Karen Fox - Market News

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12/1/2012: Chris Keesler has left Dorchester leaving them with no editors. Read more here.

2/14/2011: (from Publisher's Weekly): Samhain Publishing has launched their Retro Romance line, bringing back out-of-print romance novels from the seventies, eighties, nineties and early 2000s.

12/14/2011: (from Publisher's Weekly): Barbara Freethy reports that her self-published ebook re-releases of out-of-print novels have moved 1.3 million units over 17 titles.

10/19/2011: (from Publisher's Weekly) Berkley/NAL to Launch E-book Imprint, InterMix

10/17/2011: Doranna Durgin wants to warn other authors about a publisher who refuses to abide by a signed contract. Read more here.

09/14/2011 (from Publisher's Weekly): Karen Kosztolnyik will join Gallery Books as executive editor on September 19, reporting to Jen Bergstrom. She has been at Grand Central for the past 10 years.

08/05/2011: The loops are saying that Harlequin Romantic Suspense books will increase from 55,000 words to 70-75,000 words.

According to a letter from Dorchester Publishing at e-Reads, they are having a lot of success in their change to publishing in trade and e-book format. (Note: they still owe back royalties to some former authors.) With this success they are offering current authors contract changes:
1. Raise any lower rate on trade royalties to 7 1/2% of cover price
2. Raise the royalties on e-books to 25-35% of net sales
3. Increase the frequency of royalty reports and payments to every 6 months.
Current authors who haven't received this amendment should contact their agent or Samantha Hazell at shazell@dorchesterpub.com.

Tyndale House is launching a Digital First imprint that does just what the name proclaims: publish ebook originals. They will launch with in July with four inspirational novels and one work of nonfiction. Associate publisher Karen Watson says, “Our challenge is that we see more publish-worthy novels than we can reasonably take to print in a year. This initiative gives us a way to say yes to books that deserve an opportunity and it helps Tyndale become more agile in serving a wider range of readers.”

Dorchester Tells Now-Disbanded Unofficial Creditors Committee It Does Have a Plan

Early last week Dorchester enthusiastically announced that they will resume publishing "a full trade line" next month. That hopeful message was preceded by a vote of no confidence from the authors whom Dorchester still is said to owe royalties (and in some cases, reversions of rights as well). On April 22, representatives of a group of authors and publishing professionals who had formed an unofficial unsecured creditors committee told Dorchester they were disbanding. "The Unofficial Committee has taken this step," said the representative from law firm Lowenstein Sandler in an email obtained by us, "because it has determined that Dorchester will be unable to propose any meaningful repayment plan to unsecured creditors in the foreseeable future."

CEO Bob Anthony offered a reply to those arguments in a letter sent late last week to creditors and republished by e-Reads. He insisted that "a slimmed down Dorchester, focused on digitally savvy book publishing, will be a success resulting in significant payback to all its creditors." Specifically, Anthony said that after eight months of "significant challenges," with management changes and cost-cutting, the company says it is "beginning to experience growth in e-book revenues" with sales "restoring lost print volume."

In addition, Dorchester claimed it has "commenced restoration" of royalty payments (not to be confused with actually paying everyone?) and "expect to this trend to accelerate," though at the same time "we have experienced author reversions that have significantly complicated the tracking of obligations and suppression notices to retailers. This has been the basis for the recent negative Internet blogs. Our management and employees have been working hard to execute corrective action."

The magazine arm of Dorchester, on the other hand, has been put up for sale to "focus all of our resources on shepherding the book publishing business into the digital age."

