Devon Ashley's Blog

For the next three months, get access to twelve of my novels FREE through KindleUnlimited. Just head over to my Amazon Author Page, √ the box for KindleUnlimited and browse the titles! Three are stand-alone titles, three are trilogies.

The more she learns, the less she understands.

I don’t remember the night of the fire. My memories burned alongside it, like tiny flickering embers, dissolving, becoming one with the nothingness. Not sure how I ended up floating in a river either, but I’m pretty sure I was supposed to die that night. With two years lost in a flash, traumatic images of the last moments of my previous life haunt me. Accusations of things I’ve done, relationships I’ve threatened – I remember none of it – not even the people most important to me. But as much as I struggle to learn the truth, my memory is not to be bullied – not even to warn me of the danger still coming.

New Adult Romantic Suspense / Mystery

Recommended for 17+ for mature and disturbing situations, language and mild sexual content.

Publishing Date: January 21, 2025

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eBooks: Amazon US, UK, DE, IN, FR, ES, IT, NL, JP, BR, CA, MX, AU, Nook, Kobo, iTunes and Google Play.

[Paperbacks available at Amazon (5.25×8) and B&N [pending (5.5×8.5)], Hardbacks available at B&N [pending (6×9)]

It’s Back!

I’m opening up all my novels for Read & Review for a limited time. If you’d like to be considered for a copy, click on the pic and fill out the form. And thank you for all that you do!

The more she learns, the less she understands.

I don’t remember the night of the fire. My memories burned alongside it, like tiny flickering embers, dissolving, becoming one with the nothingness. Not sure how I ended up floating in a river either, but I’m pretty sure I was supposed to die that night. With two years lost in a flash, traumatic images of the last moments of my previous life haunt me. Accusations of things I’ve done, relationships I’ve threatened – I remember none of it – not even the people most important to me. But as much as I struggle to learn the truth, my memory is not to be bullied – not even to warn me of the danger still coming…

New Adult Romantic Suspense

Releasing January 21, 2025

Click the pic to check it out on NetGalley.

Hard for me to believe that this stand-alone has been my best seller, even beating out my popular Nearly series and Falling novels. Have you checked it out yet? Take a peek while it’s 50% off!

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Guess I knew what my social identifier would be for the rest of my life. Amazing how one little picture could define your high school career. Like nothing ever happened during those four years to contradict that one moment in time, that people would suddenly look at you like you sprouted warts and aimed to shun you for the rest of your life.

     One. Little. Picture.

     I tried not to think about it much these days, but when I spotted the wedding announcement for two of my former classmates, Hippy and Sparky were the first things that came to mind. Hippy, because Hannah Harris was the only girl in school to wear hemp in some form of fashion on a daily basis, and Sparky, because Mitch Flannigan electrocuted himself in shop class so badly that his hair had the Einstein effect for three weeks.

     So apparently, I was no better than the rest of them, because I identified them first and foremost by those lovely social tags. Hell, maybe I was looking for something negative to say about them, because it irked me a little that two people who now lived in California would find it necessary to announce their engagement in our little hometown Tribune even though they couldn’t be bothered to come back for the holidays. It was like they were letting those of us left behind know, Hey! We’re better than you!

     I shoved the paper aside just as a voice called, “Can I get a draft?” A quick peek over my shoulder showed a guy around my age at the far end of the bar. I had just turned back and pushed off the wooden counter when it clicked. I twisted my head back, eyes squinting – as if I needed to with perfect vision. My heart skittered about my rib cage as my lungs twitched with a quick burst of incoming air.

     Holy hell.

     There’d only been a few, but the years had been good to him. He was still incredibly sexy, especially since he’d put on a few more pounds of muscle on the part of his body I could actually see, and he seemed more confident – as if that were possible.

     “Shane Michaels.”

     Great. I couldn’t even say his name without smiling.

     His eyes darted north to meet mine. Yeah, north. And there wasn’t a hint of guilt in those savory greens for being south of my border. Usually, catching a guy staring at my ass pissed me off. We certainly had our fair share of customers who spent their evenings checking us out, but with Shane, I hardly seemed to care. Leave it to him to actually make me feel flattered. Or maybe it was because the guy had already seen me in a bikini so many times I couldn’t count.

     For some asinine reason, my finger began wagging at him. “You know, I thought for sure when your family moved out of here senior year we’d never see the likes of you again.”

