Guilty Pleasures -- The Mills and Boon Documentary

Guilty Pleasures, the documentary on Mills and Boon will be shown on More 4 at 10 pm tonight. It follows the lives of five people touched by Mills & Boon including Roger Sanderson who writes as Gill Sanderson. Part of the bit they filmed was Roger attending the annual Association of Mills & Boon Author lunch. That year was the last year I was in charge and the cameras did roll as I did my welcome bit. Right now I hope that it ended up on the cutting room floor. If not, then hopefully people will see that Mills & Boon authors are a family and we do actively welcome new authors. The amount of effort and sheer hard work plus determination that goes into selling to Harlequin should not be underestimated or valued. In fact it should be celebrated and that is one of the things AMBA does try to do. That year, new authors were given glass pendants in the shape of a leaf to remind them they were a part of a much bigger tree.
I didn't get to go last year as my daughter was ill but I understand the event was again warm and welcoming. I am looking forward to this year's event.
I just hope that the documentary does not mock the readers, the people who derive so much pleasure from the books.   The books are escapist fantasy but they do provide a ray of sunshine in people's existence. They can help people through troubled times.

In other news, I had a lovely review from Julie Bonello of cataromance for Breaking the Governess's Rules. She gave the book 4.5 stars and wrote
Written with class, skill and flair, Breaking the Governess’ Rules is a beguiling historical romance by a true virtuoso of the genre. Michelle Style sure knows how to pen a breath-taking, heart-pounding and dazzling Regency and Breaking the Governess’ Rules sparkles with her particular brand of powerful emotion, intense passion and poignant romance.
You can read the full review here.


Julie has reviewed all my full length historicals and she has also recently started her own review site -- Bookish Jottings. She is a true lover of the genre and a tireless reviewer. And her reviews have provided a ray of sunshine in my life.

Steramy but acceptable books

The new managing director of Harlequin Mills and Boon, Mandy Ferguson gave an interview to the BBC's Today programme last week. You can hear a repeat of it here. I had the pleasure of meeting Mandy last autumn and was very impressed with her. She has experience with bringing energy and vitality to National Treasure brands. She worked miracles with Ryvita and I can't wait to see what the autumn brings...Content is fine but the covers need updating seems to be the message. And anything that is going to sell more of my books is fine by me!

It always makes me laugh when interviewers think HMB should be worried about not winning any Booker awards. HMB is all about POPULAR women's fiction, not high brow fiction that appeals to a very small section of the population. HMB prints books that deliver on the promise of being excellent page turners.

Right now, I am reading aloud my latest ms and trying to get it up to a page turning read. Then it is trying my hand at an Undone.

Tweaks to writing guidelines

The writing guidelines for ALL the London edited M&B series have been tweaked. You can see them here. They are basically the same as before but perhaps with a slightly different emphasis.
The historical one reads like this:
Length: 70,000–75,000 words
Senior Editor: Linda Fildew
Assistant Editor: Sally Williamson
Editorial Assistant: Mimi Berchie
Office: London, U.K.
Do you dream of waltzing in the strong arms of a Regency rake, or maybe of walking on the wild side with a medieval warrior? Our readers’ dreams are wide-ranging, which is why we encourage submissions for all time periods, from ancient civilizations up to and including the Second World War.
Write what you know. Research is key to writing a strong historical romance. While you don’t need to be a professional historian, you do need to be able to bring a period vividly to life through accurate historical detail. The trick? Having done your research, know what to leave in and what to prune out.
There is no limit to the level of sensuality if it seems appropriate to both the characters and the story. We look for a range, from traditional nonexplicit stories through to highly sensual. Any lovemaking should evolve naturally out of the developing relationship.
Story focus. The central relationship is the key driving force of the story. The characters must be convincing because, despite their living in a time distant from our own, the emotions they experience will be the same then as now—love is timeless.

NB: You submit either via the post or email. They want the first three chapters plus a short (1-2 page) synopsis. You can also find more information via the historical podcast.

Lately for me it has been making sure that the central relationship is the driving force. It is where I had to do most of my revisions with Compromising Miss Milton.

Hopefully this helps someone.