05/05/2011 (from Publisher's Lunch): Amazon Launches Romance Imprint, with More Genre Lines to Come

Amazon is launching another imprint, Montlake Romance (named for a Seattle neighborhood), which will publish "a broad range of frontlist titles in popular romance sub-genres, including romantic suspense and contemporary and historic romance novels, as well as fantasy and paranormal." The first announced author is two-time RITA winner Connie Brockway, whose THE OTHER GUY'S BRIDE will be published this fall. They say it will "be available to North American readers in Kindle, print and audio formats at www.amazon.com, as well as at national and independent booksellers," and Amazon tells us her print edition will be published as a trade paperback, though in the future they expect to publish romance authors in trade paper and mass market. Interestingly, Brockway herself recently said in a recent interview that her next few books would be "available solely as ebooks."

Amazon declined to comment on how many titles they expect to publishing, saying only that they will "announce more books as part of the Montlake Romance list soon." Montlake joins Crossing (works in translation), Encore (reissued self-published books, and some originals), and Powered by Amazon (the Domino Project, and who knows what else)--and is the most significant overlap with the territory of traditional publishers.

Amazon makes very clear this is the first of multiple genre imprints. VP of Publishing Jeff Belle notes "romance is one of our biggest and fastest growing categories, particularly among Kindle customers. We also know our customers enjoy genre fiction of all kinds, so we are busy building publishing businesses that will focus on additional genres as well." Belle adds to us, "Having an in-house publishing business allows us to innovate on behalf of authors and readers in ways we think will be good for the publishing industry as a whole." Alex Carr is Brockway's editor at Amazon.

In other epublishing news, app makers Scroll Motion will create mobile apps out of Smashwords' "premium" catalog of over 30,000 ebooks at no additional charge to the authors and publishers. The royalty rate on the apps will be 60 percent of list price.

04/25/2011 (from Publisher's Lunch): Bestselling romance author Beverly Barton, 64, died suddenly last Thursday, of heart failure. Her longtime editor, John Scognamiglio at Kensington, says that she had just completed her recent trilogy and the final book, DEAD BY NIGHTFALL, is in her computer and ready to go. Kensington will publish DEAD BY MORNING in May, the second book in the trilogy begun with the 2010 NYT and USAT bestseller DEAD BY MIDNIGHT, and DEAD BY NIGHTFALL will follow in December.

03/31/2011 (from Publisher's Lunch): Last week's news that Dorchester was selling digital editions of books it did not have the rights to provoked calls for a publisher boycott by a significant number of writers and readers. On Tuesday Dorchester CEO Bob Anthony told PW that the company had sent a series of suppression notices to vendors and that "all authors would be paid in full." Anthony also noted Dorchester had to "prioritize its cash flow," the terms of which were made clear in a conference call last week to creditors.

Literary agent Kristin Nelson reported on her site that Dorchester is "currently paying royalties owed to what they call 'currently active Dorchester authors' (ie. authors whose rights Dorchester currently has under contract and can exploit)" but that "non-current inactive authors (i.e. authors whose rights had reverted" were not being paid royalties - and furthermore, as of last week, "there is no plan in place to pay these past royalties owed." Read article in PW and PubRants.

03/28/2011 (from Publisher's Lunch): The Romance Writers of America announced their RITA Award finalists, with the winners to be named on July in New York at their annual convention. Full list

03/25/2011 (from Publisher's Lunch): Dorchester Publishing continues to do its best zombie impression, as a number of authors have learned the ailing company continues to sell digital copies of their work even after they no longer hold the rights, and despite repeated assurances they would stop this practice. Horror writer Brian Keene detailed the situation on his blog, saying that he found unauthorized e-copies of his books under the Dorchester banner selling through various digital outlets. "In the most recent case (iBooks), Dorchester blamed their vendor, Libre Digital, but provided no documentation verifying this. An employee at Apple cast doubt on this explanation. In the case of Kindle, they blamed Amazon.com. Again, an employee at Amazon cast doubt on this." Keene says he has not been compensated by Dorchester since mid-2009, with author authors owed money from even earlier.More than 100 authors are calling for a boycott of Dorchester.

