Kate’s Corner – All Change!

I always think of the  beginning of September as the ‘new year’ – well, the new academic year anyway. I suppose it’s because of all those years when school started back at this time, the the college year just a little bit later. Then years of being a mother with a school age son, married to a teacher  . . . all that added up to make me associate this time fo year with new beginnings and fresh starts, almost more than January 1st.

So it seems appropriate that  right now Harlequin Mills and Boon are announcing their brand-new look with fresh exciting cover designs, and giving readers a sneak peek at them over on their UK web site.  The new covers are being launched in September  and the whole range of  Mills and Boon romances are going to look very different.

What I  – and I think most authors – like about these new covers is the way that there is a new image a new individual look for each of the different lines. No longer is the Romance line  a pale pink version of the Modern covers and those Modern covers a blue version of the purple Historicals or the soft green Medicals.  Now each line has its own unique style, ranging from the dark blue of the Modern romances (still keeping that  traditional colour but in a new and sophisticated way) to the stark black and white  with just a flash of red on the Blaze covers.

The Historicals have a lush period look, with a  rich colour and the cover image in a half-circle and now the Medicals have a fresh red and white colouring to match the ‘red cross’ image of emergency services.

There are changes in emphasis too, with many of the line s – particularly the Modern Romances (the ones that will later be released as Presents)  displaying the author’s name with much more prominence. At last it is being acknowledged that, within the  range of Mills and Boon/Harlequin romances, while the readers come to the shelves because they know the quality of the books the publisher provides, it is the individual author’s work they choose to buy.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes will be the way that, starting now, and later  – at the end of this year – the Romance line will be changing and blending in with some of the books originally sold as Modern Heat. The traditional Romance type of stories are  now appearing in the re-named Cherish line (still with the traditional pale pick shading on the cover) . Then in the New Yera, some romance authors and some of the Modern Heat authors will be launched in a new renamed line – Riva.  The covers here will be very different too, and the editorial focus will be changing and developing slightly so watch out  for that.

Finally, much to the delight of the Modern/Presents authors particularly, the titles are going to be changing too. Gone are the over-used buzzwords that have become something of a joke as different combinations for Billionaire, Virgin, Mistress. Revenge etc are tried, ending up with a long string of titles that are almost indistinguishable from each other.  New style titles are slowly coming in and will be more common in the future – titles like my own The Good Greek Wife? which  has been released in the UK and will be out in Presents EXTRA soon. Other new-style titles coming up are: The Undoing of De Luca, The Bride Thief, The Man  Behind the Mask,  Giselle’s Choice, Reckless in Paradise.  I’m hoping that these new titles will be much more intriguing and will hint more at the stories – and the range of  contesnt – that is in the romance I love to write and you love to read.

So what do you think? I’m excited by this new phase   in the history of the company that has been publishing romances for over 100 years and reinventing itself every now and then to keep fresh, interesting and exciting. Do you like the new covers? The idea of the new titles?  I know I’m looking forward to seeing the first of my books with the new design cover and the new-style title. This will be in March 2011 when my book The Proud Wife comes out then.   At the moment it seems that the American  editions will still keep their tried and tested look, but  some of these changes may make their way over the ocean and into the bookshops in USA too.

I’d love to know what you think!

Meanwhile, my next book with a  traditionally styled Presents cover but with a slightly different style title – The Good Greek Wife? will be published in Presents EXTRA in  The Greek Tycoons mini-series in October.    You can find out all my latest news on my web site or my blog and that’s where you’ll get the first glimpse of  any new covers or titles I have coming up.

PS If you’re planning on entering the great new Mills & Boon New Voices contest and because of this  you’re looking for a copy of my 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance – and I know lots of you are as you’ve all be asking about it. This book is currently being reprinted but there are still a few  – jut a few copies left!  I checked with the publisher and there are just  20 copies in the UK and about 25 in America still available. So if you want to know more or find a link to where to buy, check out the Writers page on my web site for full details, specially for the USA edition.

And Good Luck to all who are entering.

Tagged as: Cherish, covers, Harlequin Presents, Kate Walker, Mills & Boon, Mills & Boon Modern, Riva, Titles