Winter solstice

We are now deep into mid-winter. Since time immemorial, many civilisations had mid winter festivals or festivals of light to coincide with the solstice. There is a theory (and it makes sense to me) that Stonehenge is not a mid summer site but a mid winter site as once you know when mid-winter happens, you can count the days/moon cycles to planting. Mid summer does not tell you much about the planting/harvesting cycle.

The reason why Christmas or the Mass of Christ's birth is celebrated when it is, is that it was offered as an alternative to Saturnalia or other light festivals. The Coptic Christians used to celebrate the feast of Christ's birth in May and this sort of date makes far more sense given when the Romans did their census taking...New Year for the Romans on the legal side of things was April. January as the start of the new year was religious.

The early Christians were quite good at providing alternative festivals and making things easier. In this case, the celebration that Christ was born to bring light into the world. The whole point was not take over fesitvals but it make it easier for new Christians...It is just through time that people began to assume that Christ was actually born on that day. And does it truly matter? It does give people a pause for thought and a chance to remember and reconnect with others. I think whichever priest first thought up the idea deserves a vote of thanks and praise as it is one of those inspired brilliant ideas that has captured the imagination and has enable people across the centuries to take time to remember the story of the nativity and what happened.

So however you celebrate, (and hopefully you do celebrate in some form), take time to think about all those people many thousands of years ago who were celebrating the same thing.

In other news:

Kate Walker brought to my attention that Mills & Boon India are running a contest to find an Indian author for the Modern line. I think this is a wonderful opportunity. Also I would urge any would be entrant to read Kate Walker's book -- 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance if at all possible as it is full of tips and hints for any would be Modern writer.

Sometimes things don't change all that much

Among the things I received yesterday from Mills & Boon was a reasonably detailed history of the company. In it, it is made very clear that the company has ALWAYS been very keen to find new authors. BUT it has never been easy. There has NEVER been a golden age for unpublished authors where everything gets published. EVER.

In 1912, 1000 slush manuscripts were submitted, of that no more than 6 were actually published by Mills & Boon, according to a Charles Boon interview with the Daily Citizen. 75% of the manuscripts were by women and 95% by unknown authors. In other words, even way back then, it was not easy to become published with Mills & Boon. I think the statistics have become slightly worse for new authors but there again, the computer and other aids to writing have happened. I think about 1 in 1,000 is taken on. I know the editors would dearly like to find more new authors. There is always a shifting pool of authors -- because authors are real people and real people have real problems and sometimes their direction in writing changes. But every month, HM&B has to fulfil its promise to the readers.

The only thing a would be HM&B author can do is to concentrate on writing the best possible novel that fits the guidelines. And if you really want to know what the important part of the guides are: look at the strap line. For example Historicals is Rich vivid and passionate, brings the past to life. Modern Heat is sizzling, stylish sensual -- the ultimate temptation. Modern is glamorous and sophisticated, seduction and passion guaranteed. Desire is passionate, provocative and powerful. Intrigue is danger, deception and desire. And so on. Figure out what these words mean in the context of the novels and you will figure out the promise HM&B makes to its readers. It is all about fulfilling that promise.

M&B has known for a long time what their particular niche market is -- romance fiction. They do not publish guys with gear who go books. And as Alan Boon once explained to an agent -- we would, indeed, have to turn down Shakespeare if he sent one along. In other words, Mills & Boon publish Romance Fiction and if they are offered other types of fiction, no matter how good, they will not publish it. The Mills & Boon brand is Romance Fiction. The parent company may publish other sorts of fiction, but what is published with the Mills & Boon logo is Romance.

It is that focus that has made the company's success. Know your market is maxim that works well for writers.

It will help improve your chances of being published. Think where will most of my readers come from. Cross over books are fine, but they are hard to market. Ultimately, you are writing for a core market.

All the branding of the HM&B lines does is to identify the core markets and to state via the strap line what sort of promise the reader can expect to be fulfilled.

Action/reaction sequence and consequences

First of all, it has come to my attention that there has been another article on M&B, this time by The Independant. Although the article is unsigned, I suspect the journalist was a man. He certainly seemed taken with one of the editors, likening her to a M&B heroine. He also bravely called the M&B editiorial director a dame and ended with a yes ma'am. For the record, historical romances are about more than mob caps, doublets and ruffles. Thankfully the editors were able to explain about certain things. The important thing is that Mills & Boon is not about to change its promise to the reader. They have delivered on that promise for 100 years and they intend on keeping it. It is the reaction of the M&B reader that is important and not some journalist. They publish books for Their Readers and their readers are far more numerous than smug journalistic types realized.