Keene also provided notes from a conference call to creditors last August that showed how dire Dorchester's financial situation was and presumably still remains: "The company saw a 60% decrease in book orders in mid-2009; payroll was down from 1 million to $600,000; the company had no cash flow, but also had no bank debt; the company owed six million dollars to various creditors, including $700,000 to active authors and $400,000 to inactive authors; ebooks accounted for 10% of their profit; their trade paperback plan was currently on hold; they didn't think the sale of the company was possible; and that as of August 9th (2010), they considered themselves 'in bankruptcy but are not actually filing for bankruptcy'." A spokesperson for Dorchester did not respond to requests for comment.

03/24/2011 (from Publisher's Lunch): Sue Grimshaw is joining Ballantine Bantam Dell as category specialist andeditor-at-large, effective March 28, reporting to Gina Wachtel, v-p associate publisher, mass market, Ballantine Bantam Dell. Grimshaw was most recently at Borders, where she was a buyer for romance, horror, westerns and large print books; she also wrote for the retailer's blog True Romance. Grimshaw will remain in Michigan in her new role, and will scout talent in the romance community; enhance author brand strategy and platform development across channels including digital media; and selectively acquire for hardcover, paperback, and original digital lists. She will also work with Ballantine's library marketing group to create a marketing program for romance readers.

03/01/2011: Harlequin's Randall Toye, vice president, series editorial, is taking an early retirement and will leave Harlequin on March 31. Dianne Moggy has been appointed vice president, series editorial and subrights, effective January 31.

Romance Deals

Shanna Germain's BOUND BY LUST: Romantic Stories of Submission and Sensuality, couples-focused erotica with a BDSM slant, to Brenda Knight at Cleis Press, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), for publication in June 2012 (World). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/27/2012

Kristina Wright's LUSTFULLY EVER AFTER: Fairy Tale Erotic Romance, to Brenda Knight at Cleis Press, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), for publication in May 2012 (World). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/27/2012

Sandra Bricker's IF THE SHOE FITS and RISE AND SHINE, the first two books in a series of contemporary romances drawn from classic fairy tales starting with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, to Deborah Keiser at Moody, for publication in 2013, by Rachelle Gardner at WordServe Literary Group. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/26/2012

Thai rights to Tessa Dare's A NIGHT TO SURRENDER, to Kaewkarn, by Thananchai Pandey of Tuttle-Mori on behalf of Helen Breitwieser of Cornerstone Literary. mb@cornerstoneliterary.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/26/2012

Norwegian rights to Mary Jo Putney's NO LONGER A GENTLEMAN, to Schibsted, by Lina Hammarling at LennaLennart Sane Agency, on behalf of Meryl Earl at Kensington. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/26/2012

Slovak language rights to Kat Martin's NIGHT SECRETS, to Ikar, by Marta Soukopova at Andrew Nurnberg Associates, in association with Sylvie Rosokoff at Trident Media Group on behalf of Kimberly Whalen. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/26/2012

KC Klein's TEXAS WIDE OPEN, in which a young woman returns home to help her sick father only to find the man who rejected her marriage proposal years ago, is now a successful rancher hoping for a second chance, to Alicia Condon at Kensington, by Jill Marsal at the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Jill@MarsalLyonLiteraryAgency.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/25/2012

Stacy Henrie's debut LADY OUTLAW, in which a woman attempts to save her family ranch by robbing stage thieves of their loot, but when her new ranch hand turns out to be a former bounty hunter, she has to make the decision to continue her crime spree or follow her heart, to Elizabeth Mazer at Harlequin Love Inspired Historical, for publication in September 2012, by Jessica Alvarez at BookEnds. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/25/2012

LuAnn McLane's next three books in the contemporary romance series set in the small town of Cricket Creek, to Jesse Feldman at Signet Eclipse, by Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency (World English). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/23/2012

Kendra Elliot's STRONGER THAN BONE, in which a forensic odontologist's new case brings back traumatic memories and survivor's guilt; the Co-Ed Hunter was caught years ago, but recent murders may be related and now everyone's a suspect, including a handsome local developer, to Lindsay Guzzardo at Montlake Romance, in a two-book deal, by Jennifer Schober at Spencerhill Associates. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/23/2012

