DEIDRE KNIGHT

My wish list is definitely a mixture. I’ll get on a reading kick with a particular genre, and that can definitely inform what I want to find. Ultimately, if I’m loving reading something, then that carries over to the submissions I bring in or am reading. In fact, just because something is hot doesn’t mean I connect with that genre or sub-genre. Mostly, though, I’m looking to be swept away by a story—it’s all about what pulls me in and won’t let go.

MELISSA JEGLINSKI

My wish list is definitely a mix of genres I already represent and projects that I really want to add—and they may be what I’m reading or what the market is demanding but it’s always evolving.  Most of all I’m looking for strong writing.

Travis Pennington

While my wish list consists of a combination personal interests and market demands, that doesn't mean that I won't take on something that doesn't check those boxes if it blows me away. Great writing can overcome many hurdles.

Annabelle Greene writes hot, heartwarming historical romances with plenty of humor. THE VICAR AND THE RAKE is her debut novel.

Annabelle's Tip:

My tip is simple: repay kindness with kindness. The world of publishing can be a strange and frightening place, without many certainties and occasionally full of chaos that you have no control over (debuting in a pandemic, anyone?) but kindness is still possible. The editor who looks over your book with a loving, attentive eye, the agent who takes time out of their busy schedule to console or advise you about an immediate issue, every person who requests an advance copy of your eventual book and leaves a considered, constructive review--all of this is kindness in action. Respond with thanks, and remember who was good to you when they didn’t need to be.

Apart from thanking everyone who gets within twenty feet of your book, my only other tip is to try and enjoy the process. The fulfilment of a dream rarely happens exactly as you’d expect, and there are small moments of delight that will catch you by surprise. A good writing day, the sight of your book cover on Instagram, a glowing review from a complete stranger, a retweet by someone who wants to share your book with others—hold onto these moments. They’re scattered along the occasionally dreary path of being a writer, keeping you moving forward.

Born and raised in a small Vancouver Island town, Laurel Greer picked up her pen to write Julie Garwood fan-fiction during junior high English class. She hasn't put it down since. She loves to write books with snapping sexual tension and second chances.

Laurel's Tip:

Tropes sell books, especially in our current world where fiction provides a welcome escape from reality. Picking up a novel and knowing what we’re going to get is comforting. But readers also want something new and exciting. It’s an eye twitch–causing contradiction. One way to twist a trope is to look to the characters themselves, finding something unexpected within them, e.g. their job, worldview, or past.  

IN SERVICE OF LOVE, my most recent Harlequin Special Edition release, is a love-after-loss story and my first category romance with an LGBTQ+ main character. Initially, I intended to write my hero as being jaded about love after losing his husband to cancer. But he refused to fit in that box. Yes, the love of the first part of his life was gone, but he still believed he could find love going forward. Taking that away would have tarnished a beautiful part of him. Instead of playing to what category romance readers might have expected—the closed-off widower—I let his personality and history drive the story, and the heroine was the one who learned to be open to the power of love. It made for a more interesting story, and better honored my hero’s past. Looking within our characters for ways to freshen story tropes allows us to go deeper instead of wider, and can make something familiar be both believable and different. 

Louis Domingue is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League.

Dr. Karen Aronian is an award-winning educator and parenting expert who considers “All people to be teachers” and believes, “Every place can be a learning space!” Her firm, Aronian Education Design LLC, creates irresistible child-centered environments for academic, corporate, and private clientele. Dr. Karen is a sought-after speaker and columnist who appears regularly in international print and media.

AMAZON - KOBO - B&N

The Bone Witch meets Sherlock Holmes in this thrilling historical fantasy about a girl with the ability to raise the dead who must delve into her city’s dangerous magical underworld to stop a series of murders.

Catherine Daly has an unusual talent. By day she works for a printer. But by night, she awakens the dead for a few precious moments with loved ones seeking a final goodbye. But this magic comes with a price: for every hour that a ghost is brought back, Catherine loses an hour from her own life.

AMAZON - B&N - KOBO

Debut author Annabelle Greene brings us the brilliant first book in her Society of Beasts series, in which a quiet country vicar is unwillingly reunited with the duke who left him long ago…

As a young man, Sir Gabriel Winters left behind his status as a gentleman, turning his back on his secret desires and taking a self-imposed vow of celibacy. Now a chaste hard-working vicar, his reputation is beyond reproach. But, try as he might, he’s never forgotten the man he once desired or the pain of being abandoned by his first love.

AMAZON - B&N - KOBO

AMAZON - B&N - KOBO

A troubled playboy meets the woman he can’t resist in this sizzling classic from New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter, previously published as The Hotter You Burn!

Beck Ockley is ruthless in the boardroom…and the bedroom. He’s never been with the same woman twice and vows he never will. With a past as troubled as his, meaningless sex keeps the demons at bay and his own wary heart intact.

AMAZON

This 100% plant-based, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free cookbook will help you achieve your wellness goals without sacrificing the foods you love, whether you’re suffering from food allergies or simply want to eat to feel better!

AMAZON - B&N - KOBO

Their sizzling chemistry could burn them both!

What clashes in the boardroom combusts in the bedroom!

Working at her late ex-husband’s company, socialite Astrid Sterling finds new purpose. If only star architect Clay Morgan would give her a chance instead of the cold shoulder. But a truce that explodes into blinding passion leaves Astrid breathless—and torn. The single dad already has trust issues—and Astrid has a secret that could shatter everything they’ve built…

AMAZON - B&N - KOBO

The family he never knew is under siege.

Detective Liam Bearsmith’s life is turned upside down at Christmastime when the hacker he’s tracking turns out to be the witness he fell for twenty years ago. But Kelly Marshall insists she’s being framed, and he wants to believe her…especially after criminals attack them. Can he clear her name, even as he shields Kelly—and the family he never knew existed?

AMAZON - B&N - KOBO

AMAZON - B&N - KOBO

An Amish girl’s disappearance is a mystery…and the clues lead straight into danger at Christmas.

Convinced her friend didn’t run away as the police believe, Lizzie Kauffman searches for the truth—but someone will kill to keep it hidden. Now the Amish housekeeper and her friend Caleb Zook are on the run for their lives. And if they want to find their missing friend, Lizzie and Caleb must figure out a way to survive the holidays.