I am starting to write my next one, a Viking with an unreconstructed Viking male (btw). And I make not apologies for Ivar being strong willed and in charge. Edda is more than capable of giving him a run for his money.
Every time I start manuscript,I have to keep the action/ reaction sequence in my head. Although coincidence can play a part at the start, it can not play a part at the end. My protagonists must be willful. In other words, they have strong wills and inner cores of steel. They make things happen.Their lives go out of balance, and then they try to restore the balance. This attempt at restoration causes the world to react in unexpected ways, forcing the protagonists to take bigger risks, until eventually they are playing for very high stakes indeed. One always has to ask -- what happens if my protagonist walks away. Going back to normal every day life is not an option. If it is, then the stakes and the risks are not high enough and the reader will lose interest.
Also if the action results in no reaction, then the plot can feel episodic rather than flowing. Every time a subplot is concluded, it must further the main story. It cannot be an end to itself.

And every time, I start a story, I have to remind myself of these things. You would think that I might have had it drummed into to my head by now, but no. It is what first drafts are for, I guess, allowing the creative side of my brain to explore the possibilities and see how I can make the stakes higher for my characters.

BTW, my daughter tells me that Gene Hunt is divorced in Ashes to Ashes and that is why he has moved to London. Okay, fine, but it would have been more poignant if his wife had died from something and he could not save her. Then he found it difficult to live in Manchester and so moved down. Also as some of this might be happening Alex Brown's head as she fights to return to 2008, divorce might be the easier option.

The Observer artilce on M&B

The Observer newspaper has done an article to help mark the centenary of Mills & Boon.

Overall, it is a fair article. The journalist contacted me as part of her prep work, but I am not directly quoted in the article. My lovely friend Kate Walker is. There is a reason why amongst new authors that she is considered to be a queen.

The journalist makes mention that M&B controls things as tightly as Disney land. And I have to wonder if she felt this way because none of the authors she contacted truly deviated from what M&B was saying. But you need to remember ALL the authors are writing the books because they are passionate about them. You do not write best sellers, if you are not passionate. And Harlequin Mills & Boon is all about best selling books. It is not about literary fiction. It is about commercial fiction. There is a difference. And my bank account is very grateful for the difference...

I suspect that one of the problems for the modern day journalist is that no author who is currently writing for M&B subscribes to Violet Winspear's view of heroes. This is the view that the shy spinster articulated back in 1970. I make no comment on her fantasies, but would note times have changed and many things are better understood.

Yes, I make no apologies for my heroes being strong willed. My heroines are also. A strong woman requires a strong man. Simple as that. I think it is an act of self preservation, because instinctively well adjusted women and men do not want to be bullies or to be involved in abusive relationships. Where you have a mis-matched couple -- say a very strong man with a weak vacillating woman, or a milque toast man with a ball breaker, the relationship breaks down. And ultimately it is all about the relationship, and showing relationships that will have a lasting future.

Anyway, read the article and enjoy.

Harlequin, Mills & Boon and Silhouette

As it is the centenary year for Mills & Boon, some people are wondering -- okay where does this fit in with Harlequin, and how did the two companies get together? And why for example are there three editiorial offices?

Harlequin was founded in 1949 in Winnipeg Canada to take advantage of the burgeoning paperback or pulp trade. Richard Bonnycastle was the mover and shaker behind the idea. And it was mainly to the presses rolling that he suggested it. His wife Mary was their first editor, proofreading the books at home. The Bonnycastles romance, in particular their wedding could have come straight from a Harlequin btw. Bonnycastle was at one time a fur trader and explorer and barely made his wedding.
The first book published by Harlequin was The Manetee. In the early days, they published all types of pulp fiction, generally they acquired rights to books published elsewhere in the world, but they did publish a few original works. In the early 50s, they discovered the medical romances from British firm Mills & Boon were proving exceptionally popular and they acquired more. In 1964, Harlequin start to publish romance exclusively, again mostly acquiring the rights from British firm, Mills & Boon. Then in 1972, they purchased Mills & Boon from the Boon family and the companies were joined.
Because Mills & Boon is such an iconic name in parts of the world, Harlequin kept the Mills & Boon name. They also kept the editorial office in London because it had served them well. (It continues to do so.)
In the late seventies, Simon & Schuster founded the Silhouette imprint to provide direct competition to Harlequin. Harlequin purchased Silhouette in 1984, after it received clearance from the US Justice Department. Silhouette's editorial office was based in New York and Harlequin continued to keep that editorial office there.
Hopefully, this goes some way towards explaining the how and whys Harlequin came about. And the various editorial offices are where they are.
If you want to learn more about the history of Harlequin, you can do so here.

