By Katie Fisher, Director of Overseas Business Development

Earlier this month, Harlequin officially opened its 19th office in Istanbul, Turkey, and I was lucky enough to have been there for the launch.

It was my second visit to Istanbul—the first was in the summer of 2008, when Adam Kapusta (Managing Director of Eastern Europe) and I were visiting to assess the market potential.  We liked what we saw—from a business perspective, Turkey is a large country with a stable economy, a high literacy rate, and a growing urban population—lots of potential women to buy our books. There is also a well established publishing industry, lots of bookstores, books for sale in many different kinds of stores, and a high proportion of translated fiction. If you name a bestselling fiction author, I’ll bet you’ll find his or her books on the shelves in Istanbul. 

Our recommendation after this visit was that we should be in Turkey—about a year and a half later, we saw this recommendation turn into reality.

Fast forward to the launch of Harlequin Turkey (or Harlequin Türkiye, as it is known in the local language). On February 2, we held a luncheon for a small group of about a dozen local media at an absolutely gorgeous hotel right on the Bosphorus. Have a look at the room—stunning!

Speeches, interviews, questions & answers, and a great meal kicked off the day’s events. Here we are just before the event kicked off.

(From left to right: Arda Gedik, our local partner, Steve Miles, EVP of Overseas for Harlequin, me, Adam Kapusta, MD, Eastern Europe & Turkey)

We are working with a local company, Ekip, who looks after translation & editing, coordinates local printing, and helps us with marketing & distribution. Combining their local knowledge with Harlequin’s global knowledge feels like a recipe for success.

After the luncheon our PR agency sent a kit out to about 100 more media and we were thrilled with the results—the story of Harlequin Turkey’s launch has been picked up by news agencies, newspapers, internet and television channels across the country, and we are expecting further coverage in the March issues of many women’s magazines. A great way to get the word out to the women of Turkey!

Right now, we are selling 8 stories per month in Turkey, but we plan to expand our program during this year. Here’s a look at our Turkish books:

I managed to sneak in a little bit of free time to see some of the sites around Istanbul—it is such an interesting city with so much history. I would love to go back and spend more time there, though maybe next time I’ll go when it won’t be snowing!

The Blue Mosque

by Meg Lewis, Assistant Editor of Harlequin Romance and Cara Colter, author of Rescued in a Wedding Dress.

He’s bending down on one knee, looking into your eyes and taking a gorgeous little box from his jacket pocket….

It could only mean one thing! That moment you’ve been waiting for—he’s going to propose! Most of us girls have imagined our perfect ‘proposal scene’ at some point…

Well last February, we on the Harlequin Romance team launched a competition where the prize was not only a diamond necklace but also the opportunity to see their ultimate proposal come to life… in the pages of a Harlequin Romance story! The contest was part of our celebrations for Harlequin’s 60th anniversary. We also published a special collection of books that month: Diamond Brides. Every story featured some of those beautiful, sparking gems we all love! Read about the stunning collection here.

The competition generated much excitement and we were flooded with wonderful ideas. Our readers really are a romantic and imaginative bunch and it was a pleasure to read all your entries!

The winning idea really stood out to the judges because it was highly romantic, special and creative, and featured a beautiful setting. What was it? Well, to find out you’ll just have to read the fantastic Rescued in a Wedding Dress by Cara Colter—out this month!  (There may be a hint on the cover, though!)

And now over to Cara Colter, who’s going to share her experience of including the winning proposal idea in her story, Rescued in a Wedding Dress:
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By Gwyneth Bolton, award-winning Kimani Romance Author

“More than simple instruments of pleasure and amusement, toys and games play crucial roles in helping children determine what is valuable in and around them. Dolls in particular invite children to replicate them, to imagine themselves in their dolls’ images. What does it mean, then, when little girls are given dolls to play with that in no way resemble them? What did it mean for me that I was nowhere in the toys I played with?”
— Ann DuCille, Professor and Cultural Critic

“African American romance readers enjoy stories about women who look like them—not just physically, but politically, socially, economically, and emotionally as well. We deserve no less.”
— Gwen Osborne, Journalist and Word Diva of Black Romance

When I think about African American romance novels, I can’t help but think of the Black Barbie. Now, I realize this connection doesn’t automatically come to mind for all. So, bear with me as I explain.

