by Dana Grimaldi If you’ve been following the Dare Blitz, you already know how to write a Dare heroine. But what about the hero? Harlequin Dare is all about alpha males! And I’ve got some advice for creating the perfect alpha hero—someone so confident, complex and sexy that our editors will be fighting for the…
By Deirdre McCluskey, Administrative Coordinator, Harlequin Series Many of you are preparing your submission for the Harlequin Dare Blitz which opens next Monday. Harlequin Dare is our sexiest series, featuring stories that focus on how the romance develops through the couple’s physical relationship. As we said in our post, “The Key to Writing Red-Hot Romance”,…
We’ve reached into our archives to bring you SYTYCW’s top tips on writing sensual scenes. Thinking of submitting to the Dare blitz? Read on for a refresher on turning up the heat in your romance! Is opening the bedroom door on your hero and heroine the biggest challenge of writing a romance novel? Quite possibly.…
By: Katie Gowrie Welcome to Dare Week on SYTYCW! If you’ve been following, you know that this week we’re talking all things Harlequin Dare to introduce you to our newest and edgiest series yet! One of the series hooks we’re most excited about is the Dare heroine. Romance is continually changing to reflect a changing world,…
by Katie Gowrie I’ve always thought one of the best things about reading a Harlequin romance is the cool facts you pick up along the way. Action, emotion, the chance to learn something new—all tied up with that feel-good HEA. We editors love a story that’s cradled by good research, be it settings, careers and…
By Carly Silver, Assistant Editor, Harlequin Romantic Suspense What’s the point of going over your novel again? After all, you worked so hard on it that it’s got to be perfect, right? Wrong! In fact, revising a manuscript absolutely essential to its success. Editors often ask their authors to retool their books many times. I…
Working in the romance fiction industry requires some very specialist skills. Read on for the Harlequin editors’ top 10 list! Our internet search histories are not for the fainthearted (or children). It can be weird when the author uses your name for the heroine…especially when things get steamy! Apparently, editing romance doesn’t qualify us as…
Dear Writers, The time has come! This week marks 150 days since we proposed a stretch of time for you to focus on writing your romance novel. Did it go fast or slow for you? We have so enjoyed interacting with you and hope we provided good information and inspiration for you to keep writing.…
1. Read. I bet you thought I’d start out by saying write. Ha! Fooled you. Nope. My number one rule for writers is to read. Read everything you can get your hands on. In the genre you write and outside of it. Magazines, newspapers, blogs (not FB posts–they don’t count!). Words are power, especially ones…
by Grace Thiele Hello, dearest authors! This week in an extremely wind-swept London, I’ll be writing about how to blow editors away with thrilling new takes on … bestselling themes and hooks! Now, I’ll let you in on a Harlequin secret, direct from Editorial. In an increasingly competitive romance fiction market, every single book has…