How to Write for Modern Extra
14 Comments November 14th, 2007 in alpha hero, editor, writing contest Posted by Bryonyby Bryony Green, Editor
Modern Extra (or Modern Heat as it will be known in the UK from Jan 2008) is a new stream of editorial that will be coming soon to Harlequin Presents in North America.
Modern Extra: 2 books per month, 50-55000 words, 192 pages
These books bring an exciting new edge to Harlequin Presents! Whilst still offering sexy, intense, dramatic romances set in glamorous international locations, these stories offer a vibrant, entertaining read which is younger and sassier than your regular Harlequin Presents novel.
Look out for Modern Heat style books from authors such as Susan Napier, Kate Hardy, Heidi Rice and Natalie Anderson in January 2008.
These books must appeal to our current Presents readers of all ages who enjoy a short, sexy, entertaining read. What are they looking for in a Modern Heat novel?
1)Â Fresh, vibrant author voice
We’re looking for authors with unique, sparky voices which smoulder with sensuality and brim with authentic dialogue that captures the way young men and women communicate today.
2)Â Alpha Male hero
This guy has got to be larger-than-life; a charismatic character who just leaps of the page! He is uncompromising about the things that are important to him and he has the confidence to take charge and be masterful! He can even be just a little bit audacious in this respect but he gets away with it because he’s so sexy and charismatic! However, he is believable, three-dimensional and very much a 21st Century guy. He expects a woman to be as capable as him mentally, sexually and in the work place. He’s younger than your average Presents hero, with a great bod (of course!) and he is everything a girl could want. This guy should really take our breath away!
3)Â Sexy, sexy, sexy!
This is a super-sexy series and the sexual tension should be tangible between the hero and heroine from the get go. Interaction is flirty, sparky and believable – and the dynamic between the hero and heroine is more evenly matched than in your regular Presents. The love scenes tap into 21st century fantasies – sex with your boss, with your ex, in a bed, at 35,000 feet…
4)Â Urban, big-city, jet set, girl-about-town lifestyles, attitudes and tone
In Modern Heat we get inside the heroine’s head, we see some of the context of her life including work, friends, family. She is likely to be a young, urban, girl-about-town.
5)Â Conflicts
Although conflicts should be realistic and believable, in this series it is not necessary for the hero and/or heroine to have a massive tragic and/or traumatic pasts to create those conflicts. The overall tone should be sparky, smouldering with sensuality, have a hint of wit and humour and generally entertain our readers. Conflicts should be believable and character-driven but not depressing!
We hope this inspires you to give Modern Heat a go! Check out our author guidelines (first post) and have a read of the new novels available January 2008: Price of Passion by Susan Napier, All Night with the Boss by Natalie Anderson, Bedded by a Playboy by Heidi Rice and The Pregnancy Ultimatum by Kate Hardy, available January 2008 in Presents Collections.
Send your competition entries by 14th February 2008 to instantseduction@hmb.co.uk Good luck!
14 Responses to “How to Write for Modern Extra”
- 1 Pingback on Nov 14th, 2007 at 7:32 am
- 2 Pingback on Nov 27th, 2007 at 3:44 am
January is so long to wait!! These sound fabulous.
Hi everyone
They sound fabulous. I do have reservations though. Could they be a little too young for me? What I mean is, are they being aimed at the younger element of Present’s/Modern readers? I have loads of much younger girl friends, I work with girls that in some cases are 20 years younger than me (God, that makes me feel ancient). So I do feel that I’m in touch with most of what the younger generation get up to nowadays.
I hope Presents/Modern aren’t going to leave the slightly older reader behind. Please don’t forget about us? I’m sure you editors won’t.
I do think that the whole concept of having a new stream of editorial is healthy. I suppose when you think about it, when I started reading M&B’s at 14 years of age, the heroines were young. It wil bring a whole new dimension to the line, I’ll certainly give it a try.
