Kathryn Cheshire, Editorial Assistant
Kathryn Cheshire (@CheshireKat3), Editorial Assistant on the Harlequin Historical team tells us about the latest acquisition for the Harlequin Historical Undone! line…
Harper St. George’s manuscript came to my desk in May, as an unsolicited submission for the Harlequin Historical Undone! line. It immediately caught my eye as the opening is incredibly unique, descriptive and exciting – our heroine is holding up a bank in the Wild Wild West! As the story continued, things just got better and better, and Harper had a really great understanding of what we look for in the line – drama, pace, intensity and some seriously steamy sex scenes!
We did have some revision suggestions for Harper, but she took everything in her stride, and the revised manuscript that came in was even better than the first draft. I made ‘The Call’ on 31st July, just 3 or 4 months after Harper initially submitted to us. We are so thrilled to have been able to snap up Harper for the line, and her first book will be out in Spring 2014. Look out for this one, she’s a star in the making!
And Kathryn brought in another brand new author for the Harlequin Medical line!
Lucy Ryder first came to our attention through the Voices of Africa competition in 2010. Her entry was a short story that instantly stood out from the crowd. The hero was unbelievably sexy, the sexual chemistry between him and the heroine leapt off the page and Lucy’s tone was fun, flirty and everything we love to see in our Medical stories! The immensely talented Flo Nicoll (Editor on the Harlequin KISS team) worked with Lucy not only to bring the story up to 50,000 words, but also to really get to grips with the characters and their motivations and to make sure the story was the best it could possibly be!
After many months of hard work from Lucy and Flo, the story was ready, and we were so excited to be able to offer Lucy a 2 book contract. Her first book, Resisting Her Rebel Hero will be out in April 2014, and Lucy and I are now starting work on her second book for us. I am incredibly happy to be working more with this talented author, and can’t wait to see what delights she has in store for us next!
Thank you, Kathryn, for your enthusiasm–and your authors are surely delighted by it as well! Check out the Writing Guidelines for Harlequin Historical Undone! and Harlequin Medicals to see what’s needed.
You can also find out more in the Harlequin Community Forums or Twitter with #HarlequinMedical and #HarlequinHistorical.
Happy writing!
2 replies on “How Do We Find Those New Harlequin Authors?”
This post proves two things I’ve heard:
1- to be a good writer you have to accept revisions gracefully.
2- the editor will work with you to make the story the very best.
Marcie-
It’s true that most editors concentrate on the stories where we see a great foundation and true storytelling ability. Then we hope that the author sees the same possibilities!
🙂
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!