Playing with dolls and reading romance fiction are both recreational activities that provide pleasure and enjoyment. And, while women and girls aren’t the only gender to participate in these recreational activities, they make up the majority in both. Also, I don’t think I am making too much of a leap in connection when I say that the joy a little girl experiences when she opens up the box of a brand new doll is pretty close to the joy many women feel when they open up a new shipment of books from Harlequin when it comes in the mail. (Maybe I should just speak for myself in this regard, since I have been known to stalk my mailman as I wait for my latest order from eHarlequin.com…)

As a child growing up in the 70s and 80s, I was lucky enough to grow up in a time when Mattel’s Christie doll—the second black Barbie doll after the ill-fated “Colored Francie”—was widely available. Besides Christie, there were lots of other baby dolls with brown skin just like mine. I never had to experience a time like Black feminist scholar Ann DuCille writes about when I couldn’t play with a doll that “looked” like me. I can’t say the same for having romance novels to read. I used to sneak my mother’s Harlequin Presents and her Silhouette novels in the 80s. That’s where I became addicted to romance and really honed my love of reading. I would spend entire weekends reading book after book after book. I fell in love with romance when I was twelve; right around the same time I publicly stopped playing with dolls. (Truthfully, I played with Barbie dolls until I was around fourteen. But I would’ve never admitted it.) As I became an adult, I lost touch with romance novels much like I stopped playing with dolls. (Okay, I actually still collect black porcelain dolls and even some collectible designer Barbie dolls. But I don’t “play” with them. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it…)

Before Kensington published the first Arabesque novels fifteen years ago, there had been a few romance novels published that featured black heroes and heroines. There was Rosiland Welles’s Entwined Destinies (1980), Jackie Weger’s A Strong and Tender Thread (1983), Sandra Kitt’s Adam and Eva (1985) and Joyce McGill’s Unforgivable (1992). There were also attempts made to publish African American romance lines by Holloway House and Odyssey Books. However, romance novels that showcased black love had been sparse to say the least.

That all changed when editor Monica Harris got Kensington to publish those first Arabesque novels. Kensington’s Arabesque line went from two to four books a month before it was sold to BET Books and then Harlequin’s Kimani Press. Those early Arabesque authors—Francis Ray, Rochelle Alers, Shirley Hailstock, Sandra Kitt, Donna Hill, among many others—helped pave the way for the wealth of African American romance novels we see today. So did the black women authors who integrated Harlequin and Silhouette lines early on by writing romances with black leads. Women like Maggie Ferguson writing for Harlequin Intrigue; Angela Benson writing for Silhouette Special Edition; Robyn Amos writing for Silhouette Yours Truly and Intimate Moments; Rochelle Alers writing for Silhouette Desire; Brenda Jackson writing for Silhouette Desire and Blaze; and Natalie Dunbar writing for Silhouette Bombshell and later Silhouette Romantic Suspense. All of these trailblazing women made it possible for me to have a very sizable African American romance collection right next to the shelves that house my black doll collection.

The Arabesque line is still going strong with Kimani Press and we even have the first African American category-length line in Kimani Romance. Companies such as Genesis Press and Dorchester publish African American romances and we can also find many African American romance novels being published through lines like Dafina Romance and Urban Soul. In the space of less than thirty years, we have moved from being able to count the amount of African American romance novels on one hand to a healthy representation of black love growing stronger and stronger every day.

Hopefully one day—much like the Black Barbie doll isn’t just sold to little black girls and we can see little girls of all races, colors and creeds playing with the rainbow of Barbie dolls that are available—we will see more and more people reading romance across race. Yes, we needed Black Barbie dolls because little girls needed to see themselves represented in the toys they played with. But we also needed them so that little girls of other races could be exposed to diversity and difference. African American romance novels allow us to see wonderful representations of black love and hopefully as these novels become more widely available more people will see that a great love story—much like a beautiful doll—can be enjoyed by all no matter what color it comes in. What do you think? Do you think one day we will reach a place where the race of the characters really don’t matter? Can you think of other interesting things besides dolls that can be connected to romance novels?