Dutch rights to Tessa Dare's A NIGHT TO SURRENDER, to De Vrijbuiter, by Lina Hammarling of Ulf Toregard Agency on behalf of Helen Breitwieser, Cornerstone Literary. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/23/2012

Charlotte Featherstone's WICKED TEMPTATION, in which a shy heiress from a scandalous family is courted by a charming rogue, to Susan Swinwood at HQN, in a four-book deal, by Jessica Alvarez at BookEnds (World). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/20/2012

Audio rights to NYT bestselling Kat Martin's RAINES OF WIND CANYON series, to Brian Sweany at Recorded Books, by Adrienne Lombardo on behalf of Kimberly Whalen at Trident Media Group. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/20/2012

RITA award-winning author Beth Pattillo's THE HEDGEROW PRINCESS, in which a London dandy must transform a wild mountain child into a princess to save a kingdom, plus reissues of PRINCESS CHARMING and HER PERFECT EARL (written as Bethany Brooks), to Debra Dixon at Bell Bridge Books, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), by Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency (world English). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/20/2012

Former Essence editor-in-chief, Angela Burt-Murray's new set of thrillers, the DIVA Mystery series, based on her insider's knowledge of the glamorous worlds of celebrity and media, that follow a tenacious entertainment journalist as she races to solve crimes, climb the masthead and juggle complicated romantic relationships, to Kelli Martin at Montlake, in a three-book deal, by Kimberly Whalen at Trident Media Group. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/20/2012

NYT bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries's next three Regency novels, linking to the Hellions of Halstead Hall series, to Micki Nuding at Pocket, in a major deal ($500,000 and up), by Pam Ahearn of Ahearn Agency (world). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/20/2012

Tanya Anne Crosby's untitled romantic suspense, about three sisters, heiresses to a newspaper dynasty, who reunite at their mother's funeral, and resolve to solve the decades-old mystery of their youngest brother's disappearance - a loss that fractured their family and from which they've never recovered, to Alicia Condon at Kensington, for publication in 2013, by Helen Breitwieser of Cornerstone Literary (World English). hb@cornerstoneliterary.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/20/2012

Italian rights to Charlaine Harris's DEADLOCKED, Sookie Stackhouse book 12, to Delos, by Agnese Incisa at the Agnese Incisa Literary Agency on behalf of Joshua Bilmes at Jabberwocky. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/19/2012

Kim Groom's SPOTLIGHT, in which a videographer hiding from a past scandal falls for America's golden boy, the man currently the focus of the country's attention, to Kelli Martin at Montlake Romance, by Jill Marsal at the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Jill@MarsalLyonLiteraryAgency.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/19/2012

Jolene Perry's NIGHT SKY, featuring a teenage boy who feels like his whole world is crumbling around him when his father leaves his mother for another woman and his girlfriend leaves him for another guy; and he thinks he's found a distraction in a fling with a teenage Native American girl and soon realizes that she's anything but a distraction, to Nicole Langan at Tribute Books, for publication in March, 2012, by Lauren Hammond at ADA Management Group. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/19/2012

Annie Jones's COWBOY AT THE CROSS POINT, featuring a loner lawman and a feisty diner waitress drawn together by an abandoned baby, to Emily Rodmell at Harlequin Love Inspired, by Melissa Jeglinski at The Knight Agency. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/19/2012

Marilyn Pappano's next two titles in the author's ongoing Copper Lake Secrets series, to Shana Smith at Harlequin Romantic Suspense, by Melissa Jeglinski at The Knight Agency. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/19/2012

Dorothy Love's PAWLEY'S ISLAND, set in the oldest seaside resort in America during the Civil War in which the sisters learn a great deal about endurance as they experience tragedy and love during wartime, THE HARTS OF TEXAS, and GEORGETOWN COUNTY, to Natalie Hanemann at Thomas Nelson, by Natasha Kern at Natasha Kern Literary Agency (World). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/19/2012

