Allison Ashley is a clinical oncology pharmacist by day and an unapologetic romance reader and writer by night. She's a coffee snob, dog lover, stress baker, and science geek. Her debut contemporary romance, Perfect Distraction, was published by Entangled in March 2020 and was featured on several lists including Parade Magazine, Frolic, and Book List. She loves writing emotion-provoking love stories with deep romance but that also surprise readers with fun banter and a few laughs. She'll always give a HEA and while not every book she writes has a medical twist, she gravitates toward those subjects because she can write them accurately and authentically and put a unique spin on common tropes.
Your debut, PERFECT DISTRACTION is a wonderful mix of a heartfelt story, and humor, and has a medical element to it. It’s such a great read and I devoured it fast. I also loved that it was set in my hometown! How much of your life as a clinical pharmacist inspired you to write this?
There’s definitely a lot of my daily life at work in this book. The setting at the clinic is based directly off my day-to-day interactions with patients and the clinical team. It was an honor to be able to accurately portray what a clinical pharmacist does in this book, because much of the general public is only familiar with what happens in the retail pharmacy sector (the pharmacist at your local corner drugstore). There’s a whole different side of pharmacy that’s widely unknown and I loved having the opportunity to bring it to light.
The PA, Emma, and the nurse, Kiara, are directly based off two of my co-workers whom I love dearly (I’d literally stop in the middle of clinic some days and say, “Wait, what did you just say? That’s going in the book.”). I also tried to be very open and honest about how it feels being a medical provider who spends their days caring for people with cancer. There are highs and there are lows, and leaning on the people I work with are how I’m able to keep doing it.
What’s your favorite genre to write? Do you plan to have a medical element to all your books?
As of now, contemporary romance is the only genre I’ve written. I’ve never considered branching out, as this is what I love and what I feel I’m best at. I do sort of cross over into Women’s Fiction a little with the heavier subject matter, but the romance thread will always be the most important piece (and there will always be a HEA!). I’m not set on always incorporating a medical element, no. It’s easy for me to include because it’s what I know, and I like to think I can put interesting spins on common tropes with a medical twist. But I’ve written a couple of books without that piece and I’ll probably mix it up as I go!
What does living a creative life mean to you?
I think it just means tapping into that part of your brain where you feel free to let go and just do what feels good, and feels right. It doesn’t have to be something everyone thinks of when they hear the word creative – like art (though it certainly could be). For me I’ve always loved many ‘traditional’ creative endeavors: I minored in Art History, I play the piano, and now I write. But my day job is very analytical and scientific. So it’s been really wonderful after so many years of focusing on pharmacy to find that creative side again.
Are you a plotter, pantser, or plantser?
I used to say I was a straight up panster, and in some ways I still am. There are times I’ll sit down and start writing and the scene will take a completely different turn I wasn’t expecting. However, I will say with more experience, I’ve gotten better at plotting a little and being more strategic with certain elements of the story, like conflict.
Music seems to be a big part of your writing process, who are some of your favorite artists?
SO MUCH a part of my process! I can’t write without it. Some of my forever favorites are David Gray, Ray Lamontagne, Mumford and Sons, Ben Rector, Dermot Kennedy and Lauv. Some recent discoveries I’m loving are Anson Seabra, Ziggy Alberts, and Ella Vos, JP Saxe.
What is your favorite part is the writing process?
Hmm. This is hard. I love many parts of the brainstorming and writing process because it’s exciting to be in the zone and get it all out on paper, but there’s also stress that comes with it before I have a finished product as I’m always worried I’ll run out of steam or get stuck somewhere. So I actually think my favorite might be the first read through of a first draft. Will I catch some poorly worded sentences, typos, and sections I can spruce up? YES. But I got through the first phase and polishing it always feels so much more doable at that point.
What’s the last book you read?
I just read Fearless, which is a motorcycle/cowboy romance by Katie Golding, an author friend I met via the #writingcommunity on Twitter (which is how you and I met, too!). Being an Oklahoma girl, I love a good cowboy romance every once in a while.
Do you have a favorite book of all time?
I have to list two because I’d never be able to choose between them: The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons and Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover.
If you could chat with any author who would it be?
Colleen Hoover.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee. Always.
What’s your favorite movie adaption of a book?
I actually loved Something Borrowed, both the movie and the book.
If you could travel anywhere (once it’s safe to) where would it be?
Anywhere in the mountains. That’s my happy place.
How do you think the pandemic has changed (or not changed) your writing habits etc?
It did at first, because I’m in health care and work with cancer patients who are at very high risk of having a poor outcome if they catch the virus. Sothings at the cancer center were stressful because we wanted so badly to protect our patients, but we still needed to treat their cancer. I went through a phase where I had difficulty writing. But Perfect Distraction was released right at the beginning (March 23) and was sort of a light in the darkness for me. For the last several months I’ve been able to use writing as a lovely escape and release from the stress.
What’s one recipe that means a lot to you, and why?
We have this unique dish we make every year for both Thanksgiving and Christmas that is one of my favorite things in the whole world. It sounds SUPER strange, though. It’s called scalloped pineapple, and it’s sort of a bread pudding with pineapple chunks in it. We use it as kind of a sweet side dish and it’s just delicious (and horribly unhealthy). It was a recipe my mom randomly got from a friend one year, but she started making it at holidays and it quickly became everyone’s favorite. If we ever take it to an event, everyone always asks “what was that pineapple thing??” I’ll definitely be passing that one down the family tree.
Scalloped Pineapple
Serves 6
Ingredients:
11 slices bread, crusts removed, cubed (best if a little dried out…I leave the slices on the counter for a few hours)
4 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 cups crushed pineapple
¼ cup butter
Instructions:
Place bread in buttered casserole dish. Beat eggs thoroughly, add milk, beat well. Add sugar to pineapple; combine with egg mixture. Pour over bread cubes. Dot with slices of butter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes.