LOVE IS THE BEST MEDICINE COLUMN I am a great believer in brand power – that unique promise that differentiates one product from another. Each Harlequin series has its own ‘brand’. Medicals are intense and uplifting and…well, medical. Harlequin Presents are what you turn to for a passionate escape to a glamorous setting. Blaze stories are hot and steamy. It’s all about letting readers know what they’re going to get – no nasty surprises! darkly sexy / trust me, I'm a doctor / fresh and flirty But each Harlequin author also has a brand that layers over the top of the series promise – a unique voice and distinctive style that makes reading one author’s books a different experience from reading
PINK HEART SOCIETY COLUMN A recent conversation on one of the romance fiction industry Facebook pages I follow got me thinking about the ratio of reality to imagination in my writing. The discussion was prompted by a post by an author who wanted to write a book set on a cruise, but had been told in no uncertain terms by writers in a different (non-romance) group that this would be tantamount to a literary crime, given she'd never been on a cruise herself. Her situation got me thinking about how many times I’ve heard the phrase ‘Write what you know’. And after some deliberation – about five minutes’ worth, all up – I came to an important conclusion: that phrase is total crap Most crime writer