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Gwyneth for this inspiring piece on African American romance novels. Join us as we celebrate Black History Month at eHarlequin with a very special discount of 40% on all Kimani Press titles!

by Brenda Jackson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Hot Westmoreland Nights

Anyone who has read my books knows I have this thing for family series.  And when I was told that one of my family series book was Silhouette Desire’s 2000th book, I could not contain my excitement.

From the time I first began reading romances, Silhouette Desires were my favorite.  It was small enough to toss in my purse and pull out for a good and relaxing read just about anywhere.  Especially when I got a break during those busy management meetings at the well-known insurance company where I worked.  Once I decided I wanted to be an author, my choice was to be a Silhouette Desire author.  After a number of rejections letters—a few telling me what to do to improve my craft—I joined a writers group where I received not only good feedback on what I needed to do to improve my writing, but I became friends with a bunch of lovely ladies, who like me wanted to write love stories.

I never gave up the belief that one day I would do it, even after one of my bosses at work who found out about my dream, basically told me that he would win the lotto before I published a book.  Not a lot of encouragement there, right?  Wrong.  His words encouraged me to prove him wrong and I did.  I have written over 70 books and he’s yet to win the lotto.  Of course I couldn’t pass up the chance to send him a copy of my first book with a card asking, “How many millions did you win playing lotto?”

Hot Westmoreland Nights becoming Silhouette Desire’s 2000th book is special because it’s about the Westmoreland Family.  I wrote my first Westmoreland Book in 2002 and now Hot Westmoreland Nights is my 17th novel in the series.  The Westmorelands continue to be a special family because my readers have made them so, and each time I pen a story about them, I can’t forget just how special they are.

I have plenty more Westmoreland stories to share and if you missed out on the Westmoreland series, my first book in the series, Wrapped in Pleasure, has been reissued.

Congratulations to Silhouette Desire for reaching such a wonderful milestone, and I appreciate being a part of your growth and success from day one as a reader, and now as one of your happy and dedicated writers.

Happy Reading to all!

Celebrate 2000 titles! Get 3 Desire books for $9.99 at eHarlequin.com!

Congratulations to all of our authors who are in this week’s New York Times bestseller list.

Paperback

#3 McKettricks of Texas: Tate by Linda Lael Miller (HQN, week 2)
#11 Angel’s Peak by Robyn Carr (MIRA, week 2)
#31 Twice as Hot by Gena Showalter (HQN, week 2)

Enjoy a sample of some of our bestsellers with the Browse the Book widget!

By Krista Stroever, Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

So I’m guest blogging today as we approach a momentous milestone (is there any other kind?) for Silhouette Desire—March will see the publication of Desire’s 2000^th title! From June 1982, when we started with Corporate Affair by Stephanie James (click through, you’ll be tickled when you see who that actually is!), to our 1000th book milestone Man of Ice, by the inestimable Diana Palmer in 1996, to our 2000th book today—Hot Westmoreland Nights by Brenda Jackson, and boy, are they ever. Nobody does a sexy, strong, honorable man’s man like Brenda Jackson. Her heroes truly embody the spirit of the Desire man. And, um, speaking of bodies…

A little known secret—the talented young director behind this video? Brenda’s very own son!  It’s not surprising that an author with such a talented family creates such talented families! Brenda’s known for the Westmoreland clan—dynamic, successful and prolific! But fortunately for all of us readers, Brenda uncovered a whole Westmoreland family out West—rife with family secrets of their own. Starting with Westmoreland’s Way and now on to Hot Westmoreland Nights, we meet rancher Ramsey Westmoreland, who finds himself breaking all kinds of rules when sexy Chloe Burton moves in.

And, though this might embarrass Brenda, since we are talking about Desire through the years, I thought I’d end with a little blast from the past—Brenda back in 1989, a mere 7 years after Desire began, as a “writer wannabe” at a writers conference in Texas! Click the link to see what was on shelves from Desire back then!

Editor’s Note: Thanks to Krista for this excellent post about Silhouette Desire’s 2000th title! Be sure to check back on Monday morning for a new blog entry by Brenda Jackson herself!

