Author and entrepreneur Eva Fox Mate follows her heart to success
By Kristen West
Eva Fox Mate might know how to teach others how to follow an outline, but she also knows a thing or two about tossing the outline and following her heart. In 2020, during the lull of the pandemic, Fox Mate quit a comfortable but unfulfilling job at a law firm and pursued her lifelong passion of writing full-time.
“My husband looked at me and said, ‘This is the time to do it,’” she says. It was just the nudge she needed, knowing she had the support of her husband, Ed, who works full-time for the Colorado Golf Association. “I was very fortunate to be given that opportunity to channel all of my energy into writing and having the magic of getting to the end of a book,” she says.
Not only did the change land her a publishing deal for three romantic suspense novels, but it also created the stepping stones that launched her own writing and coaching business, Gemini Writing Studio.
“I signed up for a writing coach, and we absolutely clicked. Now she’s my business partner. We do writing, coaching and editing, along with another partner. It dovetails nicely for all of us because we are also writers,” she says. “If I’m working on a plot and giving a workshop on a plot, it helps me, too.”
Fox Mate’s first book, “One Man’s Treasure,” is part one of a romantic suspense trilogy that she says was fun to write because she was just as surprised while the story unraveled. “As I was writing it, I got very involved in the family that I created and thought, ‘You know, there’s more than one story here,’” she says. “There’s no outline, no map. Writing for me is like a movie playing in my mind.”
An avid crafter, up-cycler and baker, too, Fox Mate jokes that she takes the same approach in her hobbies as she does with writing, but it can make life a little hectic. “I’m known in our family for never vetting a recipe before I have an event to take it to,” she laughs. “If it’s Thanksgiving, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, three new desserts to make.’ And then I hope they turn out because I’ve never tried them before.”
When she’s not working or baking, Fox Mate nurtures her love for history as a tour guide at the Molly Brown House. She also loves crocheting, knitting and re-purposing furniture. “I like to see things that are old have a new purpose and give new life to them,” she says. “I like doing things with my hands, which I guess goes together with the creativity of writing fiction. Any time I’m sitting down, if I’m not writing, I’m crocheting or knitting.”
Fox Mate’s grown children and her husband read her books and have been her greatest support. “My daughter said, ‘Mom, I stayed up last night and I read it all, and I’m so proud of you,’” Fox Mate says. “And my son and husband have both been so encouraging. The faith my husband has in me is priceless.”
Fox Mate’s advice to anyone who wants to write is to pursue it until the end, which sounds simple but is not always an easy feat for those who struggle with perfectionism. “You can’t edit a blank page,” she says. “Everything can be edited but you have to have words on the page first.”
