Granted this is last month’s news, but I’m finding out formally today so hey, it’s hot off my press. Or something.
Anyway, from Silhouette the following news release came out mid-August:
As a company, Harlequin is committed to the success of our series publishing business. We believe it is our responsibility to develop, evolve and enrich our various programs in order to bring new opportunities to our authors and fresh and relevant reading experiences to our readers. The complex side of keeping our publishing programs healthy is that every so often, we must evaluate a series that has not consistently been a strong performer and make difficult decisions about its future. Unfortunately, Silhouette Bombshell has not been able find a broad-based readership, and after reviewing the past, present and projected performance of the series, we’re sorry to announce that January 2007 will be the final publication month for Bombshell.
So, what went wrong? (Has this been discussed to death on other sites and I missed that boat?) Was it publicity? Was it that some of the books didn’t have a primary romance, and the reader expected that, didn’t get it, and was pissed off? The series guidelines recommended “[a] compelling romantic subplot that ends in a satisfying way,” so what went wrong?
Is this a bad sign for the age of the Asskicking Heroine? Are heroines who take charge of their own lives in danger of low sales? Is there an underlying message that, as one wise woman said to Candy and I recently, the reader wants the heroine to be rescued by the hero? What say you, oh wise Bitchery?
And seriously - bummer for RITA-winning books involving Pink Pearl. Hey Stef! Which man would Pink have ended up with?
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Sadly, many of the anthologies with 3-5 authors create short stories or novellas with existing characters. I don’t know how interesting, or how enjoyable they’ll be as stand alones without the requisite background information. I rarely read any novella in…
That’s fantastic!
I was just thinking about how influential your site is to readers like myself. I have picked up several authors and bought their books, when I would have never thought about them before based on your…
From Novak Auction Update
I really think that the cover for The Civilisation Game could be adapted for use for the next Anita blake novel—scantily clad woman with handgun dominates weird beast-man crouching subserviently at her feet. And you know what they say about…
Green Porno is very disturbing. I think what was freaky is she plays all the male insect parts. Or maybe because she is deadly serious… Very very strange
“so I saw all the hand movements and the penis wag at the end.”
That should be “so, unfortunately, I saw all the hand movements and the penis wag at the end without any musical accompaniment.”
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