Still reeling from all of the love? Or perhaps it was a quiet long weekend with not much to-do? Whatever your sentiments about the big V day, we know you’re a romantic at heart, so you’ll still appreciate all of the great editorial we have for this month. Here’s Jayne, our Community Manager, with a look at what’s really hot for the month of February (and beyond!)

by Jayne Hoogenberk, eHarlequin Community Manager

You gotta know that Cupid’s in the house, or at least knocking at the door of the Blaze series with a title like Her Sexy Valentine.  And reader-favorite Stephanie Bond proves that love comes when and how you least expect it in this sizzling story of coworkers turned lovers, and if you’re wanting even more sugar and spice, follow it up with ManHunting, a sultry Blaze anthology by New York Times bestselling authors Betina Krahn, Joanne rock and Lori Borril.

 

You might want to check out A Valentine’s Wish by Betsy St. Amant. One of the first Valentine’s stories by Love Inspired AND by an up and coming new author. This is a story of friends who come to realize that they’re really in love with each other. Set in atmospheric New Orleans, it’s a sure pleaser!

For a different kind of Valentine read you’ll want to pick up The Man from Nowhere by New York Times bestselling author Rachel Lee.  This is a very moving page-turner about a “man from nowhere” who watches the heroine from afar to protect her because he “sees” her murder.  Now that’s a Valentine who’s got your back!

May I just say, Ladies ‘Start Your Engines’ with this great NASCAR anthology by Vicki Lewis Thompson and Nancy Warren and Dorien Kelly called Racing Hearts.  As Vicki Lewis Thompson says “I’m a NASCAR convert. I confess that until diving into this story, I knew very little about NASCAR. But as the proud owner of a hot little two-seater sports car, I was more than willing to learn about fast cars and the daredevils who drive them.”  She’s got MY vote and I can’t wait to dive into the stories either!

If you’re hunting for out-of-this-world romance, Silhouette Nocturne will have you howling for more with a scrumptious and unearthly bonus story in two full-length titles from the Wolf Moons miniseries where werewolves fights against evil and fight for love. Check out Red Wolf and Wolf Trap for two stories for the price of one,  just in time for Valentine’s Day

And rounding out the highlights, I’d be totally remiss not to mention something we haven’t seen in a while with The Fun Factor – a new Romantic Comedy miniseries launching in Harlequin Romance in March with Oh-So-Sensible Secretary by Jessica Hart. It might be a March title, but you can get books a month in advance on eHarlequin.com, just one of the benefits of being an online shopper! Now our editors say they’re really excited about this miniseries, and that it has a real feel good guarantee and that’s good enough for me! The next book is Tipping the Waitress with Diamonds by Nina Harrington (May)

So I hope I’ve given you room for thought if not a passel full of recommendations for Valentine’s reading, enjoy!

Congratulations to all of our authors who are in this week’s New York Times bestseller list.

Trade:

#24 Duets by Nora Roberts (Silhouette, week 4)
#30 Midnight Sons Vol. 3 by Debbie Macomber (MIRA, week 1)

Paperback

#5 McKettricks of Texas: Tate by Linda Lael Miller (HQN, week 1)
#7 Angel’s Peak by Robyn Carr (MIRA, week 1)
#20 Twice as Hot by Gena Showalter (HQN, week 1)

Enjoy a sample of some of our bestsellers with the Browse the Book widget!

Valentine’s Day is a Big Thing at Harlequin HQ. After all, we’re the leading publisher of romance. Sixty years of publishing. Five point eight billion books sold. Thirty-four thousand titles. So trust me when I say you can learn a lot from a Harlequin romance novel! If you’re looking for inspiration curing this weekend of love, check out our top five list of romantic scenes to live by, gathered from some of our recent releases! (And, be warned—here be spoilers…)

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Don’t miss the 2-hour series premiere of Past Life tonight!  It debuts on the FOX network at 9:00 pm EST.

Based on M.J. Rose’s Reincarnationist series, Past Life follows Dr. Kate McGinn (Kelli Giddish), a psychologist who believes in reincarnation, and her partner, a skeptical former New York City cop played by Nicholas Bishop as they solve mysterious crimes based on peoples’ past lives.

For more info on the series, check out the official FOX website. Or watch the trailer below!

And, when you’ve seen the series, stop by and let us know your thoughts!  We’d love to hear what you have to say about this exciting new TV show.

Edit: Just discovered M.J.’s guest post over at Running with Quills about having her book turned into a TV show. Check it out for more insight from the author herself!