“We've heard some about the loss of young readership or the inability to gain that young readership. Is that changing? What are you doing to try to attract the younger readers?”

Audiobooks are, in my humble opinion, a huge part of the future of books, especially for young readers. Audiobooks and podcasting go together like bread and butter, and I think the modern day reader (i.e. person that is super-busy) finds the audiobook format to be ideal, more so than the also-popular eBook.

Despite the fact that it is very graphic and meant for adults, my vampire audiobook Forever Fifteen is extremely popular among teenagers. About half of the die-hard fans of the book are in their teens, despite a categorization of the free podcast as “Mature Audience Only” and multiple content warnings on my website. If a great story is only as far away as an iPod, they’re going to listen to it.

Thanks Cindy for your fantastic interview–big kudos to you for allowing writers to push the envelope and speak with with their true voices.

Thank you.

It makes sense to look at the editors of books. Because chances are if you like a couple of books they have done you would like more. I loved Demon Angel (and just picked up a paper copy at B&N for my keeper shelf) and of course thought the moon of McKade’s first book. CAN’T wait to get my hands on the A Reason to Believe. And that Cindy bought a western (trilogy at that) makes me sqqquuueee with delight.

Donna McMeans book is one I will certainly be looking out for and of course Valdez’s. LOL looking at it I have three of these authors set to guest on my blog so… yeah just call me Cindy Hwang’s fangirl.

Really the only one on here I wouldn’t jump for joy to have (now) would be Barbara Bretton and I think I will try it anyway. Since I seem to follow her taste in books… and so few women’s fiction work for me… it will be a kick to see if that one does or not.

Berkley is doing a hell of a lot of things right. And it would seem a lot of that is because of Hwang. Thanks for thinking this up Jane. I think the series will be a blast to read. And thanks to Hwang for playing! I am sure this is just a glimpse of how busy an editor’s day is and I really appreciate her taking time to ‘chat’ with some readers.

One wonders what kind of reception McKade’s book(s) would have gotten with other publishers.

Editors at NJRW gave a resounding no to westerns when asked during the editor panel. That was St. Martins, Avon and Kensington (the editors from Harlequin were representing certain lines so of course they didn’t want it). But who knows, maybe if the manuscript hooked them they might have been sucked in.

One thing I found myself wondering, while reading Cindy’s interview was how Berkley decides if a book will go mass market or trade? What’s the difference between Meljean’s book in mass market and Jean’s book which is being released in trade format? I’ve always been curious about that but when I looked up Jean’s book on Amazon and saw it was releasing in trade, it brought the question to mind again.

I’m so thrilled by your kind words. Like a box of chocolates? Can’t get much better than that. All the covers featured here are fabulous. Can’t wait to see mine :) All the Best -

One thing I’ve always wondered, though, is whether there is much mentorship in writing and editing — if editors and authors take newbies under their wing and help pass on certain pratices and provide inspiration. Because it seems that Romance publishing is a weird mix of factory and family farming, such that when it’s good it can be magical, and when it’s bad it can be downright painful.

Last year Cindy gave me the opportunity to write something very different from my usual contemporary/historical romantic comedy: dramatic vampire paranormal romance with my very own “twist.” The first book, NIGHT LIFE w/a Elizabeth Guest, will be out in April 2007.

Happy New Year everyone!
Suzanne

I give a fair amount of creative freedom for my authors to go where their muse takes them—I really only interfere if I feel they’re in danger of falling over the cliff and I pull them back. But I usually let them wander to the edge—if nothing else, to see what it’s like to look down.

As Jayne noted in her review, I was given quite a bit of space (although I suppose some people might think it’s too much space *g* ) to tell the story I wanted to tell in Demon Angel, and to include some content that I thought might be on the edge of “too dark”. After hearing all of the horror stories online about authors being forced to cut their stories way back in complexity and plot, and being asked to turn their widows into virgins, I was very, very worried that I’d have to change Lilith’s character in revisions, or be asked to turn down some of the violence. But I wasn’t, and it was a huge relief — also to know that in future books, I know that if there’s something I want to do, there’s a good chance I’ll be able to do it.

Which also means that I’d follow Cindy Hwang anywhere, even if she leaves Berkley. And if she leaves Berkley to escape me, I’d probably stalk her at her new publishing house anyway.

Does anyone remember how Berkley used to have all those odd romance lines about 6-8 years ago? Time travel line, Americana line, Ghost line, Quilting line (?!), etc. They seemed, to me, at least, to be a floundering publisher in search of its own identity. Since Cindy Hwang has come along, Berkley has really become a major player in romance fiction. I never used to buy Berkley romances (except for friends’ releases) but now I have tons of Berkley novels on my bookshelves. And I have to add that the cover art has come a looong way from those multiple line days . . . .

I say, keep up the good work!

We’ve heard some about the loss of young readership or the inability to gain that young readership. Is that changing? What are you doing to try to attract the younger readers?

I think a reader is a reader, no matter what the age. And they’re all equally valued.

That answer was a nice safe PR-type answer, I’d have loved for her to go into a bit more detail.

Also, isn’t the cover model on Jean Johnson’s book, the same model that keeps popping up everywhere?