It's Christmas Eve, eve! Next year one of the things I really want to do is get back to blogging all things writing, crafting, and, well, life! In the meantime I'm signing off for the holidays but wanted to thank all my lovely readers for all the giggles, support and friendship. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and all good things for 2024!
​Eve xx

​1 of 5
In 10 years of being published I’ve learned:
 
To get published again and again and again you need the same tools you acquired on your journey to getting published: Hope, passion, professionalism, adaptability, resilience, stamina, luck!

You will be affected by all the things you encountered on the way to getting published – only they may hit you even harder, or take you longer to work through. Second Album Syndrome is a thing. Imposter Syndrome is even more a thing and Comparison is, very definitely, the thief of joy!
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The good news is that those tools you’ve acquired are going to help you keep coming up with new ideas for more books, help you hit those deadlines, help you deal with disappointing sales or bad reviews and help instil you with grace when people voice their misconceptions about your work!

2 of 5
In ten years of being published I’ve learned:
That being published and staying published means continuous learning/continuous development of both craft and business. Before you’re published you learn about the business of getting published. Things like (but not limited to):
How to finish writing a book.
How to write a good blurb, synopsis, tagline, elevator pitch etc.
How to be self-published, trad published, indie published, digital first, hybrid.
How to get an agent.
How to act on feedback.
 
After you’re published you learn about the publishing industry. These are some of the things I’ve had to learn/master/get my head around:
Voice/Writing style: how to develop/grow/write in different genres
Tech: using different publishing formats/website creation/meta data/creating content for marketing (your books) and branding (YOU and your books)
Socials – which ones are right for you? How can you fit socialising with your amazingly lovely readers alongside your writing/second job/third job/family responsibilities/work-life balance etc.
How to read contracts/understand things like world rights/foreign rights/film writes etc.
GDPR.
Tax Returns
GRAMMAR (yes, for me #always)!
And, recently: HOW TO MAINTAIN CREATIVITY & PRODUCTIVITY DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC! 

3 of 5
In ten years of being published I’ve learned:
 
That there are truly wonderful readers, authors, and publishers in this world! I’ve met so many supportive, gracious, inspiring, interesting, uplifting, and wise people 😊
 
I don’t often talk about this because I work very hard not to let it define me but while I was trying to get published, I was diagnosed as having a #ChiariMalformation with #Syringomyelia. I had papilloedemas pressing on my optic discs and needed neurosurgery to relieve intracranial pressure and protect my eyesight. Surgery for Chiari malformations helps alleviate some symptoms but not all of them and so…I don’t always feel super well!
 
Anyone living with a chronic condition learns about resilience and adaptability otherwise they don’t get to flourish in their ever-changing, sometimes-narrowing/limiting, and annoyingly-unpredictable new world! It was hard accepting that I couldn’t compete with writers being able to produce multiple books a year but while I may have limitations placed upon me physically, I’ve never (nor has anyone in the industry) ever placed limitations on my publishing dreams. Like I said, I’ve met some fabulous people who reinforced the importance of following your passions regardless of a condition. I’ve also been very lucky to have patient editors who’ve helped me laugh whenever my word-finding symptom has struck and I’ve inserted a completely wrong word (but sort of sounds like the right one and has the same number of syllables) in the middle of a sentence and haven’t even realised, no matter how many times I’ve proofread it beforehand!

4 of 5
In ten years of being published, I’ve learned:
 
You have to keep yourself open to creativity – it’s really important to refill the well. Burnout is a thing – a thing that hits you twice as hard when it affects what keeps you sane (your creativity) as well as your productivity.

You need to be open to trying new ways of writing. In ten years and with eleven books under my belt, only two of those books have “written themselves.” The others all required new approaches, new routines, new lucky socks!

You have to keep yourself open to constructive criticism from the professionals around you -- open to being wrong about a storyline or a particular scene or a plot-twist or writing in the first-person or the third-person. You even have to keep yourself open to be right, but it being the wrong time if the market is changing.

