She wrote to me, and I sent a copy of my story to her. She liked it and became my champion. She sent my story to a publisher.
The publisher sent back a nice reply. They said that I was talented but not what they were looking for. (I would hear that many more times in my life.)
I continued to write throughout middle and high school. Teachers and classmates read my stories and encouraged me to keep writing. When I went away to college, I set aside all of my stories, and a few years later I destroyed them (So glad now that I did.)
In 1994 I started writing again. (Eleven years after high school).
I had a new baby and a toddler. I would stay up late after they were in bed and write on my word processor. I would get up before they woke up and continue to write. I burned the candle at both ends.
I focused on making the novel a Christian romance. When the story was done, I sent a query letter to a publisher along with some sample chapters.
They asked to see the whole book. I sent it to them. They sent me a letter.
A rejection letter.
This editor made some personal comments in the letter. She told me the reasons why it was rejected and gave helpful feedback.
She also wrote: “Please be encouraged that I thought your manuscript had enough flair to at least recommend it to the review board. 80% don’t make it that far.”
Instead of getting discouraged, I wrote another story. This time a historical Christian novel.
I did the research. I used the same word processor. I wrote the first few chapters And mailed them to a publisher from the Writer’s Market book. They asked to see the whole story.
I typed up the rest. I burned up my word processor and had to borrow another one to finish it. I sent the book to the publisher.
It was rejected.
I set my writing aside.
Life got busy.
As the 1990’s turned into the early 2000’s, my children grew older and were active in school. I worked part time at different jobs. I was busy in the church. We changed churches a few times.
I had another baby.
In 2002, I started to write. And write. And write.
I researched everything I could get my hands on and wrote another historical novel.
I looked for a publisher for the new book. I sent it a few places. I even paid to have it on a website for publishers to look at. It was rejected every time. It went through so many rewrites that I don’t remember how the original started.
In 2007, my friend was going on a trip and she wanted something to read on the plane. She took my story with her. She loved it.
She wanted copies for family and friends.
I found a local printer who could make spiral bound copies. They looked all right. Nothing fancy.
My family and friends bought them.
The print was so small in the original that one friend had to wear two pair of reading glasses in order to read the words.
A cousin told me that she liked it so much, but she kept falling asleep while reading it because she was so tired. She would wake up and read a little more then fall asleep again.
I don’t how many times I heard people say:
“I couldn’t put it down.”
With so much encouragement, I continued writing in the series Books 2 and 3, then 4, then 5.
I continued to have them printed in spiral bound books and sold a few copies.
In 2010, tragedy struck My husband was electrocuted at work and was in a coma. When it became clear that he was not going to pull through, we knew it was time to let him go.
It was hard to go on without him. I clung to my kids and got up each morning for them. I spent a lot of money to mask the grief.
In 2011, almost a year after his death, I went to a friend’s cabin. (The friend who’d read my story and encouraged me to get it published.) It was like a mini retreat in the woods beside a creek.
I came home and wrote book 6.
Encouraged by family and friends I decided to self-publish the Courage series again, this time in a regular paperback book binding. I met with a designer and a printer. They produced a beautiful book that I could be proud of.
I continued to publish all 6 books in the Courage series.
Then I just stopped writing.
Those were the dry years. The lost years. Focusing on my kids. Helping them reach independence.
Struggling with depression and anxiety and lack of self worth.
God placed in my path a Christian counselor. Someone I could trust. I started to climb out of the miry pit of depression and work through the grief. Gradually the darkness turned into shadows.
In the spring of 2018, I read a book about joy by a woman who had overcome many obstacles. After reading her book It was like a dam burst inside of me.
I had joy again. It was like a butterfly that had come out of its cocoon into a place of beauty and light.
In October 2018, I went back to my friend’s cabin. It was a mini retreat for me. Mostly I stayed inside the cabin watching Nicholas Sparks’ movies and drinking coffee on the porch overlooking the river.
When I came home an idea came to my mind for a new contemporary series. I wrote the first story. Then I wrote a sequel to that story.
The creative streak continued as I updated another story. I sent it to a publisher but it was rejected. I kept at the writing process.
I started reading “Billionaire” romances on Kindle. It made me think of that first story that I had written in 1994. The main character in that story was very rich. I decided to rewrite the book and make him a billionaire.
I completed the rewrite.
Then I worked on a Christmas story that had been in the back of my mind for several years. As I was in the midst of writing it, I found a publisher who was looking for Christian Christmas novellas. If I sent it in, they would review it and give positive feedback.
I finished it, sent it in, and amazingly, I received a contract for publishing.
My Christmas novella was published in 2019.
I followed up that book with a sequel holiday novella. in 2021.
Then Anaiah Press published my Billionaire book. It was an answer to a lifelong dream.
When the publisher closed its doors, I was sad, for them and for myself. I decided to go back to self publishing. I had the Courage series updated with new covers, all six of them. As of this writing I have published 12 books.
All of my stories:
The ones that are finished,
The ones that are still in outline form,
The ones I have self-published in paperback and spiral bound,
The ones that have been rejected by authors and agents
But have become well-loved by readers:
My stories are my “Beauty from Ashes.”
Isaiah 61:3 reads:
“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…”
From the time I was a little girl, sad and unable to adjust to school, to a grown woman who lost the love of her life in her mid-40’s and to the woman of 60 who stands with courage today in the face of many challenges, God’s love has never let me down. He has been faithful to bring about good in all things in my life.
Inspirational Author 