Bane | Romantic Reads and Such

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I’ve got twice the treat for you today – first we get to preview the newest in Brenda Jackson’s popular The Westmorelands series, featuring a sexy Navy SEAL. AND the great people at Harlequin has some great info for those of you who are writers and want to be featured in their Desire line.

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Want to write for Harlequin Desire?

Harlequin Desire is one of our oldest and most widely read lines. Readers around the world devour these short, snappy stories–and we love reading them ourselves! So what makes a true Desire? Glad you asked…

Senior editor Stacy Boyd, editor Charles Griemsman and associate editor Allison Carroll weigh in on what makes a story Desire-able….

At Desire, we’re looking for passion and provocation in a crisp, concise package. These are 50,000-word books about high net worth heroes and resourceful heroines who give as good as they get. The stories are sexy but not raunchy; the central romance is the primary focus. Big business, royalty and ranching give the plots spice and color, but you don’t want to get bogged down in the details of stock swaps, cattle sales or royal pedigrees. At the end of the day, these books are about intense emotion, strong romantic hooks and what it takes to tame an alpha man’s heart. Click here to read more about: Desire Writing Guidelines

To understand what the line is all about, be sure to check out Brenda Jackson’s Westmoreland series! You can find a complete listing of the titles here.

While most Desires are set in the U.S., some have foreign settings, from fictional desert kingdoms (Olivia Gates, Conveniently His Princess) to island getaways. Then there are our writers from New Zealand and Australia, who add Down Under flavor to the line. (We love learning Australian slang from our authors, btw.)

The best way to get a sense of what we’re looking for in Harlequin Desire for new writers is to take a peek at continuity books. This is where some of our most popular authors come together and write a series of connected stories. Texas Cattleman’s Club has been a hit with readers for more than a decade!

And let us not forget babies…Billionaires & Babies, to be precise. The baby hook is a bestseller for Desire. Take a look at Cat Schield, who’s published twelve Desires since her series debut in 2011, fulfills the Billionaires & Babies promise with A Royal Baby Surprise.

We love surprises at Desire! In fact, most of our new writers came to our attention because of the surprises they included in their stories. Our favorite submissions are the ones that take classic themes, like secret babies and cowboy heroes, and make them seem brand new.

For example, Andrea Laurence’s first book, What Lies Beneath, is an amnesia story with a twist that won her the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for First Series Romance.

And Kat Cantrell, who won Harlequin’s 2011 SYTYCW contest and published her first book with Desire in February 2013, started Marriage with Benefits—a marriage of convenience story—with a heroine looking for a divorce! She followed that book with The Things She Says, an opposites attract trope mixed with a Texas road trip adventure.

If your story is a new take on classic themes, and includes sensuality, drama and an alpha hero with a heart of gold, send it our way!

And be sure to check out BANE by Brenda Jackson, available December 2015 from Harlequin Desire!

Along with checking out the Harlequin Community Forums for Desire Discussions, follow #HarlequinDesire where @Stacy_Boyd, @CharlieGrim or @AllisonPCarroll can often be found talking about what they like–and don’t like!–in their current manuscripts and just keep reading. And writing!

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Bane

Series: The Westmorelands (Book 2413)

by Brenda Jackson

Mass Market Paperback: 192 pages

Publisher: Harlequin (December 1, 2015)

Blurb:

New York Times bestselling author Brenda Jackson’s last Westmoreland bachelor is a navy SEAL on a mission to protect the woman who got away…

After five years, navy SEAL Brisbane Westmoreland is back home on his ranch and ready to reclaim the woman he left behind. But when he tracks her to Dallas, he’s in for a shock.

Crystal Newsome isn’t ready to forgive Bane for saying he loved her then vanishing from her life. Only now the beautiful chemist needs his protection. As their own irresistible chemistry takes over once again, can Bane keep Crystal safe and convince her they can have the second chance they both deserve?

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

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Author Info:

A New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling and award-winning author of more than seventy-five romance titles, Brenda is a recent retiree who divides her time between family, writing and traveling with her husband.