The great thing is that nothing is lost, nothing is wasted. If what you’ve written isn’t what people want to read, that doesn’t mean they’ll never want to.

I’ve had writing projects where the imprint I’m contracted to has changed its parameters and the book no longer fits its list.
I’ve had books where my editor has changed halfway through the editing process.
I’ve had ideas I’ve been completely in love with, rejected outright.

It’s hard, disappointing, upsetting…but it’s also business. There are so many parts of being published that you have no control over but the one thing you do control is writing word after word after word. And out of the setbacks and harder times have come amazing opportunities to write in different genres, using different writing styles, working with other authors on multi-author series and managing authors in multi-book series, which has been awesome.
​
Like any career, longevity is helped tremendously by learning and developing and honing your craft. 

5 of 5
In 10 years of being published, I’ve learned:
 
My readers are everything!
I’ve had the most amazing messages from readers all over the world. Honestly, that people have taken the time to contact me or leave a review that says one of my books has touched them or I’ve written about an issue they can relate to, or they’ve shed a tear, or had a good giggle, or a bit of a swoon, is immense and I’m super grateful 😊
 
I’ve also learned that it’s important to celebrate the good stuff!
Beyond the rush of seeing cover art for a book, or seeing the copyright symbol next to my name, or my book hitting a list, I get to write my job title as “Author” on forms 😊
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I’ve had proper pinch-me moments like having one of the highest-selling books on supermarket shelves and being shortlisted for Best Romantic Comedy of the Year with The Little Clock House on the Green.
I’ve had multiple books published.
I have another book coming out next year: The Life-Changing Magic of Falling in Love and can’t wait to share Ashleigh and George’s story with you.
And, lastly, here’s to the (hopefully) many books that follow that! 

​Today is, on the one hand, a lovely anniversary for me to celebrate (being a published author for TEN YEARS) but also bittersweet as, sadly, it’s also the five-year anniversary of losing my mum).

She was always proud of my writing achievements and had this very simple, unwavering belief that if I worked hard enough, for long enough, (i.e. never gave up) that I would absolutely make my writing dreams come true. Most all writers know that the path to publication is littered with rejection and there were times on my journey where I would be convinced that I couldn’t keep picking myself up and putting myself out there and she would just nod in understanding and then quietly add, “Give yourself a bit of time and then give it another go!”

As I look back on the ten years of being published and the many years before that of trying to get published, I am so grateful that she shared her absolute love of reading with me. She read everything from Dostoevsky to Mills & Boon with equal passion and wonder. She taught me that reading and storytelling gave you infinite worlds to step into and infinite lessons to learn about life.
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Over the next few days, I thought I’d post a bit about some of the things I’ve learned during these crazy-amazing ten years but first of all… a great big squishy Happy 10th Book Birthday to THE WAITING GAME xx

It's been exciting times for The Wedding Planner! As well as reaching No.2 in the KOBO charts & top 100 in the Amazon charts it is now available in PAPERBACK.

It's also currently on tour so I thought I'd share what some of the reviewers have been saying in case you were still undecided about buying your copy!

From Kaisha at The Writing Garnet...

From Laura at Novel Kicks...

From the Books, Life and Everything blog...

From the Coffee and Kindle Book Reviews blog...

These are just a few of the amazing reviews coming in for The Wedding Planner. If you find yourself looking for something to read with your cuppa, please do pop on over to some of these gorgeous sites where as well as reading about The Wedding Planner, you just might find your next read too!

