We hope you had fun with our Harlequin Series Quiz for authors, and learned some things about submitting your manuscript to Harlequin. As promised, here are the answers to Friday’s quiz!
- Q: Name three series that publish romances over 70K words. A: Harlequin Heartwarming, Harlequin Historical and Harlequin Romantic Suspense all publish stories over 70K words.
- Q: What are two differences between Harlequin Desire and Harlequin Dare? A: Harlequin Desire stories are set primarily in North America and should not feel exotic, while Harlequin Dare features a variety of exotic settings. Desire stories are more romantic than explicit. Dare stories push the boundaries of sexual explicitness.
- Q: What are three differences between Harlequin Intrigue and Harlequin Romantic Suspense? A: In Harlequin Intrigue, the mystery is the foundation of the story; the suspense elements in HRS are secondary to the romance. Harlequin Romantic Suspense stories are longer, at 70K words vs. the 55K of Intrigue. Subplots are integral to HRS, but kept to a minimum in Intrigue.
- Q: Where should you submit your 70K-word romance that takes place in 1968? A: Unfortunately, a story set in 1968 would not be suitable for our series romance lines. Harlequin Historical romances can take place from ancient civilizations up to and including the Second World War. All other series are contemporary.
- Q: How many books per month are published by Harlequin Special Edition? A: Harlequin Special Edition publishes six new books every month.
- Q: Name two recent titles from Harlequin Romance. A: Click here for the latest from Harlequin Romance!
- Q: Name two authors from Harlequin Heartwarming. A: Click here for the latest from Harlequin Heartwarming!
- Q: What two television shows should you watch to get a sense of the plots and romantic tension found in Love Inspired Suspense stories? A: Watch Castle or Bones to get a sense of the plots and romantic tension we’re looking for in Love Inspired Suspense.
- Q: What series are part of our “Passion” lines? A: Harlequin Desire, Harlequin Dare and Harlequin Presents would all be considered part of our “Passion” series.
- Q: Name three series that feature Home and Family themes? A: Harlequin Heartwarming, Harlequin Special Edition and Love Inspired all feature family and community stories.
- Q: What Harlequin series is “The home of the alpha male”? A: Harlequin Presents is the home of the alpha male!
- Q: Name three Harlequin authors who began their careers writing for Harlequin Medical. A: Carol Marinelli, Sarah Morgan and Sharon Kendrick (and many others) all began in Harlequin Medical Romance.
- Q: What are the most popular settings/themes for Harlequin Historical globally? A: The most popular themes/settings for Harlequin Historical are Regency, Highlanders, Vikings and Medieval.
- Q: Where should you submit your paranormal or timeslip romance? A: Unfortunately, since we have stopped acquiring for Harlequin Nocturne, we do not accept paranormal or time slip themes in any of our Harlequin series. We accept unagented paranormal romance submissions for our digital first imprint, Carina Press. If you are agented, consider submitting to HQN.
- Q: Name three requirements for Love Inspired. A: For our guidelines for Love Inspired, click here!
For a quick reader’s guide to Harlequin series books, explore our romance series at harlequin.com!
For our full writing and submission guidelines, visit harlequin.submittable.com/submit.
2 replies on “Harlequin Series Quiz for Authors: The Answers”
Even tough I’ve read the guidelines for all Harlequin lines in the past, it’s nice to have the important facts compared right here. Thanks so much to the editors who put this all together for us! And for those in the USA…Happy Thanksgiving. Hope y’all have a great time with family and friends. 🙂
This was an informative and fun quiz. It also re-enforced for me that I’m targeting the right series for my manuscript (I hope). Thank you, editors, for putting it together for us.
Comments ( 7 )
I spent the entire shutdown working. Had no time to wind down. I didn’t see my son much when school shutdown. My one co worker was told to stay home for 3 weeks so I picked up her hours. This year has been really crappy.
Ugh, Janell. Here’s hoping the rest of your summer is better.
Thanks for the info, Carol! Everyone is different in how they deal with the shutdown! I stay at home all the time since I don’t work so I haven’t been too effected but my shopping and errands sure have been effected!
Valri, I’ve been doing most of my shopping online. My local Target is still low on some items – mostly cleaning supplies. Grocery store is pretty much back to normal. Most of the dining in our town is outdoor. I can’t imagine have school-age kids!
Wow–getting your creative process on track must have been daunting–especially with “extra-large dog” glad to have you home. You don’t like coffee–I love coffee and have enjoyed my fortifying 2 cups in the morning even more than usual! How as COVID affected your story lines and characterizations? Best Wishes for all releases!
Interesting question, Virginia. You’ll have to tell me if the tone of my “COVID” books changed any! LOL
Life has changed so much! My dad passed Feb 2. The assisted living facility my folks were at went into hardcore lockdown the beginning of March. Mom couldn’t leave her apartment for 4 months! She was on the third floor, Will be 89 in two months & doesn’t use the phone. My husband and I remodeled the lower level completely and moved her in with us July 1. What a life change and difficult transition for the 3 of us! But we’re working thru it!