Zozo Thomas
I‘m Zoe but my friends call me Zozo.
I am an author and illustrator who lives in the southwest of England. Here I enjoy living a self-sufficientish life with a large garden, a vegetable patch, chickens, and cats.
My garden has provided the inspiration for the Tales from Mulberry Garden series of stories, named after the tree that I planted when I first moved here.
It is managed in a way that attracts wildlife by providing spaces for them to thrive. There are dry stone walls, with nooks and crannies for frogs and other small animals to enjoy. Hedges and dense planting provide cover for wildlife, while ponds and small pools give them water to drink. I try to grow flowers across as much of the year as possible to provide food for insects. In return, they pollinate my fruit and vegetable plants for me.
Alongside my children’s stories, I also write adult fiction under the pen name of Maze Shoot and regularly write for charity and local community newsletters under the name of Zoe Thomas.
In my previous life, I worked in the corporate world, mainly in finance functions, for some extremely large, and very small organisations. I travelled around the world for work, but always looked forward to returning to my garden. I am also an occasional property developer, using my design skills to update and improve older properties. In my 40’s, I returned to university to complete a degree in sustainable design.
Books by Zozo Thomas:
Charity work
In my late 40’s, after suffering for years with unexplainable symptoms, I discovered that I have Coeliac disease as well as several food allergies. I am now a volunteer with Coeliac UK, as the secretary of the Swindon Group. We provide support and advice to anybody who needs a gluten free life.
I wouldn’t have started my career as an author if it wasn’t for the support and mentoring given to me by the Swindon Artswords group. In return, I became one of the voluntary co-editors of Swindon Writing II and Swindon Writing III, two anthologies of poems and short stories by writers connected to Swindon.
I also support my local community by regularly writing for a local community newsletter.
Volunteering gives me a sense of purpose and allows me to meet some fantastic people. I’ve also learned some great new skills from those more experienced than I. I thoroughly recommend having a go at volunteering to anyone who has some spare time.