From the Hindustan Times…

Manish Singh, country manager for Harlequin Mills & Boon India Pvt Ltd, told Mumbai Mirror, “While there are certain universal traits in our heroes, which resonate across our readership base of 16 to 60 years, Imran Khan obviously has tremendous appeal amongst the younger generation.”

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 Michelle Renaud, Senior Manager, Public Relations

How far would you go to be “in the know”? According to the Harlequin Romance Report 2010: Tempted, a whopping 48% of North Americans reveal that they have peeked at a colleagues’ pay stub, admitting that they have given in to temptation and crossed the line to satisfy their curiosity.

At Harlequin, Romance is our business and we know it better than anyone. The Romance Report, now in its 21st year, is examining the topic of Temptations. We explored the notion that temptations are really about recognizing a want or need and deciding whether or not the risk of pursuing it is worth the reward.

Last year the world witnessed the downside of giving into greed, indulgence and ultimately, temptation. The current economic situation has forced us all to think hard about where we spend our money. We asked survey respondents to tell us what one temptation they could not give up, even when money was tight.  Seventy-five percent of respondents said books were the number one temptation they couldn’t live without! Instead, fancy dinners, shopping and vacations were sacrificed.

Our survey also found that over 60% of men and women agreed that when it comes to relationships, they want a partner who is honest with them about temptations.

Looking at a few years ago when we focused on confessions, it seems men and women have come full circle. Rather than dealing with a confession that happens after a transgression, men and women want to know about temptations before they happen.

So whether it’s looking at a colleague’s paystub or snooping through your partner’s personal belongings, we want the truth, even if it hurts. Today it seems ignorance is no longer bliss, information is.

Tempted to know more? Have a look at the video below!

by Brenda Chin, Senior Editor, Blaze

I’d heard about Lady Jane’s Salon, New York City’s first (and only) monthly reading series celebrating romance fiction, from my Blaze author, Hope Tarr.  What a great concept!   It reminded me a lot of NYC’s Algonquin Round Table, where the “Who’s Who” of the early 1900s would come and discuss all things literary.  Still, I never dreamed I’d ever get a chance to check out an event like this myself.

But I did.  And it was so cool!

If you’re lucky enough to be in New York City on the first Monday of the month from 7-9 PM, the meet-up time for the Salon, plan on seeing red—lots and lots and lots of red.  In keeping with its Salon theme, Lady Jane’s convenes not at a library or conference room but at a bar in the city’s trendy Soho area.  Madame X bills itself as New York’s sexiest lounge—and is it ever!  (I was even a little startled—and I edit Blaze!) Think Victorian antiques, cushions, beaded lampshades, and artwork that definitely pushes the envelope on erotic.  And everything is done in the sinfully delicious scarlet red of a Blaze cover—what’s not to love?

Lady Jane’s Salon is the brain child of romance authors Hope Tarr, Leanna Renee Hieber and Maya Rodale and book-blogger, Ron Hogan.  It launched in February 2009, and quickly became the talk of the town after getting press from The New York Post and Time Out New York.  And the best part of it all?    Proceeds from admission—$5 at the door or one gently-used paperback romance novel—support Share-the-Love.org,  an organization which reaches out to groups serving women-in-transition.  I was proud to find out that a recent generous donation from Harlequin enabled the charity to further extend its work with women in domestic violence shelters and halfway houses.  Way to go, Harlequin!

The December 7^th Salon included a celebration of Harlequin’s 60^th anniversary as well as the winter holidays.  And the place was packed–literally standing room only!  The crowd was a mix of romance readers, publishing industry professionals, and writers, both published and aspiring.

Ladies indulge in a little champagne at Lady Jane’s Salon.

First up on stage was Stacey Agdern.  Stacey reviews romance novels for Barbara Vey’s Beyond Her Book blog on PW and Manga and graphic novels for Romantic Times. She read a few portions from her charming new work, REDEDICATION, a romantic story set at Hanukkah.

Then Hope Tarr read from her Harlequin Blaze Historical, TWELVE NIGHTS.  Set in medieval Scotland during the Twelve Days of Christmas, TWELVE NIGHTS is the sequel to BOUND TO PLEASE, the launch book for Blaze’s Historical miniseries. (Trust me–this book is fantastic!  If you haven’t read it yet, you’re definitely missing out.)

Melissa Endlich, Senior Editor of Love Inspired and Allison Lyons, Editor of Intrigue with audience members.

