Executive Editor, Feature and Custom Publishing
Can there ever be too much of a good thing? Nah! Not when it comes to Blaze…and not when it comes to reissuing great stories that Harlequin readers love! As Executive Editor of Feature and Custom Publishing, I consider it my mission to find reissue opportunities for our authors. After all, the majority of our series authors build up a sizeable backlist over their writing careers, and odds are against the majority of those books…many of which were reader favorites (not to mention personal favorites of 
mine!)….occupying fresh precious space on the book racks. That’s just the reality of the current marketplace.
So imagine my delight when Marketing came to me with a request that we plan for a new program (albeit in format not unfamiliar to us!) that would pair stories by popular series authors, appear monthly and offer great value to the reader!
Well, yes, those of you who have been around for a while may comment, it does resemble the old By Request program. How is it different? First, we will be grouping these books by category, and happily for the Blaze authors and their fans, it was decided to focus on and launch with the Passion category. Second, we’re calling it Showcase. Third, some volumes will feature two books by the same author, and those books may be linked. And fourth, well….the packaging! It’s gorgeous!
First things first: Showcase is launching in May 2010, with two volumes per month, each containing two complete books by bestselling authors. And at $6.99/7.99, a great value!
Our scheduling has been designed to complement our authors’ frontlists wherever possible. For example, Showcase is launching with a 2-in-1 by Vicki Lewis Thompson. Working with Senor Editor 
Brenda Chin, we deliberately positioned this volume so that the first book of Vicki’s Three Cowboys and a Baby trilogy, The Colorado Kid, will be offered as a free ebook. The next two titles in this trilogy, Two in the Saddle and Boone’s Bounty will be featured in Showcase in May. And then in June, Blaze will launch Vicki’s new cowboy trilogy, Men of Chance. We have a similar plan for Tori Carrington. Again, our goal is to build our authors’ presence to the readers, so Blaze will offer a free ebook, Forbidden, the first book in Tony and Lori’s Sleeping with Secrets miniseries in August. In September, our Showcase volume will feature the next two books in the mini-series, Indecent and Wicked. And Blaze will launch a new Carrington trilogy, Private Scandals, in October.
But Blaze authors fare particularly well in this program right through till December. In June, Showcase 
will feature two Leslie Kelly favorites, Naturally Naughty and Wicked & Willing. Jennifer Labrecque and Jo Leigh pair up in August with Barely Decent and The One Who Got Away, and we have another team slated for October, Rhonda Nelson with 1-900-Lover and Joanne Rock with Silk Confessions. Finally, for December, our final Blaze 2-in-1 of the year– Cara Summers’s Intent to Seduce and Debbi Rawlins’s A Glimpse of Fire.
As you can see from the cover images we’ve included, the team responsible for this program took a very non-series looking tack with our packaging strategy. It is based on a concept that was very successfully executed by Harlequin France, and this seemed the perfect product to try it on, so we are excited to see how it will be received by North American audiences. It focuses the readers’ attention directly on the author names and titles, and we have not tried to tie the two books together by an overarching title or conspicuous branding, as we have often done in the past. We feel we’ve achieved a very sophisticated and attractive package. What do you think?
We have five free Showcase books to give away to our first five comment posters. I’d love to hear what you think of the packaging, and am open any other great ideas you may have for getting the word out about our new Showcase program!
Entries (RSS)
Personally I think this is a wonderful idea. Being able to get books we might have missed the first time around is great. I think the covers are wonderful and I can’t wait to start reading these.
In a nutshell, “love it, love it, love it!” Thanks so much for sharing this!
I was checking out Facebook and was drawn to this site.
This is a nice innovation. I do think these are eye catching and look intriguing.
I think it’s fabulous! I don’t/didn’t have the opportunity to get and read every book. This way, with you picking the best of the best works great for me! Thanks for putting them out there like that! I’ll be more apt to get the books that way! kudos.
I’m glad you’ve put these previous book together like this. It will be great to be able to get books that are fabulous and paired together. Kudos
Sounds like a great idea. Blogging and Facebook seem to work great.
Sound like a fantastic idea…love to get my hands on some backlist of my favorite authors!!!
Been reading Blaze for a year now and have a few favority authors. Love this new Showcase especially since they showcase my FAVORITE authors! The covers are beautiful! Soft, subtle and seductive! Kudos! I would definitely pick them up in a store.
I love the idea because it is so hard for me to find the ‘older’ books of the authors. Of course, so far, they are all authors that I adore!!!
What a great idea! I love the idea of having connecting stories in the same book!
I agree with everyone, this is a great idea! I search used book stores to try and find old books by my favorite Blaze authors, and my list is so long, lol! Great idea, I cant wait to pick them up!
I really wish this program would showcase Alison Kent’s Girl Gear books!
I heard about this program for some of your other lines–what a terrific way for some of us to get a hold of our favorite authors’ backlists! Thanks, Marsha!