Here's where The Wedding Planner is going to be for the rest of the tour:

14th July:
Tizi’s Book Review
http://tizisbookreviewmusic.wordpress.com
Ginger Book Geek
https://gingerbookgeek.wordpress.com
Audio Killed The Bookmarks
https://audiokilledthebookmark.com/

15th July:
Donna's Book Blog
https://donnasbookblog.wordpress.com/
Bookish Jottings
bookishjottings.wordpress.com
Splashes Into Books
http://splashesintobooks.wordpress.com

​16th July:
​Behind The Sentence
https://behindthesentence.wordpress.com/
Love Books Actually
https://lovebooksactually.blogspot.com/
The Magic of Wor(l)ds
https://themagicofworlds.wordpress.com/

17th July:
Babydolls and Razorblades
www.babydollsandrazorblades.wordpress.com
Lemon Nail Fiend
https://lemonnailfiend.blogspot.com/?m=0
Books Of All Kinds
​www.booksofallkinds.weebly.com

If you have read and enjoyed The Wedding Planner, I would be so grateful if you could leave a review on Amazon. It only needs to be a couple of lines and your honest opinion. Reviews are so important in getting the book seen and letting other readers discover the Whispers Wood series.
http://smarturl.it/theweddingplannerED

​Thank you,

I LOVE this quote from the film You've Got Mail!

Many writers (me! me! me!) are obsessed with stationery. My stories may turn into books via screen and keyboard but alongside a whole lot of BICHOK (bum in chair hands on keyboard) I would be lost without my trusty notebooks!

Each book has to have the perfect notebook and pen. It’s all become very ritualistic as I find one that either ties to the theme of the book I’m writing, or, is so completely beautiful I HAVE to use it right now!

I use my notebook every day and it goes with me everywhere. Over the years I’ve developed a favourite layout, divided into three sections: Characterisation & Research, Daily Writing Journal and Edits.

In the daily writing journal I usually list a few pointers of the scene I’m writing that day, my word count, any notes on new scenes that come to me while I’m writing…oh, and a whole lot of doodles, shopping lists, reminders and the odd ranty-swear when the words won’t come!

Here’s a couple of pics of filled notebooks that became published books, including THE WEDDING PLANNER, out today! As it is #NationalStationeryWeek let’s talk stationery obsessions! Do you have one? Are you hoarding post-its? Have a secret collection of kitsch pens you need to admit to??? Consider this a safe place to confess…

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve blogged :( but I do have some yummy news on books past, present and future …

Firstly, I can’t quite believe it but it’s been a whole year to the day that this little beauty of a box-set published!

One company that secures some of the world’s most treasured possessions...
Two time periods...
Three complete novels from three best-selling authors…
AND the best bit is that you can still grab a copy at any of these fab places for ONLY 1.99

AMAZON http://smarturl.it/SteeHawkSecurity
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2E5JrfW
Google: http://bit.ly/2DI677W
iBOOKS: https://apple.co/2GIU1Kq
KOBO: http://bit.ly/2DykCYD

Here’s what people are saying about it:
“Mystery, technology and steamy romance all interact in this fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense.”

"...Eve Devon's vivid descriptions of Steel Hawk make the company come to life in an incredible way.”

“…rich in intrigue, threat, chemistry (between the pairing-up couples) and action.”

P.S. Did you know you can keep up to date with my book news via BookBub now? Well, you can! Just click to follow me and be among the first to see when new books release!https://www.bookbub.com/profile/eve-devon?=true

It's been a week since the RoNAs (Romantic Novel Awards) and I still can't quite believe I was there!

I may not have won the RoNA for best Romantic Comedy Novel but I had the absolute BEST time. I was thoroughly spoilt by my editor, had to pinch myself while meeting Jilly Cooper, and got to spend hours chatting away with the most amazingly talented and inspirational authors in The Gladstone Library of the Royal Horseguards Hotel in London.

Photos are a must...so...here are just a few from the glam evening...

The road to publication doesn't end when you get that first book published...it begins. As with any career there are highs and lows as you navigate your way. It was an honour to be shortlisted for these prestigious awards and getting to celebrate that with such lovely people was a definite high :).

Huge squishy congratulations to all the #RoNA18 winners.

What a fabulous evening! 

The fact that I’ll be attending as one of the shortlisted authors for best Romantic Comedy novel with The Little Clock House on the Green is…well, a pretty big deal!

When I first started writing romance I leaned towards the intense. Lots of drama, angst and suspense.

