Every avid romance reader at one time or another has read Harlequin, the grande dame of the romance genre. With dozens of categories, they’ve been the launch pad for hundreds of today’s biggest romance writers. Our guest today is Robin Gianna, talking about her own debut with Harlequin’s Medical Romance line. BONUS: Want to write for Harlequin? We also have exciting news about a manuscript submission opportunity for you!
If you’ve been submitting to Harlequin, wanting to break into one
of their series lines, you know it’s very competitive out there! I decided to
take advantage of one of the events periodically held inviting submissions, and
I also decided to increase my odds by focusing on a line I knew was actively
looking for new authors.
If you don’t have a medical background, it might never have
occurred to you to look at the medical romance line. Admittedly, my hubby is a
doctor, so I do have a built in consultant! But to be honest, I have asked
questions of others as much as I have him, and I’ve also found great stuff
online. The stories still focus on the romance and development of the
characters through the story, they’re just set in a medical background, which
can be anything and anywhere. My first two books both take place in fictional
mission hospitals in West Africa. I decided on that setting because I wanted to
stand out from the crowd of submissions, but chose a traditional romance
trope—the secret baby—so it wouldn’t be too ‘out there.’ I guess it worked,
because I sold from that submission! And that January release is still selling
in the top twenty of medical romances right now.
And now, the BONUS!!!
Harlequin Mills & Boon is again conducting an author search,
and this one is even faster than the ‘fast track’ I sold through! Here’s a link to the event, www.millsandboon.co.uk/introducing-24-hours-in-m-and-b
which
goes on through April 24th.
You
can read about me and other new authors who have sold through prior fast track
events at http://sold.soyouthinkyoucanwrite.com/.
If writing for Harlequin is something you want, I so hope it
happens for you! Think about the medical line. And if you have any questions,
you can contact me via email: robin@robingianna.com or Facebook, or my
website www.robingianna.com.
Let's chat:
Which of the Harlequin series lines are your favorites to read? Have you ever read a medical romance? Which lines have you submitted to in the past, and why?
When cool, collected hospital director Charlotte Edwards throws caution to the wind for one hot, reckless night with Dr. Trent Dalton she has no idea it’s going to backfire on her so spectacularly—because the next morning she has to bury her pride and ask for his help!
Trent shouldn’t mix business with please...again! But Charlotte is a delicious temptation he just can’t resist. Yet when Trent finds out she’s been keeping him around under false pretenses he might just have to teach this little minx a lesson...in passion!
After
completing a degree in journalism, working in the advertising industry, then
becoming a stay-at-home mom, Robin Gianna had what she likes to call her
‘awakening’, deciding to write the romance novels she'd loved since her teens. Robin
loves pushing her characters toward their own happily-ever-afters! When she's
not writing, Robin's life is filled with a happily messy kitchen, a needy
garden, a wonderful husband, three great kids, a drooling bulldog and one
grouchy Siamese cat.