Who runs HM&B

Going back to that Article, one of the more amusing assumptions by Julie Bindel was that HM&B is something of a male preserve. Yes, you have these little self deluded female authors but it is the males who decide.
Ummm which ones?
Although back in the 1960s and 1970s, M&B was mainly run by the Boon brothers. This has changed. The Boon family sold out many years ago to the corporate entity --Torstar.
Shall we look at some of the people who make the current editorial decisions at HM&B? It would have taken very little time for an competent journalist to do this.
All the editorial assistants and acquiring editors at HM&B are currently women. There was once a male editor but that was a long time ago and he is now a hugely successful agent. I think the NY office now is going for more equal opportunity and has hired its token male but there are no male acquiring editors at the Richmond office.
My current editor started working for HM&B within the last few years. She has a Phd from Oxford. She decided that publishing was preferable to academia. My former editor needs to finish her dissertation . Her speciality is 19th century women's literature. Her Phd again will be from Oxford... My senior editor has worked in publishing since the 1970s. She has held a variety of editorial positions within HM&B. And I would say that being an editor in any large publishing house is a huge achievement. it is not a part time job.
The executive editor of the Presents/Modern line is a woman. As it is not my line, I have only spoken to her casually at the HM&B authors' toast. However, she is impressive. Again she has chosen publishing as a career. She is not working for pin money. She is working because it is her career and she is highly successful at year in and year out discovering best selling authors and managing the most successful line in Harlequin Enterprises. In short you do not become an executive editor in one of the world's largest publishing houses by being a pushover. You get it on merit, because you have demonstrated that you can deliver.
The current Editorial Director of HM&B is a woman. She is also one of the most powerful people in publishing, in both the UK and the world in general. Ultimately she is the person who decides which author will be bought for the lines that the UK editorial team hold over all responsibility for. Spend some time in her company, and you will realise that she knows a fantastic amount about publishing. Not just women's fiction but publishing in general. She is the ED for very sound business reasons and is there on merit.
If any young woman wants to go into publishing or indeed to know what it is like to succeed in this business, they could do far worse than to take the ED of HM&B as a role model.
Basically these are the women who decide. It would be a brave man who told them what to do. They make their decisions not on some ideal but on hard headed business facts. they are in the business of selling books.
Ultimately it is the vast majority of consumers who decide which books are bought and how the direction of the business is shaped.
And about those titles, TPTB recently did an experiment and gave a few less hooky titles to books. They had to apologise to the authors in questions, because despite garnering excellent reviews, the books tanked. In the world of category publishing, hooks rule. Hooks actually rule on other areas of publishing.It is just that people do not seem to joke about murder mystery titles as much.
So before pointing to huge male conspiracies, it would be helpful if journalists etc actually did their homework.

Dear Author recommends...

Perhaps an explaination as to why Amazon has gone temporarily out of stock...

Dear Author has recommended A Christmas Wedding Wager as one of their December reads. I can't wait to read Jayne's review and it is wonderful to know that the book inspired her to put up her Christmas decorations.

But the second comment really made my day. It is so great that readers think Harlequin Historical is pumping out some of the good stuff. I am so proud to be a part of their programme and I know how hard the editors and authors work...

