WHAT MOST DISTINGUISHES YOUR LINE?
Harlequin Heartwarming is filling a growing niche in the market for "clean" or "wholesome" romances in the vein of inspirational stories, but without the inspirational element. These are stories of 70,000 to 75,000 words where the attraction is far more than simply physical, and emotional tenderness is a priority over sensuality.
After testing the market for this kind of a story, the line has been doing so well, we're making the transition from test reprint stories, sourced from other Harlequin lines and refreshed to remove swear words and physical sensuality, into original stories, starting with two preview books in June 2013. And in July, we'll be up to speed with four original Heartwarming stories a month! I can't wait.
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SUBMISSION PET PEEVE?
I don't really have one. I am puzzled, though, why we receive a surprising number of Young Adult submissions at Heartwarming--but to me that means we're not communicating clearly enough that these are adult romances wholesome enough to share with the granddaughters! (Not written for teens.)
IF YOUR LINE WAS A TV SERIES, WHICH ONE WOULD IT BE?
Personally? I'm a little bit of a cooking show/renovation show/reality TV show junkieand I'm hard-pressed to compare Heartwarming to Hell's Kitchen! We tend to liken it to movies: Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, Sweet Home Alabama and Hope Floats.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF BEING AN EDITOR?
It's a tie between finishing a thorough line edit where I feel as if I know that story inside and out and having revision breakthroughs where either I suddenly see a clear fix for a structural challenge or--even better--an author has found a smooth fix that takes a passage to a new level I couldn't imagine. I love to figure things out and help make the author's vision soar.
What does your typical day look like?
Typical day? Ha.
What's the most recent book you've read for pleasure?
Dana Grimaldi lent me Dragon Wing by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis when she found out we share a love of epic fantasy, so she's introduced me to a beloved series she's read over and over again. Yay. (Because George is NEVER going to finish his A Song of Ice and Fire series. We all know that, right?)
WHY DID YOU BECOME AN EDITOR?
I had gone into creative writing at university with the idea that I would write fiction--I'd grown up writing stories. And somehow my career path after school took me into magazines and I became a journalist. Once you start writing magazine and newspaper assignments, and get paid by the word, the creative-writing muscle grows flabby. And because my career involved writing and editing, I tended to self-edit as I wroteeventually hitting that ever-daunting writer's block. So editing is where I focused, and I'm glad I eventually found my way back to where I always wanted to be: genre fiction. And hat's off to all writers who overcome writer's block.
DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES?
I act in community theatre and I am a proud Crazy Cat Lady.
WHAT TYPE OF CHARACTER/PLOT ARE YOU DYING TO SEE?
Frankly, any characters and plotting that pit the driven motivations of the hero and the heroine against each other. I want a roller-coaster of emotions in a story, and I don't want to see the obvious romantic conclusion in the first couple of meetings. I'm concerned that the word "sweet" (which some in the industry call books without sex) means "cute" and "nice" to some writers trying to get published. I want characters who risk losing something precious to them if they accept love. A rugged path to love, no matter how wholesome the content!
WHAT'S THE ONE QUESTION YOU WISH PEOPLE WOULD ASK AND WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER?
Q: Would you like this chocolate 'eclair?
A: Why, yes, thank you. You're too kind. Do you also have potato chips?