Two-time Rita finalist Anna Schmidt's LOVE IN PLAIN SIGHT, the story of a member of the Amish community in Celery Fields, Florida and her love for the local blacksmith, to Tina James at Harlequin Love Inspired, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), in a two-book deal, by Natasha Kern at Natasha Kern Literary Agency (World). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/19/2012

Lammy-award winning editor Sacchi Green's GIRL FEVER: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex for Lesbians, a collection of fresh lesbian quickies by premier erotica writers, to Brenda Knight at Cleis Press, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), for publication in June 2012 (World). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/19/2012

Lesbian blogger Sinclair Sexsmith's SAY PLEASE: Lesbian BDSM Erotica, to Brenda Knight at Cleis Press, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), for publication in April 2012 (World). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/19/2012

Romanian rights to Jojo Moyes's RNA-winning romance THE LAST LETTER FROM YOUR LOVER, to Editura Litera International, bringing the total number of territories to 14, by Simona Kessler for Katie McGowan at Curtis Brown UK on behalf of Sheila Crowley. katie@curtisbrown.co.uk -- Publisher's Lunch 1/18/2012

Tina Wainscott writing as Jaime Rush's new series, THE HIDDEN, where walking the edge between the glamour of Miami and the Hidden, a place filled with dark magick, deity descendants must fight the seductive lure of their magick, their bloodlust, and hold fast to what makes them human, to Alex Logan at Grand Central, in a nice deal, ($1 - $49,000) in a three-book deal, for publication in November 2012, by Nicole Resciniti at The Seymour Agency. nicole@theseymouragency.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/18/2012

Sarah Anderson's THE RANCHER'S VALENTINE, in which a woman's job depends on convincing a superstar-turned-rancher to take the comeback role of a lifetime, but when a snowstorm traps them together, she'll be forced to decide what's more important -- her career, or her heart, to Stacy Boyd at Harlequin Desire, by Jill Marsal at the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Jill@MarsalLyonLiteraryAgency.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/18/2012

Katie Reus's LOVER'S INSTINCT, an enovella tie-in to her Moon Shifter series, in which a lupine shifter is compelled to protect a woman from rogue shifters selling vampire blood while trying to convince her that he doesn't want just friendship, but a forever love, to Danielle Perez at NAL, by Jill Marsal at the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Jill@MarsalLyonLiteraryAgency.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/18/2012

Golden Heart finalist Cindy Nord's NO GREATER GLORY, about a Union cavalry colonel who commandeers a Virginia plantation for his regiment's winter encampment, never suspecting the defiant widow determined to defend her once-grand home will instead conscript his cynical heart, to Tera Kleinfelter at Samhain, by Louise Fury at L. Perkins Agency (World English). lfury@lperkinsagency.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/17/2012

Debby Lee's novella ONE EVERGREEN NIGHT, to be included in A CASCADES CHRISTMAS, in which an orphan wants nothing more than to take her brother away from the dangerous occupation of a lumberjack, only to fall in love with a reckless man who blames himself for a terrible logging accident, to Rebecca Germany at Barbour, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), by Tamela Hancock Murray at the Steve Laube Agency. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/16/2012

Janet Lee Barton's REMEDY FOR THE HEART, set in Old New York, in which an orphaned woman begins an apprenticeship as a pharmacist, only to fall in love with an attractive doctor who believes a woman should be more conventional, to Rebecca Germany at Barbour, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), by Tamela Hancock Murray at the Steve Laube Agency. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/16/2012

Gina Welborn's novella ALL YE FAITHFUL, to be included in A CASCADES CHRISTMAS, in which an heiress is pursued by a man deemed unsuitable by her father -- but will his devotion remain when awful rumors about her rip through the town, revealing the shameful truth she's trying to hide, to Rebecca Germany at Barbour, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), by Tamela Hancock Murray at the Steve Laube Agency. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/16/2012