     His smile hitched when he finally glanced at my face and figured it out. As I reached down to the shelf hidden within the bar beneath him to grab a fresh glass, he smoothly replied, “Mel Peterson.” He looked me up and down, again lingering in the sweet spots a little longer than he should have. “Wow. I never thought I’d see you again. What the hell are you doing back?”

     “Back?” I asked curiously, filling a glass with our most popular draft.

     “Didn’t you go off to school? It was all you used to talk about.”

     “Oh. Yeah.” Clearing my throat, I quietly added, “But I decided not to go.” Laying the glass on the bar before him, we locked eyes and just kind of stared for a moment.

     “Why not?”

     Because my life changed with the blink of an eye. My lips twisted, and after a moment, I said, “You first. What have you been up to?”

     Given our history, he was well versed with my evasion tactics. I could tell his curiosity had been piqued, but he kindly answered me anyways. Hardly able to contain his smile, he replied, “I’m going to start law school next fall.” A smile grew across my cheeks as well, but for a different reason. If ever there was an argumentative person, Shane was it.  “In a few years, yours truly will be gracing the courts with his presence.”

     I practically snorted. With a tight smile, I playfully asked, “You do realize people don’t generally like lawyers, right?”

     “No,” he corrected, pointing his finger at me, “people don’t like corrupt lawyers or jackasses who prosecute the stupidest shit just to make a few bucks.”

     “And that’s not going to be you?”

     “Nope.”

     Silence ensued as we gazed into each other’s eyes again. Was it just me or had we both avoided doing this most of our friendship? That would probably explain how I’d never noticed the way the green seemed to swirl. I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on in his head, but seeing him brought back a lot of memories for me. To a time when I used to date his best friend and every weekend the four of us would get lost somewhere outside of Berryville, Texas – the three of us plus whatever flavor of the week Shane was revisiting. In a town with less than a thousand residents, there were only a few girls he’d even consider putting his arm around, and for some reason, those girls didn’t seem to mind taking turns. He never could seem to commit. Guess it worked out for him though, because I didn’t see him bound to this small town with nowhere better to be.

     Softly, he spoke, “You’re a smart girl. What are you still doing here? Working in a bar of all places?”

     I probably should have taken offense to that, but I understood where he was coming from. I wasn’t supposed to be here. I should’ve been like him. Freshly graduated and beginning the next chapter in my life, whether it was further education, a new job or even beginning a family. If you had asked me five years ago where I expected to be at this point in time, not a single prediction would’ve landed me here at Sully’s Tavern and Grille. Hell, I wasn’t able to step even one foot out of this town before my world imploded.

     “I’m the manager, actually.”

     “Kind of young, aren’t you?”

     I began pouring a generous shot of tequila for myself, my shift close enough to ending that I felt okay with indulging. “Sully was tired of managers coming and going. Said he wanted a lifer, so he gave me a chance.” I motioned my glass in the air for a silent cheers before downing my shot.

   “Well, that’s all good and all, but you used to go on and on about heading out of state for college. What the hell happened to make you a lifer in this town?”

     I skipped the lime and salt, and absently scratched at my left temple, my eyes drifting towards Joey, the last patron in the bar, who was getting up to leave. He waved goodnight as he crossed the room and I forced a half smile in recognition.

    “Life,” I simply stated. Life slapped me down and gave me a reality check.

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Temporary Price Cut of $1.99 through July 15, 2023! Check out the book’s home page for links. 



We’d both gone missing at one point, but Claire had one thing I didn’t. Someone to notice. S o why was I the one still here and she the one still gone?

Nineteen year old Megan Smith has spent the past year working in a small town diner in the middle of nowhere. Life is quiet, simple, safe. Then comes the news that her look-a-like has gone missing.

Claire.

Still damaged both physically and mentally, Megan’s not looking to be noticed. Wherever she goes from here, it’s a road she needs to take alone. But when Nickolas Ellis takes the job as the new nightshift cook, it scares her how easily her defenses crumble down, down, down for him. But there are secrets she can’t bear to share with just anyone, unspeakable acts that continue to haunt, and when the similarities of Claire’s abduction couples with the fear of an unwanted visitor in town, the urge to run before it all happens again intensifies, threatening the only happiness Megan’s ever found.

New Adult Romantic Suspense / Dark Realistic Fiction
Recommended for 17+ for mature and disturbing situations, language and sexual content.

Grab the complete trilogy at Amazon US or UK for a temporary price cut. KindleUnlimited users can still read for FREE!

Add Nearly Trilogy to GoodReads.