Next up was well…me.  I recapped the highlights of Harlequin’s 60^th anniversary—the cover art retrospective held in Chelsea to coincide with Book Expo America in June, CEO Donna Hayes’s appearance on “Night Line,” as well as all the sampling initiatives we’ve had this year.  Oh, and of course, all the free stuff we’ve given away (calendars, notepads, bags with vintage covers, etc.)

Once I was done, I thought I’d be able to make a quick exit off the stage (talk about pressure!), but the founders of the Salon weren’t finished with me yet.   My fellow editors from the New York office—Melissa Endlich, Allison Lyons, Gail Chasen, and Susan Litman—got the chance to come up and join me.  Then we found ourselves serenaded with a great big “Happy Birthday, Harlequin” and toasted with champagne.

It was an evening to remember, and a great tribute to our spectacular 60^th Anniversary.  I’d definitely go back— though hopefully I won’t have to wait another sixty years….

by Eleanor Elliot, Director of eHarlequin & Internet

A new line of paper goods from Flower Pot Press featuring some of Harlequin’s most memorable cover art from the 40s and 50s is now available for sale on eHarlequin.com!

Featuring gorgeous art and some of the best titles and taglines known to womankind (how can you not love “The private affairs of not-too-private secretaries” as the tagline for Nine to Five?) these notebooks, address books, and postcards are a must have for every book lover.

Order your favorite today—because if the rate at which the samples were snapped up from our offices is any indication, these are going to be a hot seller.

You can find them on eHarlequin.com by going to the Notables Stationary page.

Hello Readers!

I’m Donna Hayes, Publisher and CEO of Harlequin Enterprises Ltd, and I want to welcome you to our new blog. The launch of the Harlequin Blog means we have another way to talk with our readers and we do hope you will share your thoughts and opinions with us! Come back to the blog a few times a week to learn about new releases, special events (like the recent Cedar Cove days that Don Lucey from our public relations department will be blogging about), posts from authors and editors, and much more, including secret publishing-house insider information (you’ll be the first to know!).

2009 is our sixtieth anniversary and we’ve been celebrating in style with a fantastic art exhibit in New York featuring the evolution of the Harlequin romance cover and a simply amazing author party in Washington. For sixty years we have provided women with the best fiction and romance in the world.  And we have no plans to stop anytime soon.

Lovely authors at the Washington, DC party!

From L-R: Sharon Sala, Linda Turner, Maggie Shayne, Tara Taylor Quinn, Brenda Jackson

While we have been celebrating all of our established romance series all year long, we’ve also been busy launching brand-new imprints that cater to what women want today, tomorrow and always.

With Harlequin Nonfiction, we’ve provided phenomenal authors new opportunities to reach their readers, to build relationships that transcend the pages of their stories. For example, readers of Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove series love creating delicious recipes from the Cedar Cove Cookbook (much to the delight of their families, I’m sure!)

Harlequin Teen is a new line of books for young women. Our goal is to publish fantastic stories young women can share with their mothers, much like their mothers shared their first Harlequin romances with them. I invite you to try some of the Harlequin Teen books, like Rachel Vincent’s My Soul to Take or Gena Showalter’s Intertwined. I know that you’ll be passing them along to everyone you know. They’re just that good.

HQN and MIRA are also buzzing with exciting new releases in the next few months. We’re gearing up for A Creed Country Christmas, a brand new addition in Linda Lael Miller’s Montana Creeds series. Speaking of Linda, you’ll want to catch the trailer for her new McKettricks of Texas trilogy debuting right here. And if you’re more into mystery, Jason Pinter’s upcoming The Darkness will satisfy that whodunit craving. These are just some of the books we want to talk about!

As a special thank-you to readers who find us on our inaugural post, we have a contest! Please comment about any Harlequin book you have read and enjoyed and we will enter you into a draw for a copy of New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs’s Lakeshore Christmas. We’ll be giving away five copies of Susan’s heartwarming holiday tale. Comment with your name and the Harlequin book you read and enjoyed by October 23 and we’ll randomly select five winners to receive this wonderful hardcover book.  Open to residents of the United States and Canada only. One entry per person. For full contest details, click here.

Thank you for joining us at the Harlequin Blog. Don’t forget to sign up for our RSS feed—it’s the quickest way to get our posts. We’re very excited to start the conversation!