Tanzey Talk

July 2004

I’m running a bit behind this month, as I just returned from a two-week vacation and am still trying to get caught up. Then I’ll start getting ready to leave July 27 to make the drive to Dallas for the Romance Writers of America national conference. Bookseller, TBR reviewer and my good friend Suan Wilson is going with me and will be my roommate. We are both getting excited for that experience.

Allen and I had a wonderful vacation in our motor home with stops in St. Charles, Missouri; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Charleston, S. Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; and St. Augustine, Florida, before ending up near Wildwood, Florida, for our annual family reunion. My Florida cousins were the hosts this year and provided us with fantastic food, fun and fellowship. And we immersed ourselves in tons of history at each stop along the way to our final destination. Luckily, it only rained on us at night, so our days were sunny, albeit quite hot and humid.

I didn’t get as much reading done as I’d have liked, but there was so much other stuff to see and do. I did enjoy reading John Sandford’s HIDDEN PREY and Sophie Kinsella’s CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?, and I recommend both of them highly. I also read SAM’S LETTERS TO JENNIFER by James Patterson, which was very touching and was a very quick read.

Ballantine Books just announced that they have acquired world rights to three new novels by New York Times bestselling author Judith McNaught. The first book in this deal is slated for publication in fall 2005 and will be titled EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE.

Patricia Rice has a new historical romance coming in August – THIS MAGIC MOMENT – from Signet. And she wants readers to be aware that her upcoming contemporary release coming in January 2005 from Ivy has the new title of CALIFORNIA GIRL (instead of the former title To the Moon).

Pamela Britton’s final book for Warner will be SCANDAL, which goes on sale this month. She’s excited to announce that she’s signed a new contract to write five books for Harlequin’s new HQN single-title imprint line. Pamela says, “The first will be DANGEROUS CURVES, which is a new series I have coming out set around NASCAR.  I’m really excited about this as they’ll be my first single-title contemporaries. But I don’t want readers to worry because I’m not giving up the historicals. I’ll have the Lords of Silverton series coming out March, April and May of 2006 - also from HQN. Thrown in with all that will be my Harlequin Americans. I’m going to be busy for the next couple of years!”

Lynda S.  Robinson has provided an update on her Lord Meren series of ancient Egyptian mysteries. I’ve been a big fan of this series. She tells us, “At this time there are no more Lord Meren mysteries planned. However, I have planned a Lord Meren thriller, but there is no publication date as yet. I will, of course, be sending out word to my readers as soon as there is info on this. Meantime I am writing an American Civil War suspense novel set in late 1860.”

Holly Harte wanted to let readers know that the release date of her first contemporary romance, WILD FOR YOU, written under the pen name Suzanne Gray, has been changed to a December release date from Zebra.

Debbie Macomber’s THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET was such a fantastic success that her publisher has asked her to write a sequel titled A GOOD YARN. I’m sure her fans will be delighted to know that Debbie is writing just as fast as she can to get A GOOD YARN finished in time for a release date of May 2005. Of course, this means that SUSANNAH’S GARDEN won’t be published until May 2006. To keep up-to-date with her publication schedule, be sure check her web site on a regular basis.

Susan Krinard is in the process of writing one more werewolf story. TO TAME A WOLF (for the new HQN line) is the follow-up to ONCE A WOLF and features Sim Kavanagh, a secondary character from that book. It’s not set for publication until sometime next year. However, in October 2004, Susan is looking forward to the release of SHIELD OF THE SKY, her fantasy novel for the new Luna imprint. After finishing her werewolf romance, she’ll start working on the second novel in her fantasy series – HAMMER OF THE EARTH. Then she’ll be writing Donal’s story in the sequel to THE FOREST LORD. It won’t be out until the summer of 2006 and doesn’t have a title yet.

In the June 28 issue of Publishers Weekly, it was reported that “Pocket Books, which moved out of hardcover publishing in a June 2001 reorganization, plans to re-enter the business next year by publishing a number of its romance authors in hardcover. The first three authors who will move back to Pocket from Atria, which has been publishing all Pocket romance writers since the 2001 split, are Johanna Lindsey, Fern Michaels and Eileen Goudge.”  It went on to say that Pocket VP Editorial Director Maggie Crawford would have the responsibility for these hardcover editions. Even though Pocket has no set number in place, they hope to release six to eight titles in 2005.

As you know from past columns and reviews, I’m a big fan of Dorchester Leisure’s futuristic 2176 series that features tough, savvy, kick-butt women. These action-adventure novels seem to be a trend that other publishers have also embraced. This month, Harlequin will launch the new Silhouette Bombshell line of contemporary novels featuring strong, independent heroines. Even though there will be a romantic subplot, it will not be the main focus of these stories. Published as mass market, single-title books, they will carry a $5.50 price tag after the special introductory price this month of $4.50. The inaugural authors are Lindsay McKenna, Justine Davis, Carla Cassidy and Judith Leon.

I know this is a short column, but I hope to have lots more next month after returning from the RWA conference. So stay tuned…

Tanzey

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