Comments on: Hot Books for Fall: Spotlight on Dorchester

By: Melvin Osborne

Melvin Osborne — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:43:22 +0000

I am interested in the Hard Copy of Zane Grey Novels, These books are the red and gold hard covers. I have about 50 of these and would be interested in the full set. Thanks so much

By: Leah

Leah — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 18:00:55 +0000

Thanks for bringing the guideline issue to our attention. We’re going to go back and see what we can do to make some of the wording a little clearer. Marianne’s right - we definitely like to see refreshing, out-of-the-box kinds of romances. It’s one of the main reasons we created the Shomi line. To address some specifics:

We do *prefer* that historical romance is set before 1900. Time and again, this is what is proven to work best in the market. But we’re willing to make exceptions when the book itself is extraordinarily exceptional. This is one of the benefits of having an agent - they know our personal preferences and what project is worth breaking the rules.

Futuristics and time-travels - It’s definitely true that the descriptions we currently have posted could be better worded. The basic point here is that we’re much more interested in the characters and their developing relationship than paragraphs upon paragraphs of straight description about their technology or the world they inhabit. Of course you need *some* description to understand and feel fully engaged in the story, but it shouldn’t be the focus of the book.

I hope this helps clear things up a bit.

And for those looking for a preview, here are some projects I’ve worked on that I’m particularly excited about:

Available now:

IMMORTALS: THE GATHERING by Jennifer Ashley - The concluding book of the series arc, but not the last we’ve seen of these characters (she hints mysteriously…)

UNDERCOVER IN HIGH HEELS by Gemma Halliday - This is the third book of the series, which the USA Network is currently developing for a TV show

Eve Kenin’s DRIVEN, of course, which Jane has so kindly linked to at the top of the page

Coming in October:

WARRIOR’S BRIDE by Gerri Russell - This is the second novel from last year’s American Title Contest winner. With rave reviews from Jayne Ann Krentz, Debbie Macomber and Sabrina Jeffries, this steamy Scottish historical is definitely one to check out.

Coming in November:
UNLUCKY by Jana DeLeon - A riotous mystery romance in which the unluckiest woman in the world tries to help a federal agent take down a wanted criminal. Like Jana’s debut, Rumble on the Bayou, this features a great bayou flavor and lots of quirky characters.

FORECAST by Jane Tara - A contemporary debut novel that I like to describe as Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic meets Jane Austen’s Emma.

By: Marianne Mancusi

Marianne Mancusi — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:38:09 +0000

Thanks Kaz!! And I’ll do my part by putting a bug in Dorchester’s ear to update those guidelines. I’d hate to know they were missing good submissions just because authors are assuming they need to follow certain rules. After all, I can’t think of a publisher more into breaking the rules than Dorchester!

By: Angela

Angela — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:14:11 +0000

Well…lol…they say they prefer historicals prior to 1900, but published Morag/Elspeth’s historicals set in the 1930s and 1940s? Yeah…I think Dorchester’s page is outdated. But I do love them for taking chances(Marjorie M. Liu! Jade Lee!) and hope more writers turn to them instead of writing to “the market” in order to get published.

By: Kaz Augustin

Kaz Augustin — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:00:26 +0000

Marianne, thanks for the reply! Y’know, I’ve revisited the site several times, obviously under the misapprehension that they’d keep the Submissions info on par with editorial demands, and ever hopeful for a crack in the “fie on metal-coated things” policy, ‘cos personally, me lurv teh metal-coated things. Maybe that’s why I come across so grumpy…lotsa visits, same ole news.

But you bring sunshine into my chromy shiny world! Just for that, I shall spend some money on Dorch books, including yours, and stop being such a petty little embargo-er. Thank you.

By: Marianne Mancusi

Marianne Mancusi — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 02:09:13 +0000

PS They’d only reject William Gibson because Case and Molly don’t get their HEA. ;-)

By: Marianne Mancusi

Marianne Mancusi — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 02:08:01 +0000

Kaz, I’d take those guidelines with a grain of salt…I think they’re very outdated as to what editors are currently looking for. I’ve done 4 time travel books with Dorchester and 2 of them have had time machines in them. And they don’t shy away from complicated plots. Look at Liz Maverick’s Wired, for example. And next spring we’ll have Michele Lang’s Netherwood, which is hardcore sci-fi…and very Neuromancer’esque.

I’d say Dorch is a PERFECT place for a geek girl writer. Chris Keeslar, one of the editors, LOVES that stuff. He gets it, too, and never asks that it be dumbed down - if anything, he wants them smarter. When I passed in the first draft of Moongazer, he teased me, calling it Sci-fi Lite, and made me add a ton of explanation of the technology behind the story, etc.

They also say in those guidelines, if I remember right, that they strongly prefer third person. Also wrong. (To the dismay of some of the people here, I’m sure, lol.)

Dorchester is an awesome publisher to write for. They give you so much freedom to really write the books YOU want to write. Even if they’re weird. Perhaps ESPECIALLY if they’re weird.

Marianne

By: Ann Bruce

Ann Bruce — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 01:47:22 +0000

FUTURISTIC: Avoid science-fiction-type hardware, technology, etc. The greatest challenge of a futuristic is building a world that is unique and yet accessible to the reader.

Sounds like Dorchester would reject William Gibson.

By: Charlene Teglia

Charlene Teglia — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 01:10:59 +0000

Kaz, you’re cracking me up. I actually wrote a time-travel romantic short about a scientist who appropriates parts and funds to build herself a time machine. Smart women need love, too. *g*

I took the guidelines to mean not focusing on technology at the expense of the characters and the story. Which Bujold never does.

By: Kaz Augustin

Kaz Augustin — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:49:20 +0000

I don’t know that Dorchester is a great choice for geek-girls. I went to their Submissions page and it hasn’t changed.

TIME TRAVEL. Beware of philosophizing about the meaning of time, and how the past affects the present. No time machines, please.

Yeah, ‘cos we all know that…what? Romance readers can’t understand philosophy? And no time machines. Why not? Why not a kick-ass geeky engineer who tinkers with machines on her off-time? Someone who thinks she’s not attractive, but whose intelligence and compassion attracts the love of her life who happens to live in a different era?

FUTURISTIC: Avoid science-fiction-type hardware, technology, etc. The greatest challenge of a futuristic is building a world that is unique and yet accessible to the reader.

“Science-fiction-type hardware” isn’t accessible? Someone tell Lois McMaster Bujold, quick! She’s obviously been scamming us with the Vorkosigan saga for years now.

Forgive me, but this sounds like Dorchester is deliberately dumbing down two sub-genres which, in the right hands, can fly! Or, if that’s Dorchester, maybe that should be, levitate mysteriously through touching some charmed device.