Irene Brand's TAKING A RISK ON LOVE, in which a man thought he'd lost everything, the war, his wife and son, his plantation; then he met a woman and her twins, to Rebecca Germany at Barbour, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), by Tamela Hancock Murray at the Steve Laube Agency. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/16/2012

Hope Tarr's TEMPTING, to Audio Realms, for publication in Feb 2012, by Louise Fury at L. Perkins Agency. lfury@lperkinsagency.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/16/2012

Nancy Kattenfeld writing as Samantha Kane's THE DEVIL'S THIEF and TEMPTING A DEVIL, to Sue Grimshaw at Loveswept, for publication in Fall of 2012, by Eric Ruben of The Ruben Agency. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/16/2012

Spanish rights to Nalini Singh's MINE TO POSSESS, BRANDED BY FIRE, and HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE in the Psy/Changeling series, to Plaza & Janes, by Philip Sane at Lennart Sane Agency, on behalf of Elaine Spencer at The Knight Agency. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/16/2012

Pam Meyers's LOVE WILL FIND A WAY, when several break-ins and an attempted arson fire threaten the grand opening of a woman's new restaurant, she and her fiance wonder if some of the gangsters who once hid out in the old Victorian home are still around, and LOVE'S REWARD, to Ramona Tucker at Oak Tara, by Terry Burns at Hartline Literary Agency.-- Publisher's Lunch 1/13/2012

Kristin Miller's VAMP APPEAL, the third book in the VAMPIRES OF CRIMSON BAY series, to Esi Sogah at Avon Impulse, by Nalini Akolekar at Spencerhill Associates. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/13/2012

Michelle Major's STILL THE ONE, in which a woman returns home to help both her ailing mother and some animals in need, bringing her face-to-face with the man she left standing at the altar years ago and the townspeople who scorned her, to Shana Smith at Harlequin Special Edition, by Nalini Akolekar at Spencerhill Associates. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/13/2012

Lynda Lee Schab's MADLY IN LOVE, in which a woman wants to fall in love again...with her husband, and SYLVIE AND GOLD, to Ramona Tucker at Oak Tara, by Terry Burns at Hartline Literary Agency. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/13/2012

Liz Talley's THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS, a modern New Orleans take on Dicken's A Christmas Carol where love truly is the greatest gift of all, to Wanda Ottewell at Harlequin Superromance, in an eight-book deal, for publication in December 2012, by Michelle Grajkowski at 3 Seas Literary Agency (world). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/12/2012

NYT bestselling author Mariah Stewart's three new books in the CHESAPEAKE DIARIES series, to Kate Collins at Ballantine, by Loretta Barrett of Barrett Books (NA). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/12/2012

Stacey Jay's futuristic retelling of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, to Michelle Poploff at Delacorte, in a very nice deal ($50,000 - $99,000), in a two-book deal, by Ginger Clark at Curtis Brown (NA). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/12/2012

Anita Higman's WINTER IN FULL BLOOM, in which a widowed empty nester discovers she has a twin and embarks on a heartfelt journey that will take her to Australia to find her sister, lead her back home for a long-awaited reconciliation with her mother, and offer her the one dream she no longer imagined possible - the chance to fall in love again, to Deb Keiser at Moody, by Sandra Bishop at MacGregor Literary. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/12/2012

A WILD GOOSE CHASE CHRISTMAS, in which a woman receives an unexpected package from her Grandmother containing an heirloom quilt which supposedly leads to a great treasure -- and soon learns she's not the only one seeking it, to Ramona Richards at Abingdon Press, for release in fall 2012, by Sandra Bishop of MacGregor Literary.-- Publisher's Lunch 1/12/2012

