Quotes from Presents Authors
Lucy Monroe
"Writing for Presents provides me with an opportunity to indulge in fantasy while writing about issues that face modern women at their deepest level." Lucy Monroe
Kate Walker
"When I started writing it was for Mills & Boon in the UK. They didn’t divide the line at that time – every book was published as a Mills & Boon Contemporary Romance. Then when those books came out in America, the books were put into the two lines – Presents and Romance. Early in my writing career, I had some books published in Presents and some in Harlequin Romance. I almost had two different types of writing – stories that would fit one line and stories that would fit the other. But then M&B decided to split the lines in the way that it worked in America and authors were selected for each line. And when I had to choose, I knew that I really wanted to write for Presents. That was where I felt I belonged - where my voice could develop and grow.
"Looking back at my romance reading, I realized that the authors and the books I most enjoyed reading were the Presents books. They were the ones who wrote powerful, intense, passionate stories that appealed to my idea of what romance is – stories of strong feelings, strong issues, strong characters. And those were the sorts of books I wanted to read and to write. Presents novels have wonderfully sexy, irresistible, Alpha heroes and feisty, independent heroines who are more than a match for the men they love. They have elements of fantasy in them in the rich, sophisticated heroes, the international settings, but at the sore of the books are conflicts that money and power can't solve - the conflicts of the heart. That was the main reason why I wanted to write for Presents - the fact that there is a lot of scope in the sort of conflicts the writer can use. I like to tackle conflicts and situations that can be dark and emotionally dangerous and in Presents you can tackle some pretty serious problems, create very wounded heroes – or heroines.
"The books are emotionally charged and deal with very strong feelings. The conflicts can be very powerful, they are conflicts that could ruin people’s lives, drive couples apart, end relationships, create heartbreak, if they aren’t sorted out. And of course Presents novels are deeply sensual books as well – the characters feel intensely about each other sexually as well and the sparks that fly between them are sexual as well as emotional. Most of my characters have trouble keeping their hands off each other and those feelings add to the passionate fire between them.
"Writing a Presents novel means having the chance to create wonderfully sophisticated and often exotic settings. The heroes are 'men of the world' and as a result the books can have an international flavour and setting. But the setting is just that - the setting - and it isn't just the fact that a hero is Greek, or Italian or whatever nationality that makes him a Presents hero - it's the sophistication and the intensity of the relationship that really makes it a Presents story.
"I love Presents books because they fit in with my personal idea of romance. To me, romance isn't about flowers and chocolate and princesses in delicate dresses, waiting for their prince to come. It's emotion in its deepest and often rawest state. It's about conflicts where loving someone can bring with it great risks - sometimes financial, sometimes social - but always emotional - and those emotions are at the heart of a Presents novel." Kate Walker
Trish Morey
"People have asked me what I did differently to finally sell a manuscript to Presents eleven years after my first attempt and I would have to the key was intensity of emotion. Presents is about strong alpha heroes, feisty heroines, high stakes, emotion and passion. I'd had good rejections before and a couple of long ones on fulls, but The Greek Boss's Demand was accepted I believe because it carries the tension and drama right through from beginning to end. And that had to do with the set up and the conflict being right, so that whatever happens just keeps building up the stakes, building on the emotion, with characters who bring their individual agendas to their mounting attraction so that passion doesn't resolve their problems, but only makes them more seemingly insurmountable. And of course, all that makes the final "aaah" resolution, so much more satisfying.
"How did I do it? I wrote The Greek Boss's Demand after a very bad year - I'd had the worst boss in history and to top it off my husband had been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia - and bizarrely I think it helped! All that angst and emotion splashed onto the page and finally I learned how to tap into that emotional punch we hear so much about and keep it coming, and not just for a scene or two. And now I have the best job in the world and a healthy husband. There really is a santa claus!" Trish Morey
Susan Stephens
"Writing for the Presents line is like a dream come true for me. After a career as a professional singer the idea of pouring drama onto the page, rather than into a song seemed such a natural progression.
"Presents offers a passionate and ultimately satisfying journey through the emotions for both reader and writer. I often find myself murmuring out loud as I write - much to the consternation of my family- as I become engrossed in the plight of the heroine and hero, and want to push their story on so that they can both find the happy ending they deserve. Presents plumbs the extremes of all our emotions, and it's not unusual to find me laughing, or sighing happily, or even shedding a tear as I write simply because the characters have become so real to me.
"What do I love most about Presents? Is it the exotic settings, the diamond hard clarity of the heroes, or the modern feisty women who pit themselves against these men? I think I love the drawing together of the characters most- that moment when they look at each other differently... Or maybe it's the unexpected show of vulnerability by a hard alpha male, brought about by a woman who is his equal in everything but physical strength.
"Truth to tell, I love absolutely everything about Presents. Happy reading everyone!" Susan Stephens
Check out the In the Limelight: Harlequin Presents™ article for which these quotes were requested!