Media Perception of M&B

On Thursday at 11:30, there is a radio programme about Mills and Boon entitled Guilty Pleasures. There will be a play again feature and I believe people can listen via the internet from anywhere in the world.
The presenter, I believe, has done a lot of research and interviewed lots of readers, editors etc, but the blurb for the programme shows what a mountain one has to climb, particularly when dealing with preconceptions.
For example, it mentions Helen Fielding was once rejected by M&B. I am not sure if this is a great crime. Simply, because someone later becomes a popular writer does that mean their earlier work should have automatically been published. I know I am profoundly grateful that my early work wasn't published. I needed time to allow my voice to grow and mature.
It bothers me that from the outset they are focussing on people who did not make it. Why not focus on those who got their start with HM&B -- such as Rosemunde Pilcher? Lucilla Andrews? Both Rosemunde Pilcher and Lucilla Andrews spawned novel genres. Or on the other side of the Atlantic --Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, Jennifer Cruisie, Sandra Brown, Debbie Macomber -- to name but a few. Nora Roberts is considered to be one of the 50 most influential people in the US according to Time Magazine.
I am also bothered by the title -- guilty. Why should anyone feel guilty about reading? Since when is reading a sin? Why shouldn't people read things they enjoy? Why should people simply read things that other people deem hold some sort of virtue?
I love the fact that I get readers who write in to tell me that they are suddenly excited about history after reading one of my books.
Why does no one mention what a great export M&B books are? Over the years, they have enticed many a woman (including me) into wanting to visit the UK. They provide a positive view of the UK and other locations. Because they are exported to over 109 different countries, they help with the balance of trade.
Anyway, I shall listen to the programme but quite probably with gritted teeth.

The Roman's Virgin Mistress on sale

The Roman's Virgin Mistress is a July release in both the UK and the North American markets. This means it goes on sale on Mills and Boon.co.uk and e-harlequin today, a full month before it appears in the shops.

It is also available as an E-Book. All Harlequin Historicals are in the e-book format, so if you want to read it that fashion -- you now have the option. The e-books are published in the three most popular formats.

I know I need to send out my latest newsletter which will have details of my contest and how you can win a Hardback copy of The Roman's Virgin Mistress. It should be going out today or tomorrow.

The Roman's Virgin Mistress -- cover

Barnes and Noble have the July covers up and so I have finally been able to see what the North American cover is going to look like. I love the strap line -- Seduction Under the Italian Sun.


I am really thrilled with it. I know my editor went and looked for images Baiae where the story takes place.

The blurb reads:

Scandalous!
Silvana Junia knows what the gossips say about her – and doesn't care! Until a mysterious, dangerous stranger rescues her from the sea, and she's instantly drawn to him.
Notorious!
Lucius Aurelius Fortis is rich and respected. But his playboy past could come back to haunt him if he cannot resist his attraction to beautiful Silvana. And in the hot sun of Baiae their every move is watched…
Outrageous!
Tempted beyond endurance, Silvana will become his mistress. But she has one last shocking secret…which will change everything between them!
Rome, 69 B.C.

You can read an excerpt of the story here.

Anyway, I am really thrilled with it all. It is a really special moment when an author gets to look at the cover of her book.

Now All I have to do is keep writing my current wip.

On editing

At the moment, my brain is a bit fried. I am in the final stages of editing VC. I do love editing as you can suddenly without warning see a way to make the book better and stronger. I am currently doing my Donald Maass tension exercise. This involves going through the manuscript at random and tightening one sentence. In theory at fer you have done this for each page, you will have a far tighter more pacy novel. I suspect I am now very superstitous about this approach as I do it every time snd have done since I first sold.

It can be a pain to do as you really do have to justify sentences. Sometimes whole paragraphs. It is a mirco rather than macro way of looking at a novel.

I have gone about Donald Maass before, but I do find his workbook --Writing the Break Out Novel to be very useful. However, there are other writer friends who have made bonfires with his and other writing books and scattered them to the four winds. It alll depends on your comfort level.

I suspect one of the reasons I want this particular book to be excellent is that it will be my seventh for HM&B. I am mindful of the maxim Maass said -- it takes seven books to become an overnight success, but you have to push the snowball from the first book. Janet Evanovich is on record as saying that it took at least six books to gain a following. I have no idea about the truth of that or not. I simply know that I want my books to get better.

Sometimes, I feel that I should know what I am doing, but each book throws up new challenges. Perhaps it is one of the reasons why I love writing so much. You can never fully master it.

One of my c.p.s says that I am too close and that VC is really strong. Personally I shall feel much happier when my editor has seen it and given her thoughts.