Title: Finding Your Zenith
Author: Eliza Payne
ASIN: B01FNG26B6
Print length: 289 pages
Publication Date: June 24, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, LLC
Language: English
Available on Kindle Unlimited: Yes

At 26, Lexi Green is a U.S. Marshal, ready for her next assignment when she gets a phone call from her sister, Laurel. Her husband, Thomas, has beaten her again and this time, it’s bad. He is a police officer and a dirty one at that. This last episode is the final straw for Laurel and she finally agrees to leave him. Desperate and frightened for her sister’s life, Lexi uses her professional connections to hire mercenary, Jake Jackson, to pilot her sister to safety.

Jake Jackson has had a hard life. Raised in the south with a drunk for a mom and an even meaner drunk for a dad, Jake isn’t exactly looking for anything other than where his next paycheck will come from. When Lexi Green walks into his life, he doesn’t expect her to turn his relatively simple life upside down, but that’s exactly what happens.

In a terrifying moment, a chain of events is set into motion that neither of them could have predicted and their lives have never been more in danger. On run from the law and Thomas and his cohorts alike, Laurel is taken to a safe house and Lexi and Jake are forced into hiding; alone.

Two people couldn’t be more different, yet somehow they find common ground in their troubled pasts and the tentative beginnings of something more. But fate intervenes once more and their lives are thrown into a tailspin of chaos and espionage. When Lexi goes missing, he knows who has her and he will tear the world apart to find her. Now that he’s found love, he is not about to let her go, but can he find her before it’s too late?”

“Finding Your Zenith” is a gripping tale of adventure and espionage, and of two unlikely souls finding love in the midst of chaos. A story of familial and romantic bonds, of healing troubled and traumatic pasts, and of the quest for that zenith within oneself—that place of highest being.

Eliza Payne is a freelance author and poet, born in West Virginia in 1971. She has been writing short stories and novels since the age of 13, but just published her debut book, “Finding Your Zenith” in June of 2016.
She is an alumnus of Winston Salem State University, earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. However, her true passion has always been literature and theatre and thus, she has spent a lifetime perfecting her craft.
The idea for this book came because of her personal experience, but her time in working with trauma victims is what shaped the theme for this story.
She currently resides in Kernersville, North Carolina with her husband, three children and two cats, Jasmine and Mia. She enjoys reading, cooking and Greek mythology. Eliza is presently at work on her next novel, “A Shady Affair”, to be released September 2016.

Author website: https://Elizapayne.tumblr.com
Twitter: @ironqueencometh
Instagram: persephoneswish
FB: http://facebook.com/findingyourzenith
Email: elizapaynebooks@gmail.com
Buy the book: http://amzn.to/2bucLNR

Why did you write this book?
“The theme of this book is about finding one’s true soulmate, but the fiber of the story was written in tribute to all the victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. For all the ones for whom it was too late to save, the ones like me who got away and the ones who are still living under that horrible oppression, this book is a testament that hope can prevail and that there is life after trauma. Even love. And also the idea that healing can come from that perfect love you find with that special person.”
What creative process(es) do you use to write your stories?
“I am a very much a spiritualist by nature so often if I find I am creatively blocked, I will go for a walk; sometimes it’s no further than my back yard to pick some wildflowers. I also use a playlist for when I am writing. My music tastes are quite eclectic so I find that picking songs based on the mood of the particular scene I am writing is really helpful for me to set the tone and shape the setting of the story.”
How did you get your start in writing?
“I think I’ve been writing since I’ve been able to pick up a pencil and put it to paper. I can remember penning stories for my favorite soap opera characters when I was twelve and going on to write my own stories with my own characters. I wrote my first novel when I was 14. I still have it.
What authors do you consider to be the most influential in your work?
“Oh my goodness. There are so many. I think my earliest memories of being entranced with a book and figuring out that I wanted to someday write my own stories was when I was reading the first V.C. Andrews series Flowers in the Attic. I think would consider that a formative book along with other tamer coming of age tales like the Anne of Green Gables series. Nowadays, my preferred genres are contemporary romance, mysteries and also fantastical settings like that of Juliet Marillier’s work in Wildwood Dancing. That is currently my favorite book.”
I understand that this story has a theme that is centered around domestic violence and sexual assault. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
This is not an easy topic, of course, and it is not one I tackled lightly in writing the book. As this book is part of my story, it was really important to me that I give back in some way for all the people that have helped me recover along the way. This is the very heart of this book and my mission for writing it.

I stepped out of my comfort zone with this book and I don’t regret it.  I try to stay away from books involving domestic violence or sexual assaults.  They are triggers for me and I have been known to walk away from books that utilize them. This one, however; is on my list of highly recommended books.

Lexi wants to change the world one person at a time.  She wants to put the people who commit the atrocities she saw in the ER behind bars.  It’s an admirable quality.  I worked in a Trauma ER and the brutality that is seen is something you never forget.  Jake is the type of character that draws you in slowly and you find yourself rooting for their relationship. Their characters were well developed and it felt like you were watching their hesitation and you could see the way things started to grow and change between them.

I loved how Lexi did what needed to be done in order to take care of Laurel.  She didn’t hesitate even when danger was all around her.  What wouldn’t you do to protect your family?

Go check out this delightful writer and let me know what you think of the intimate and passionate way she writes.