Overall, I think its a positive way forward, for the line and all of the new readers that I hope it will attract.
xx Karen
oh! How interesting. I look forward to reading these books…. younger heroes. yay… Although I totally love the 30s-early forties hero thing in Presents… I can’t really connect with them because haha… they are as old as my dad or in some cases older or just a few years younger. so younger heroes should be pretty exciting… especially since the world is much different now. But I DO have some reservations… like how young are we talking? because… eeek I really don’t want to read about some hero age 18-25ish. I guess late twenties is okay as long as it’s over 28 or something. I just don’t find it as appealing– at least not for presents… i definitely prefer 30s. But maybe it’s just because I associate within that age group (18-early twenties) and it’s a norm and not something I would want to read about when I am trying to get away from it. But then again I could find it more to my taste… hmm
I’m finding the 21st century sexual fantasies interesting though… That should be really interesting considering. Sex with your ex… yeha that’s definitely a thing of now.
But what i find more interesting is number 4… getting into the heroine’s life. I think that could be a great element if done well.
I can’t wait to read these new books. =)
Karen,
I’ve already read the Susan Napier book “The Price of Passion” because I bought the original UK version (was called “Just Once” as a UK Modern Extra). I love Susan Napier and couldn’t wait for her book to be published in the US.
I loved the book and I also have coworkers that are 20 years younger than me (yikes, how did that happen!), so it wasn’t “too young” for me. Hopefully, the US version won’t be edited shorter than the original, because there aren’t any scenes that I would want to lose. I’ve re-read the book many times and highly recommend it. I will probably end up getting a couple more of the titles when they become available in January.
Cheryl
I think I’ll like the Modern Extra books. I have read a few of Susan Napier’s books and loved them. There’s comedy in her books, is that part of the Modern Extra theme or just her style?
I agree with Mitchy about AGE… I prefer my hero’s to be older than 18-25. Personally hero’s can’t be an alpha male (experienced the world and commanded respect) unless they’ve put in some years. A freshly graduated college man isn’t my idea of a hero, there’s still more experience needed.
It’s funny that I say that… given I’ve just graduated university myself… but I like my heroes slightly older and experienced.
Thanks for your comments – I’ll try to answer your questions:
There is definitely a younger feel in Modern Heat, but we’re aiming that with vibrant writing, appealling characters and compelling storylines, readers of all ages will enjoy these stories. That’s certainly been the case in the UK. It’s not an age thing – it’s an attitude!
And that goes for the hero’s age too! I guess the majority of Modern Heat heroes are between 28 and 35 but it’s not really his age that’s important – it’s his attitude, charisma, his confidence, presence and sheer gorgeousness that really matters!
Finally, I can assure you the US versions will be exactly the same as the UK books, but with different covers and often different titles – but exactly the same stories inside.
Bryony Green, Senior Editor, Modern Heat
Did I miss the competition guidelines somewhere? Like what the entry is to include–synopsis? chapter?
We can’t send the entries until Jan 1st, can we?
The guidelines for the Harlequin Presents competition can be found here
The guidelines for the Mills and Boon Competition can be found here
No, submissions will not be accepted before January 1st.
I’m wondering about the heroine’s sexual experience in the Modern Heat books. Is there a requirement for her to be a virgin or at least an ‘innocent’, with only a few bumbling, unsatisfactory experiences? Or can she have had a somewhat decent sex life before she meets the hero?
Hornblower, a Modern Heat heroine is a “young, urban girl-about-town”, and she’s likely to have had a sex life before she’s met the hero. There’s nothing saying it should have been unsatisfactory, either. A Modern Heat heroine knows what she wants, and this can be born out of experience.
All of my Modern Heat heroines have had sex lives before meeting the hero. One has been married, two have been engaged, others have had affairs. And the sex might have been good–even great–but there’s something about the hero that means that sex with him is unbelievably fantastic.
My heroine Joanna from MARRIED IN A RUSH (MH and Presents), for example, is a party girl who has had lots of affairs and one night stands, and dumped the man whenever he seemed to be getting serious. Then she meets the hero, Bruno, and has what she thinks is a one night stand with him…but there’s something different about him, something that interests her heart as well as her body. She’s far from innocent or bumbling–quite the opposite–but when it comes to love, it’s all new for her.
Hope this helps!
Julie, thank you very much!