Cover images and book descriptions are now posted for all the June releases, including the latest rollicking mystery from Christie Craig. Click here for more.
Previews
November 20, 2009
May books & new message boards
Posted by Leah under News, Previews | Tags: Connie Mason, Emily Bryan |Leave a Comment
Covers and descriptions are now posted for Dorchester’s May 2010 titles, including LORD OF DEVIL ISLE by Connie Mason, which features Mr. Romance himself, Charles Paz.
You can also get a peek at what we have coming in June on the Coming Soon page. One cover to check out out now is the gorgeous (if I do say so myself) STROKE OF GENIUS by Emily Bryan, now in the right-hand sidebar.
I’m also beyond thrilled to announce that Dorchester’s message boards are back up and running. Actually, these are all new boards with loads of new features. Even if you’ve posted previously, you’ll have to register. But it’s quick and painless–promise. Voting for America’s Next Best Celler will start there on Monday.
November 4, 2009
As the evenings are darker these days, it’s hard not to think of winter being right around the corner. Here are some January titles I thought looked interesting in the various sales kits that come around.
A woman in Ohio who’s learning magic accidentally opens a portal to Hell and releases a demon (oops!), who then snatches up her teacher/lover. So she’s left to figure out her powers and rescue the guy.
From Bantam/Del-Rey.
SEDUCING THE HEIRESS by Olivia Drake
This is the first of “An Heiress in London” series in which a rich family of commoners take London Society by storm. The great endorsements from from Susan Wiggs and Christina Dodd along with that stunning red cover immediately caught my eye.
From St. Martin’s.
PROOF BY SEDUCTION by Courtney Milan
I was surprised to see that this is Milan’s debut novel because it seems as though her name has been everywhere lately. I think this is one a lot of people are looking forward to, especially since it recently got a starred review in Publishers Weekly and Julia Quinn calls it “One of the finest historical romances I’ve read in years.” The premise: a scientific-minded lord is determined to prove a fortune-teller is a fraud.
Coming from HQN.
HEARTS AND BLOOD by Gail Dayton
This is a sequel to her Victorian fantasy, NEW BLOOD, which I recently read a preview of and really enjoyed. From the back cover:
Pearl Parkin, a gently reared lady struggling to survive in London’s slums, sees magic as a way out of the life she finds herself trapped in. But blackmailing master conjurer Grey Carteret into making her his apprentice has unexpected consequences. As they plunge into the hunt for a murderer, Pearl discovers that the things she once desperately wanted are not as important after all, and that she must risk her blood, her heart and her very life to grasp the love she needs.
From Tor.
September 14, 2009
You can now find cover images, descriptions and ISBNs for March titles.
And check out Coming Soon for a peek at April books and links to these recently posted excerpts:
-
“The Longest Night” by Jennifer Ashley from A CHRISTMAS BALL – October
-
DESTINY’S CAPTIVE by Kate Lyon – November
-
SILVER SILENCE by Joy Nash – November
-
THE GIFT by Deb Stover – November
-
QUEEN OF SONG AND SOULS by C.L. Wilson – November
-
FALLEN ROGUE by Amy Rench – December
-
STOLEN SEDUCTION by Elisabeth Naughton – January
-
A MIDWIFE CRISIS by Lisa Cooke – February
September 2, 2009
A roundup of some noteworthy reads soon to be released.
The Lightworld/Darkworld series by Jennifer Amintrout

These will be released in consecutive months from Harlequin, starting in October. I thought the covers looked stunning together and were also an interesting direction for what’s presumably paranormal romance or fantasy romance–further evidence (in case you needed any) of genre blending. The premise behind the series is that fairy-tale creatures were expelled from the human world and created two kingdoms – light and dark.
Sins of the Flesh by Caridad Pineiro
This is Pineriro’s debut with Hachette, to be released in November. To me, the title and cover look like erotica. But according to the back cover, it’s about a mercenary sent to find a genetically enhanced woman who’s been accused of murder. A little sci-fi, some suspense, and probably pretty hot too.
Night Tides by Alex Prentiss
This gorgeous cover immediately caught my eye in the kits for Bantam. I originally had it marked as a December release, though it looks as though now Random House is listing it as February.
RH has changed their kits so that now many covers have no marketing information. I’m not sure exactly how they’re categorizing this book, though it sounded like paranormal suspense. According to the cover copy, a woman has an affinity for water spirits and in return for their protection, she has to help their people. But now young women in her town are going missing, and she’s not sure whether the spirits are at fault. The copy also made it sound as though there might be some erotic content, but again it was hard to tell.
But all of this does make you think about how important the cover image and copy are as tools to determine a book’s category and contents.
August 12, 2009
Check out covers and descriptions for books coming out in February 2010. Plus, get an early peek at titles we have planned for March.
August 6, 2009
With publishers still feeling the pinch of the economy, brand names (read: guaranteed sales) are more important than ever. Everyone is mining their backlist to repackage sure hits.
Coming up, we have:
September
Originally published by Dorchester in 1996.
October

Originally published by St. Martin’s in 1996. Parts have been rewritten and updated.

A trade-size edition from Harlequin containing Outrageous and Riley.
There are a bunch of others as well–Grand Central is redoing some Jayne Ann Krentz futuristics in early 2010, Harlequin is packaging some Nora Roberts’ books into double trade-size editions, and Bantam is re-releasing the movie tie-in of The Bourne Identity. And these are just ones I noted from recent kits. We don’t receive sales info from Kensington or Penguin (Berkley/Jove/NAL), but I”m sure they’re doing it as well.
It’s a big advantage to be able to get out a lot of copies for not much money. The advance is already paid, and depending on how old the book is, the publisher may not have to pay to re-typset it. So usually it’s just new art and the printing costs.
For readers, the best way to tell whether a book is new or a reissue is to check the copyright page.
July 31, 2009
New ‘Home in the Heartland’ series
Posted by Leah under News, Previews | Tags: contest, historicals, Westerns |[4] Comments
Not too long ago we noticed we had several books on our list of a similar style: sweeter, heartfelt Americana romances. They have wonderfully in-depth characters and a lot of emotional pull. And, don’t get me wrong, even though I say ”sweeter,” we’re not skimping on the love scenes.
We wanted to showcase these books in a special way. Hence a new Home in the Heartland banner, making its first appearance with Caroline Fyffe’s debut, WHERE THE WIND BLOWS.
This is not a new line. There is no set number of titles we’re looking for.
Future books in the series include Lisa Cooke’s A MIDWIFE CRISIS, which is currently featured on my sidebar, and Sharla Rae’s debut, HOW TO TAME A TIMBERMAN, coming in May 2010.
A quick way to get a feel for the books is to watch Caroline Fyffe’s video preview. Invest the extra time to write your version of the last line of her book, and you could win a stay at a California dude ranch. Check out her Under the Western Sky contest for further details.
July 24, 2009
For those who really like to plan ahead, Tanya posted some peeks at our April and May 2010 lineup yesterday.
And Gemma Halliday debuted her new book video for SCANDAL SHEET, coming in November.