Not gonna lie… a lot of that drama, angst and suspense came out more like: *insert Captain Kirk voice*: Damn it Janet, don’t die on me now. ..We have to figure out how to save the world – wow, your hair properly reminds me of the low-setting sun.

Um…yeah. Starting out A LOT of my writing was unintentionally funny. It still is when you factor in my own unique approach to grammar!

Being unintentionally funny isn’t like the whole ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’ thing. Being unintentionally funny is bad and likely to get you on a publisher’s BuzzFeed list of howlers. Great if you want to be known for being funny. Not great if you want to create stories people will enjoy and remember for the right reasons.

Gradually I learned how to create drama, angst and suspense without making my characters sound unintentionally funny and completely TSTL (Too Stupid To Live).

But here’s the thing: I’d always have to go back through the dramatic, angst–filled, suspenseful manuscript afterwards and take out the ‘funny’ that had snuck in.

I’ve read wonderful dark, gritty romance with lashings of gallows humour that works on both levels, but for me, when I’m writing I’m either feeling light about a situation or I’m feeling serious about a situation – my voice comes out unbalanced if I try merging the two.

The biggest lesson I learned while writing The Little Clock House on the Green, was that setting out to write something funny is the single, biggest guarantee of instantly removing the comedy from Romantic Comedy. Comedians must find this all the time – the pressure to be ‘funny’. Also, comedy is like art anyway, right? Totally subjective. What one person finds dry, witty, or downright hilarious, another person finds bullish, weird or just plain inappropriate.

In the end I had to not think in terms of is this funny/what would be funnier.

It turned out to be way more simple than that. I know! Classic Arty Over-thinker, table for one.

Yep. It turned out all I had to do was just tell the story…

The story of Kate, Daniel, Juliet and Oscar and a clock house in a village called Whispers Wood.

That readers have taken the time to write to me and let me know  how much they’ve enjoyed The Little Clock House on the Green and that they’ve laughed out loud (in public!) over a scene I’ve written, is just the best compliment I could receive.

I’ve had some truly wonderful experiences on this rollercoaster writing journey, and getting nominated for best Romantic Comedy novel by the Romantic Novelists’ Association is right up there with them.

A big squishy Good Luck to all the authors nominated for a RoNA tonight – I can’t wait to celebrate this fabulous industry. 

Five years ago I saw a post by my publisher asking for multi-author continuity pitches...and suddenly all I could think about was how I'd always wanted to write about a company who displayed at The Great Exhibition, 1851 (Confession: I likes me some steam-punk!).

In the way of all good ideas, without pausing to out-think myself and get in my own way, I posted my idea about a security company who had existed for hundreds of years securing some of the world's most treasured possessions...

The only problem was I had never written an historical novel before and didn't feel I had time to learn on the job. I needed someone who had a history in writing...well...history.

I am SO grateful to two of the women who answered my pitch. Like it was meant to be, one wrote historical and one wrote contemporary. We had never met before, had no knowledge of each other's writing but we connected on a germ of an idea...

Well, let me tell you that writing a continuity series where each book is connected but can be read standalone is NOT for the faint-hearted!!!

But it can also be THE MOST FUN EVER!

What followed was MONTHS of plotting, re-plotting, writing and re-writing all whilst learning how we all liked to work so that we could ensure our different writing styles had room to breathe.

Oh, and did I mention we lived on three different continents! Yep, three different time-zones (US, AUS, UK) with only a handful of hours that interconnect!

We did it though!

And when the publisher changed its line guidelines and we all had other projects that we needed to work on, we knew we would find a way to publish at some point -- we wouldn't let all that hard work go.

So we set about finding a new home for our books and when we did and then that publisher closed, we knew we couldn't let all that hard work go...

And now -- today -- Steel Hawk Security publishes!

Over 5 years the three of us have been through life-changing personal and professional stuff...but of course we have -- this is life!

However:

The number of giggles we've shared...
The grit and determination we've developed...
The belief in these stories...

One of the truest things all authors learn is:
Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight!

