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!
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!
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!
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