The Book of Eve

A lush Great Gatsby inspired twisting tale of found family, secrets, and a love that burns through the years and refuses to die. With characters that leap off the page and into the reader's heart and a shocking twist that you will not see coming.

Book Title: The Book of Eve, by Julia Blake

Genre: Contemporary Drama 

Release Date: 1st of March, 2025

Where to Buy It:

Amazon

The Great British Book Shop (UK Only)

Books2Read

From the Blurb:

My Name is Eve

But that is not my real name; rather it is the one given to me by Annaliese when she made me a part of her golden world. It was all I had ever longed for, a life of easy luxury and glamorous intentions, with beautiful people for my friends.

Yet even the the best party must eventually end, and this one ended in a storm of tragedy and bitter betrayal. Overnight, my perfect life was exposed for the lie that it was ... and so, I ran, as far and as fast as I could.

Now an irresistible urge is summoning me back from my lonely exile, to attend one last party - Annaliese's farewell bash. Maybe I will find the resolution I seek, or maybe I will only find more heartbreak and deceit. And always the same question will beg to be answered:

Should some secrets go to the grave? 

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About the Author:

Julia lives in the historical market town of Bury St Edmunds in the East of England. Now an empty-nester as her daughter is at university, Julia lives with a little black cat and a baby tortoise. A multi-genre author of 16 published books to date, Julia always says that a good story is a good story, regardless of what box it comes in.

More About Julia Blake:

What sort of bonus content can fans of The Book of Eve look forward to?

Although the story is complete in itself, as it is told absolutely first person from Eve's point of view, I always had narrative of Annaliese running through my mind. Her motives for what she does and the way she has spent years manipulating the course of events. Annaliese is a rather saintly figure, but, by including the 17,000 word bonus material of Annaliese's Diary, I can finally share with readers the real woman. Let the world see and understand who she was and why she did what she did.

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What are some pitfalls newer writers should look for when planning a special edition?

Research and timing. When I set out to publish my books through a platform other than Amazon, I had no idea of the order in which I should do things. I wanted to buy ISBNs and shift my books from Amazon - we all know authors who have suffered from Amazon arbitrarily unpublishing their books and even deleting their accounts - so I wanted a safety net. Also, in the UK there is still a stigma to being Amazon published. Main books stores won't stock your books, neither will independent books shops. United in their hatred of Amazon, it leaves the poor indie author nowhere. It is expensive to buy ISBNs but I felt it was an investment and that it might lead to my books being stocked by physical shops. I bought a block of ten numbers, but didn't realise I needed to immediately register them with Nielson Book Editor.

This ignorance came back to bite me on the behind when I tried to publish my books through The Book Vault. No one had told me and I hadn't known to ask, that once all the information is on Nielson then it is easily transferred to whichever publishing house you are going through. It would have saved me days of head-scratching and googling what on earth BISCs etc were if I'd known and used the tools on Nielson to register my books.

Also, manage your expectations. It is going to take time, money, and a big chunk of your soul. Be sure it is what you want and be prepared for it to take longer than you think and cost more than you budgeted for.

I went through The Book Vault because they promised so much in terms of items such as sprayed edges, dust jackets etc. They promised they could distribute through Amazon. After months of emails begging for information that was not on their website, it turned out that yes, I could have sprayed edges - at a huge cost - but those books would not be available from Amazon. I discovered that Book Vault can only distribute through Amazon if Amazon say so, and as they are a rival POD publishing house, Amazon are less inclined to say yes.

Most of all, make the special editions the best you can possibly manage. I know they've probably been edited to the nth degree, but go through them again with a fine toothcomb. If you haven't looked at them in a while, you may be shocked what fresh eyes will find. Take the opportunity to polish your book until it shines like a diamond.

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When planning a new book release, what are the first steps you take towards getting your book ready for publication? Do you have any advice for preparing a book to be published? 

Firstly, and it sounds backwards, start talking about your book before you've finished writing it. Share your writing journey on social media and in your blog or newsletter. Interest people in the characters and story you are creating - without spoilers, of course, - and interest people in it. It takes time for ideas to brew, by generating a buzz about your forthcoming release you will have readers waiting to buy your book as soon as it's released.

Secondly, and it seems obvious, but make sure your book is as perfect as it can be BEFORE it's released. I read a lot of indie books and it makes me cringe when I find multiple typos, grammar, and punctuation errors in a book. Sloppy formatting is also a pet peeve of mine. I once contacted an author to politely point out how badly put together her eBook was, only to be curtly informed that "it didn't matter, it's only an eBook". For a start, there's nothing "only" about eBooks, they make up 80% of most indie author sales. They also matter more than the physical edition in some ways. Most readers won't take a chance on the expense of a paperback from an unknown indie author, they will buy the eBook first. If it is of poor quality, then they probably won't bother buying or reading anymore of that author's work. Make it a priority to format your eBook correctly.

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Have you run into any difficulties when it comes to publishing your books? What have you learned from the experience?

Like many authors, I struggle with promotion and marketing. I'm simply not very good at it. With the algorithms on social media actively stacked against us indie authors it does feel that no matter how beautiful or creative my promo post is, it will be buried and gain a fraction of the engagement that a picture of my cat or my coffee cup gets. I do much better at live events where I can talk to potential readers and interest them in my books based on the passion I have for them.

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What is you absolute favourite part about being an author?

Oh, so many things. Creating incredible worlds and characters. Talking to readers and other authors about my books - we all love it when a reader reaches out to let us know how much they loved our story. It's always wonderful when a reader comes to find me at a live event to talk to me about one of my books they've read. I love the support and encouragement that exists between most authors on social media. I am also fortunate enough to belong to the Writers of Bury and Beyond that is a wonderful group of highly talented indie authors.

I guess, most of all, I just love being a published author. Even if no one buys my books, it gives me a sense of purpose and defines who I am.

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What's next for your writing?

I am currently halfway through writing an epic space opera fantasy novel. I am having a lot of fun with it and again, the characters are strolling through my head dictating what I write. As a complete pantser, I have no idea what's going to happen next, but that's the fun part.