STEEL HAWK SECURITY: A Romantic Suspense Box Set
Strap in for sizzling chemistry and fast-paced thrilling action, all the way from 1851 to present-day. Meet the company of alpha-honorable heroes and strong, spirited heroines in a world of high-tech security, feuding royals, and missing diamonds.

Beginning at the birthplace of great engineering and design, The Great Exhibition, London, 1851 and moving to present day, Steel Hawk has prospered for 150 years by securing some of the world’s most treasured possessions. Now a secret from the past threatens to destroy the company and a new generation must take up the fight. But with the battle only half-won, Steel Hawk is about to learn that trust has a price.

Three authors. Three full-length, standalone books of heart-pounding romantic suspense.

To Love a Thief by Jane Beckenham
It's one thing to lose your heart. Quite another to have it stolen. Years ago, notorious jewel thief “The Raven” vanished into the shadows. In 1851, Nathan Hawk emerges into a life of respectability, determined to make up for past sins. He and his business partner are introducing a lock they’re so sure can’t be broken, they’re displaying a priceless diamond, the royal Pasha Star, at the Great Exhibition. Rose Valetta’s father has been kidnapped, and she needs the Star to buy his freedom. She never expected to come nose-to-nose with Nathan. Their reunion is fraught with tension, especially when they discover the diamond in Nathan’s impregnable case is not the Pasha Star. With Nathan’s reputation in tatters, they race to find the real stone before it’s too late for Rose’s father. Too late to save the empire from a usurper. And too late to keep from losing their hearts.
Jane Beckenham writes historical and contemporary romance after falling for stories about love and hope. Inspired by happy ever afters she found her own true love and together they adopted and raised two daughters. She lives with her family in New Zealand where writing is her addiction – and sure beats housework!

Heart of Steel by Eve Devon
Colleague, friend, lover… liar? Adam Steel is in crisis mode. A recent exposé claims a founder of Steel Hawk was actually The Raven, an infamous jewel thief. And his assistant, Honeysuckle Hawk, has a sordid past he never knew about. Proving he never really knew her, never should have trusted her, and definitely shouldn’t start falling for her. With her dirty laundry flapping in the media storm, Honeysuckle’s first instinct is to run. Two things make her stay: Adam’s insistence it’s better to show the world a united front, and her heart’s insistence by his side is where she belongs. Amid the ensuing damage control, all eyes are on Adam’s ability to develop a prototype to secure and protect the Pasha Star diamond. High stakes and long hours ignite passion… until the diamond is stolen and Adam’s own prototype shows Honeysuckle is a thief. Dare he trust her to help him expose the real criminal—before the mastermind wreaks havoc on the royal family?
Eve Devon writes romantic comedy, contemporary fiction and romantic suspense with sexy heroes, sassy heroines, and happily ever afters… She lives in leafy Surrey in the UK, a book-devouring, slightly melodramatic, romance-writing sassy heroine with her very own sexy-hero husband!

Dangerous Illusions by Sarah Ballance
Keep your lovers close, your enemies closer. Especially if they’re one and the same. With Steel Hawk reeling from explosions at Zarrenburg Castle, company lawyer Edward Long’s legendary stoicism has been severely tested. It’s clearly an inside job, and no one is deeper inside than Edward— which leaves him squarely center-frame. Someone is using him to bring down the company he loves. Worse, the PI that Adam Hawk sends to investigate… there’s something off about her. And something that seriously turns him on. Operating under an assumed name, Sophie Hawk aims to dig deeper into the company’s systems than any other investigator would dare. Especially with the prime suspect’s hot gaze tracking her every move. As their dueling intellects strike sparks, the rising heat threatens the trip wires Edward has set up around his heart— and the secret that ties him to a man who’ll stop at nothing to claim his right to rule the house of Zarrenburg. Or, if he can’t have it, destroy it— and everyone connected to it.
Sarah Ballance lives on the US mid-Atlantic coast with her husband and children. She writes in many genres and loves creating unforgettable stories while putting her characters through an unkind amount of torture—a hobby that has nothing to do with living with six children!