Rosalie and Jack’s forbidden love story is coming to an end. Check out the trilogy’s book page to see descriptions, cast ideas, teasers and buy links. And for those of you who haven’t started Of Dust and Darkness yet, today is also the release date for the complete trilogy, only available at Amazon and KindleUnlimited!

This gem finalized years ago, but did you know you can get the complete series for FREE on KindleUnlimited? Don’t miss out on this adorable coming of age story!

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Finally! A private conversation. And all I had to do was throw myself off a cliff, drown in a pond in my undies and let him put his hands on my breasts to bring me back to life. Yay me! (yeah, that’s sarcasm)

Yep, that pretty much sums up the most craptastic night of Jenna Baker’s life. She drowns after jumping off a cliff, meets a hotty named Chance in the pearlescent in-between and is brought back to life by her soon-to-be boyfriend Robert.

Just when things start to move forward with Robert, the guy she’d been crushing on for a year now, in walks the man of her dreams – literally. Chance suddenly appears in her dream every time she closes her eyes. So it’s Robert by day and Chance by night. One in the real world and one in the dream world. What could possibly go wrong?

Absolutely nothing – until she comes face to face with the guy she met in the in-between, and realizes her romantic rendezvous with Chance may be more than just her imagination.

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New Adult Coming of Age / Paranormal Romance (think old-school paranormal. Twilight Zone-ish, not sparkly supernatural creatures.)

Note: Language and Sexual Situations.

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Kindle Exclusive: Get the Complete Series for one low price! Kindle Unlimited users can get it FREE! Amazon US, UK, DE, IN, FR, ES, IT, NL, JP, BR, CA, MX and AU.

I know, I know, I know… It’s been a long time coming. Sometimes life just gets in the way. That said…

The third and final book for Of Dust & Darkness is ready to drop this month! If you haven’t already, click here to check out the deets on this dark fae trilogy and see pre-sale links as they become available. Release date February 25, 2022. Also up for grabs will be the complete trilogy, available exclusively at Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

TAKE A PEEK! 

The fire glows hot and bright, its tendrils lashing upward and out as it greedily seeks its next consumable. The faerie city lay in ruins, my smile widening as I pan, taking in the endless destruction that encircles me. The heat engulfing the area is extreme, but not for me so much as the carcasses I weave between on the hot and gooey blackened ground. I can feel the fire’s very essence as it warms the soles of my shoes. It lives; breathes as steady as my own chest.

     May they all just burn.

     The left side of my mouth hitches upward when I realize I’m not the only one without wings anymore.

     Some managed to flee, but most were caught off guard as the strike happened in the early hours of the morning. Their silence is as soft as the feather-light ashes collecting atop my bare shoulders. Gray and wispy and so delicately light. No two alike.

     I whip around, the sound of a crunching boom coming from behind. “No,” I hear myself whisper in disbelief, stunned still as a world of crystalized ice rolls across the horizon. It freezes itself over my burn, suffocating the flames so rapidly its beautiful glow deadens upon impact. “No!” I say again, shouting this time, feeling the shriek of the dying flame as if a part of my soul. And all too fast it reaches and jumps over, taking me down with my beautiful creation, my lungs painfully screaming as the icy burn freezes me over from the outside in.

My body shoots forward. My mouth drops wide but my throat trembles so roughly it’s hard to tell I’m yelling – or at least trying to. My veins run cold as ice, their very lines piercing through my insides like strikes of lightning. I gasp and heave. Gasp and heave.

Bulbous clouds thick with moisture roll overhead, the breeze so strong the air whistles a mournful song. Submerged beneath the river’s surface, there’s just enough light left in the day to see the unnatural purplish tint to my soft red skin.

“Thank Mother Nature,” Jack cries, the air in his lungs flushing out with relief.  His arms dip into the water and pull me upward, clear liquid sliding down my skin in slick little streams. The air is almost as chilly as the water and I immediately tighten as he takes off. The wind lashes at my tender skin, and violent shivers rip through my body as bumps erupt all across my skin, aching to burst wide open.

It takes too long to arrive at our tent, the wind brutally bullying Jack until he’s well past the treeline. The constant dipping and swaying churns my stomach. He drops me onto a thick mat, then wraps a warm blanket around my body, his hands furiously rubbing up and down my arms. The wind blows here too, but our tent hardly reacts as the air attempts to slap at the thick material pulled taut with secured knots. My chest feels slow to rise and fall – and oh, so cold. It takes a long, tight breath to force out a weak, “What happened?”

Testing