Avon

REVIEW: Before the Scandal by Suzanne Enoch

Dear Ms. Enoch: I really adored After the Kiss and I was hopeful, given the prominence that Bram was given in AtK that this would be his book. However, it is not. This is the story of Lieutenant Colonel Phineas Bromley who ran away from the world and joined the Royal Dragoons in his youth(…)

REVIEW: At the Bride Hunt Ball by Olivia Parker

I had the strangest reaction to this book. On the one hand, I really liked the voice and the interaction between the characters. On the other, I hated, loathed really, the setup and the silly situations in which the characters were placed to evoke conflict. Gabriel Thurston Devine, the seventh duke of Wolverest, decides to(…)

Avon + The Sak = Brilliant

Avon and The Sak has teemed up to give away a handbag and books each month. This month’s giveaway is the Silverlake Canvas Convertible Satchel($99 retail value) filled with two Meg Cabot books, 1 Rachel Gibson book and 1 Marion Keyes book. The giveaway is for 15 sets of the books + bag combo. It’s(…)

Avon Announces 2008 Year of New Author, Seeks Unagented Queries

Avon Announces 2008 Year of New Author, Seeks Unagented Queries

Maybe this has always been true, but as I was reading Romance Writers Report, the RWA monthly publication, I noticed that Avon is seeking new authors and accepts unagented queries. According to its new submission guidelines, any romance or women’s fiction author can submit a query by e-mail to avonromance@harpercollins.com. The word “QUERY” should be(…)

REVIEW: Not the Marrying Kind by Hailey North

Dear Ms. North: Ned opens the packages at our house and when he opened the Avon November 2007 box and saw this book, he proffered his opinion on the plot. “This book,” he said holding up the novel with its cover toward me, “is about a guy whose been having sex with a married woman(…)

Hot Books for Fall:  Spotlight on Avon/William Morrow

Hot Books for Fall: Spotlight on Avon/William Morrow

REVIEW: Love Letters from a Duke by Elizabeth Boyle

Dear Ms. Boyle: I haven’t read many of your books, but each time I start one, I think to myself, why haven’t I gone on a Boyle glom and then I get to the end feeling one part happy and one part dissatisfied and I think its the latter feeling that drives my buying decisions.(…)

Avon Romances Adds Video to Ebooks and Original Content from Bestselling Authors

Avon moves forward with its plan to publish original ebook content. It was first learned that original content would be from erotica author Delilah Devlin but a new announcement indicates that bestselling authors will contribute to the ebook only publishing arm. Victoria Alexander’s ebook original is entitled Lady Amelia’s Secret Lover and included with your(…)

REVIEW: How to Engage an Earl by Kathryn Caskie

Dear Ms. Caskie I picked up your book with the vague impression that I had read you before and enjoyed you. Unfortunately that is not the impression that I was left with at the end of How to Engage an Earl. How to Engage an Earl had all the standard regency hooks: a lofty titled(…)

REVIEW: The Viscount in Her Bedroom by Gayle Callen

Dear Ms. Callen: When I first picked up your book, The Viscount in Her Bedroom, I was certain I knew exactly what would be inside. Just another Avon Regency historical. Ho hum. The back cover blurb doesn’t do much to differentiate the book from the rest of the pack. The truth, though, is that there(…)

REVIEW:  The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

REVIEW: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

Dear Ms. Quinn: The Duke And I (Bridgerton Series, Bk. 1), the first in the Bridgerton series, was a time that I reconnected with an old favorite author. While your trademark has always been frothy, light regencies, I’ve always held a place in my heart for the girl next door, Daphne Bridgerton, and her romantic(…)

REVIEW: Claiming the Courtesan by Anna Campbell

Readers were arguing about Anna Campbell's debut, Claiming the Courtesan, before it was published. An Avon historical that was actually offending readers? This I had to see. And as I sat down to read, I expected to be shocked, looked forward to it, even, because I was really craving a book that shook up my(…)

REVIEW:  Two Weeks with a Stranger by Debra Mullins

REVIEW: Two Weeks with a Stranger by Debra Mullins

Dear Ms Mullins, This is a book I really wanted to like. I enjoyed the hero and the heroine. I liked them individually and I liked them together. I liked watching them interact and grow to understand each other as well as love each other. Unfortunately, the whole nobleman spy for England thing has been(…)

Interview with an Editor Series:  Liate Stehlik, Publisher, Avon

Interview with an Editor Series: Liate Stehlik, Publisher, Avon

Liate Stehlik was named the Senior Vice President and Publisher of Avon in October of 2005. Prior to her move to Avon, Ms. Stehlik was a Vice President, Associate Publisher at Pocket. Avon has been a mainstay in the romantic fiction genre for decades. I have treasured keepers from the 80s that were published by(…)

Publisher’s Weekly Names Jane Friedman as Person of the Year

Jane Friedman is the CEO of HarperCollins, the parent company of AVON. Since Friedman joined HC in 1997, revenues have increased almost 80%. Per Publishers Weekly. I read an article once where Friedman talked about a return to the branding of a publisher/imprint than individual authors. I think its interesting to see her success in(…)