Hi Marsha–So excited to see you here and I’m just thrilled to be part of the Showcase launch. The covers are gorgeous, and I’ve been telling people that they’re not just pretty to look at, the paper quality and “feel” of the covers is truly beautiful. Very upscale. I couldn’t be happier!
Beloved authors, fabulous stories and sophisticated packaging. What more could a reader ask? Thank you, Harlequin!
Facebook and Twitter are good ways to get the word out about new products. Also, having the Blaze authors blog about it at their individual/group sites would help, as would some giveaways. Will the Showcase books be available at the RWA Literacy Signing in Orlando? Once in the hands of readers, the word of mouth will be a great marketing tool.
~PJ
http://theromancedish.com
Beloved authors, fabulous stories and sophisticated packaging. What more could a reader ask? Thank you, Harlequin!
Facebook and Twitter are good tools for new product announcements. Having the Blaze/Showcase authors blog about the new line at their individual/group sites, or guest blogging at other non-author romance sites, will also help spread the word. Giveaways (like today’s) get the books into the hands of the readers and generate the word-of-mouth marketing that’s so important.
Will the Showcase books be available at the Literacy Signing in Orlando?
~PJ
http://theromancedish.com
Very interesting and exciting!! Love the covers!
Beloved authors, fabulous stories and sophisticated covers. What more could a reader want? Thank you, Harlequin!
Facebook is a good way to get the word out about this new line. Giveaways, like today’s, get the books into the hands of the readers and generate the word-of-mouth marketing that works so well. Having the Blaze/Showcase authors blog about it at their individual/group blogs, as well as guest blogging at other romance blogs would spread the word even farther.
Will the Showcase books be available at the Literacy Signing in Orlando?
Hi Marsha,
Lovely to see you here. Showcase sounds very exciting and the covers are absolutely gorgeous. Best of luck with the program and congrats to Kelly and the other launch authors.
Hope
Sounds wonderful, what a great concept, and a great bargain! can’t wait to check it out!
Sounds like a great idea and a deal to boot!
Lisa
Oh I love this idea! I tend to follow certain authors and buy all their books (as we all do) but they tend to get worn over time and you’re always trying to buy replacements — if and when you can find them. So having them do reissues (especially when you get the same author with 2 stories in the same book) would be a terrific way to rebuild that collection and save space on that shelf! Wee! More books for me!
Great concept. Love it!
Julie
Wonderful idea!!! What a great way to get books that I have not read yet! Love the covers!
Darn, to late to win a book! The covers look fabulous. I especially like the one for Rhonda Nelson & Joanne Rock. This is a wonderful chance to appeal to new readers and for those that are recent readers to get backlist books. Harlequin continues to evolve and to keep things interesting.
Wow! Very nice
. And BCB, I agree! Would love to see more of the older miniseries reissued this way. I’m sure Alison’s gIRL gEAR would be high up on the list!
This is a great idea – I have a lot of old Blaze books I’ve saved, including a series by Candace Schuler about a Hollywood dynasty. Loved that one!
if there is a series, please number the books , im always getting messed up on soem books, since alot fo titles are so close
Marsha, This is a great idea for those that are searching for backlists of their fave authors. NATURALLY NAUGHTY is my all-time fave Blaze, &, while I have the original, am thrilled that others will be able to read Leslie’s great story of a hero who falls quickly in love, & spends the rest of the book trying to convince the heroine to return his love. While not a “cover person”, these are great. Might I suggest Tori Carrington’s “Legal Briefs” be included? Really enjoyed that trilogy.
Patricia
Hello Marsha, I love this new idea. I already have the May and June issues. I can’t wait to get my hand on Leslie Kelly’s books too. Do you already know who is up for next year? I have been glomming some of my fave Blaze authors, but it has been very hard to find some of their books. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Nods to both you and Brenda.
Peace and love,
Paula R.
I am very excited about this new collection. I am excited about reading some books I may have missed by some great writers. I have already bought the first one and i am looking forward to the next few months. I love my Blaze books!!! They are my favorites to read every month!!
Those are the nicest covers!
I was very excited when I heard about the Showcase books. This gives me a chance to read some out of print of hard to find books.
Marsha, I’m scootching in late here (drove down to Las Vegas today) to say hi and to thank you for visiting today! I love these book covers- they have such a great look. I’m excited to pick up Vicki’s this month!
I love the split covers with a sexy couple kissing contrasting with the gorgeous scenes: a sunrise, a sunset, or a bouquet of roses.
Many of us missed some of these authors earlier works so this is a great way to see where they came from. I also think the 2/1 is a n extra nice treat and will entice me to buy these books. Free give
aways and exposure on the author’s blogs will definitely get the word out .
I too would love to have books by Alison Kent, Jill Shalvis, Janelle Denison….
What a great concept. I think it is a wonderful idea. Nice covers.
Sorry for the repeated postings. It took the first two about 20 hours to show up.