Laurie Devore: There’s Something Irresistible About a Forbidden Romance

Laurie Devore is a graduate of Clemson University and can be found, from time-to-time, yelling helpful advice at Clemson sporting events. In her spare time, she enjoys reading at the beach, watching too much TV, and spending time with her dog, Wrigley, in their home of Charleston, South Carolina. She is the author of the YA novels A Better Bad Idea, Winner Take All, and How to Break a Boy. The Villain Edit is her first novel for adults. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Laurie Devore

In this interview, Laurie discusses how reality romance helped inspire her new contemporary romance, The Villain Edit, the importance of studying storytelling outside of books, and more!

Name: Laurie Devore
Literary agent: Sarah Landis
Book title: The Villain Edit
Publisher: Avon/Harpercollins
Release date: July 2, 2024
Genre/category: Contemporary romance, Women’s fiction
Previous titles: How to Break a Boy; Winner Take All; A Better Bad Idea
Elevator pitch: Jac Matthis is a struggling romance author who goes on a Bachelor-esque reality show in order to revive her career. However, the producers have slotted her to be this season’s villain and her attraction to her producer, Henry, is not helping matters.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I’ve always been fascinated with reality television, and even more so with “The Bachelor.” The more I played around with the show’s layout, the more it presented a perfect plot, allowing for ever-increasing stakes in my story.

And of course, there’s something irresistible about a forbidden romance. The idea of the blurry line between Jac’s attraction to her producer, Henry, and him using that to produce her was so fun to play with. It was catnip to someone who likes to write about messy relationships and morally grey characters, as I do.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I first got the seed of an idea for this book in July of 2021, so it has had quite some time to process. I always called it a dark Bachelor book and knew that Jac, my main character, would have a relationship with her producer. The real part of the book that developed over time was the idea of Jac as a writer, as well as Jac as the villain of the season. Jac had to have a career that she thought would be positively impacted by going on the show and naturally, I began to turn to my own pursuits. What eventually made the whole thing coalesce so nicely was the idea that Jac, a writer, had now found herself in someone else’s stories. Tracking the way that producers manipulated and edited her was what made the book come together. I loved the way I could use the interstitials to show what the finished product of the show looked like as well juxtaposed against the reality of what was happening.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Each new book is a surprise and I’d say everything in this book was a pleasant one! My previous books have been midlist so getting a lot of publisher support behind this one was very exciting. It’s a great reminder that every new thing you write is an opportunity.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

With each new book, I am surprised about how much I’ve grown as a writer, particularly in my structural understanding of writing. With my first book, developing a cohesive satisfying plot took me hundreds of rewrites and felt like pulling teeth. I can look back on that book and see the seams so clearly, how cobbled together parts of it were. However, with each book, my confidence in plotting and building narrative grows, I believe partly due to my love of storytelling and consuming it in every imaginable form. I am a huge fan of television structure and this book aligned with that naturally.

I think all of these factors allowed me to create an incredibly tight plot with constantly escalating stakes that some have said makes this book read almost like a thriller.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope readers have a good time as that was my number one priority when writing! However, I do hope it also challenges them to think about the way media is manipulated to drive certain responses within the consumer. I love for all of my books to test readers a bit, particularly what they are and aren’t willing to forgive. People in real life are complicated and I always prize my books highlighting that.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

I’m a huge fan of consuming all types of media from reading across genres to watching tv, film, and documentaries, to listening to podcasts. I truly think the act of consuming these stories outside of our comfort zone makes us better writers. I also particularly enjoy listening to critique and praise of my favorite media, helping me to understand what works and what doesn’t to apply to my own writing.

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