Pamela Sherwood's WALTZ WITH A STRANGER, about a newly anointed earl who has settled on a simple marriage of convenience only to discover the elusive, enchanting stranger he danced with in a moonlit garden two years earlier is his new fiancee's sister, to Leah Hultenschmidt at Sourcebooks, by Stephany Evans at FinePrint Literary Management. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/12/2012

Marina Adair's TUCKER'S CROSSING, the story of a man who is forced to return home only to find that his ex has moved to town with a secret that could shatter more than just his heart, to Alicia Condon at Kensington, by Jill Marsal at the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Jill@MarsalLyonLiteraryAgency.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/11/2012

Lily George's CAPTURING THE LIEUTENANT'S HEART, to Melissa Endlich at Harlequin Steeple Hill, by Mary Sue Seymour at The Seymour Agency. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/11/2012

Vanessa Miller's HER GOOD THING, about two thirty-something-year-old women whose careful planning has brought success in business while leaving their love lives unfulfilled until they enact a 'get love now' plan in which they are willing to do whatever it takes to find the man of their dreams before it is too late, to Glenda Howard at Kimani, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), by Natasha Kern at Natasha Kern Literary Agency (World). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/10/2012

Bonnie Vanak's untitled paranormal and two untitled novellas, to Ann Leslie Tuttle at Harlequin Nocturne, by Natasha Kern at Natasha Kern Literary Agency (World). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/10/2012

Zoe Sharp's FOURTH DAY and FIFTH VICTIM, to Marsha Zinberg at Harlequin, for publication in 2013, by Jessica Case and Claiborne Hancock at Pegasus Books (NA). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/9/2012

Marie Ferrarella's untitled two-book deal for the Heartwarming program, featuring wholesome romances, to Marsha Zinberg for Harlequin Heartwarming, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), for publication in July 2013, by Patricia Teal Literary Agency (world). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/9/2012

Cindy Gregory writing as Ashlyn Chase's FLIRTING WITH FANGS, her new light paranormal romance series, Flirting with Fangs, where supernatural sects converge within a Boston bar, creating chaos and capturing the hearts of unsuspecting mortals, to Deb Werksman at Sourcebooks, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), in a three-book deal, by Nicole Resciniti at The Seymour Agency. nicole@theseymouragency.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/9/2012

Dutch rights to Lynsay Sands's THE RELUCTANT VAMPIRE, to De Vrijbuiter, by Philip Sane at Lennart Sane Agency, on behalf of Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/6/2012

Joanne Bischoff's BE STILL MY SOUL, set in the Blue Ridge mountains at the turn of the 20th century, a man swaggers through life satisfying his own desires -- until he marries a sweet, pretty woman who shows him the value of caring for someone besides himself, but when of his past catches up with him, he is forced to choose between love or doing the honorable thing -- resigning to a previous marriage he'd kept secret, to Shannon Marchese at WaterBrook Multnomah, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), by Sandra Bishop of MacGregor Literary. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/6/2012

Indonesian rights to Amelia Grey's A DASH OF SCANDAL, to Pustaka Zahra, by Maxima Creative Agency on behalf of Anne Landa. anne.landa@sourcebooks.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/5/2012

Shana Galen's TRUE SPIES, the story of a secret operative who has kept his job from his beautiful, bored housewife for years but is forced to reveal his identity when they are both kidnapped by a diabolical villain, to Deb Werksman at Sourcebooks, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), by Joanna MacKenzie at Browne & Miller Literary Associates (World). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/5/2012

Vicki Lewis Thompson's next two books in her WILD ABOUT YOU Werewolf Series, to Claire Zion at NAL, in a nice deal ($1 - $49,000), by Robert Gottlieb at Trident Media Group (NA). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/4/2012

NYT bestselling author Brenda Jackson's three contemporary single-title romances, to Valerie Gray at Mira, a nice three-book deal ($1 - $49,000), for publication beginning in 2013, by Pattie Steele-Perkins at Steele-Perkins Literary Agency (World). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/4/2012

