Everly Summers

Hey there, book lovers! I'm Everly Summers, and I write dark romance that'll make your mama clutch her pearls (sorry, Mom). If you're looking for sweet, tender love stories where everyone plays nice... you might want to keep scrolling. But if you like your romance with a heavy dose of danger and morally gray characters who definitely shouldn't be dating material? Pull up a chair. We're going to get along just fine.

I never set out to write romance, actually. I spent years working in corporate law, drowning in contracts and non-disclosure agreements (which, ironically, turned out to be perfect research for Hide and Speak). During those long nights at the office, I'd escape into romance novels, but I always found myself wanting more edge, more danger, more of those deliciously wrong choices that make your heart race even while your brain screams "NO!"

So I did what any sensible person would do – I quit my cushy law career to write stories about dangerous men and the women who refuse to play by society's rules. My husband thought I'd lost my mind (he might've been right), but here we are!

My debut novel, Hide and Speak, came from my fascination with modern arranged marriages and the power dynamics that come with them. I mean, who doesn't love a good "I legally have to marry this terrifying man" story? (Just me? No? Phew.) But I wanted to flip the script on the typical arranged marriage trope. My heroine isn't some innocent wallflower – she's got secrets of her own, and they're just as dark as her future husband's.

When I'm not writing scenes that make my beta readers send me concerned texts at 3 AM, I'm probably binge-watching true crime documentaries (for research, obviously), spoiling my rescue pit bull Luna (who thinks she's a lap dog despite weighing 70 pounds), or trying to convince my husband that yes, I really do need to buy more books for my already overflowing office.

My writing style? Think Patricia Highsmith meets dark romance. I love exploring the gray areas between right and wrong, good and evil, love and obsession. My characters aren't heroes or villains – they're complicated people making messy choices, usually while inappropriately attracted to someone they should definitely stay away from.

Fair warning: my books come with trigger warnings. Lots of them. I believe in letting readers make informed choices about their reading experience, so I'm always upfront about the darker elements in my stories. You'll find themes of psychological manipulation, power dynamics, and moral ambiguity. But you'll also find fierce heroines who give as good as they get, complex relationships that'll make you question everything, and yes, steam. (The kind that fogs up your kindle screen. You're welcome.)

I'm active in my reader group, "Everly's Dark Corner" on Facebook, where we discuss everything from book recommendations to which fictional villains we'd risk it all for. (The answer is usually "all of them.") I love connecting with readers who understand that the best love stories sometimes start in the darkest places.

What's next? I'm currently working on my second novel (no, I won't tell you what it's about yet, but I will say it involves a storage unit, a stolen identity, and a very dangerous game of cat and mouse). I'm also developing a series that'll make Hide and Speak look like a bedtime story. Sorry not sorry!

If you enjoy authors like Rina Kent and Ana Huang but wish they'd go even darker, or if you've ever rooted for the villain while pretending not to, my books might be your next guilty pleasure. Though personally, I don't believe in feeling guilty about what we enjoy reading. Life's too short for book shame.

Want to keep up with my latest releases, get exclusive sneak peeks, or just watch me ramble about my weird writing process? You can find me on Instagram (@everlysummers) where I post daily, or sign up for my newsletter (warning: may contain inappropriate jokes and pictures of Luna being adorable).

Remember: sometimes the best stories are the ones that make us uncomfortable. Come be uncomfortable with me. 😈