Anne Cleeland's TAINTED ANGEL, pitched as Mr. and Mrs. Smith in the Napoleonic era in which one of the most beautiful courtesans in England is actually a spy, working for either the crown or the enemy, and a fellow spy who must choose between love and allegiance, to Shana Drehs at Sourcebooks, in a two-book deal, by Jill Marsal at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/4/2012

S. Dionne Moore's A BROTHER'S GIFT, in which a Civil War nurse falls in love with a soldier who mysteriously returns from the battlefield holding her brother's quilt, to Ramona Richards at Abingdon Press, for the Quilts of Love series, by Rachelle Gardner at WordServe Literary Group. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/4/2012

Barbara Cameron's SCRAPS OF EVIDENCE, in which a vintage quilt helps a young woman investigate her aunt's mysterious accident and uncover the truth about her family's history, to Ramona Richards at Abingdon Press, for the Quilts of Love series, by Rachelle Gardner at WordServe Literary Group. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/4/2012

Sandra Bricker's HEARTS OF TEAL, in which a young woman organizes a memory quilt for an ovarian cancer victim, and in the process brings new life to a widower and his daughter, to Ramona Richards at Abingdon Press, for the Quilts of Love series, by Rachelle Gardner at WordServe Literary Group. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/4/2012

Melinda Leigh's DARK DESIRE, in which a desperate tabloid photographer's search for a reclusive artist is hampered by a bizarre attack and her suspicions about the mysterious, sexy carpenter who rescues her, to Kelli Martin at Montlake Romance, by Jill Marsal at the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Jill@MarsalLyonLiteraryAgency.com -- Publisher's Lunch 1/4/2012

Jamie Brenner's THE GIN LOVERS, pitched as Boardwalk Empire set in New York, the story of a naive young woman who discovers the high society family she married into holds both seductive and dangerous secrets, to Dan Weiss at St. Martin's, with Vicki Lame editing, for publication in Fall 2012, by Adam Chromy at Movable Type Management. achromy@mtmgmt.net -- Publisher's Lunch 1/3/2012

Melissa Cutler's STRIKE DOWN, in which an unlucky cop must rely on the one man she despises after a daring escape from a vicious cartel leaves them on the run in Mexico, to Shana Smith at Harlequin Romantic Suspense, for publication in December 2012, by Jessica Alvarez at BookEnds. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/3/2012

Melissa Cutler's debut THE TROUBLE WITH COWBOYS trilogy, in which a celebrity chef falls for the sexy cattle rancher next door when she returns to her small hometown to open a restaurant with her two sisters, to Megan Records at Zebra, in a three-book deal, for publication in October 2012, by Jessica Alvarez of BookEnds. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/3/2012

Emily McKay's next two untitled Silhouette Desire novel, to Charles Griemsman at Harlequin, by Jessica Faust at BookEnds. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/2/2012

NYT and USA Today bestselling author Laura Griffin's next three books in her Tracers Series, about a crime lab where an elite group of forensic scientists known as Tracers work with detectives to crack their toughest cases, again to Abby Zidle at Pocket, in a good deal ($100,000 $250,000), in a three-book deal, for publication in for publication in 2013-14, by Kevan Lyon at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency (World). -- Publisher's Lunch 1/2/2012

Rachel Hauck's A ROYAL AFFAIR, in which a young woman who has given up on love meets a handsome stranger with a great accent and a charming story -- he claims to be second-in-line to the throne of a small European duchy, to Sue Brower at Zondervan, in a three-book deal, by Chip MacGregor at MacGregor Literary. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/1/2012

Renee Halverson's EXTREME MEASURES, in which a woman running an orphanage in the wild west of Denver in 1879 needs helps from an unlikely ally -- a saloon keeper she once cheated out of money at cards, to Melissa Endlich at Harlequin Love Inspired, by Chip MacGregor at MacGregor Literary. -- Publisher's Lunch 1/1/2012

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