by Ally Blake, author of The Magnate’s Indecent Proposal (Harlequin Presents) and Hired: The Boss’s Bride (Harlequin Romance) 
Writing for Harlequin Romance and Modern Heat I get to be both! Hmmm, which would look better on a business card 
? But I know there are some of you out there in cyber land who don’t have it so easy.
Come on hands up, I know you’re out there. Neck ache from whiplash as you leap from one type of story to another, without a clue if your stories would work in Harlequin Romance or Modern Heats or Harlequin Presents, or if they fall somewhere in between.
I know because I get asked ALL the time, Is Modern Heat just the difference between Romance and Presents? After that comes, How do I know where my story fits? And invariably, desperately hopefully, as if it might be that easy, comes Is it simply about the amount of sex?
The short answer for number three? Nup.
In any romance novel, it’s never just about how many times they make love (yep, that old chestnut!), but about the reason, and emotion, and character development that goes along with it. Why now? Is it a surprise? Is it a long time coming? Do they already know they are making a mistake? Do they fear no other moment in their lives will ever compare? How will they feel in the afterglow? Does making love shoot them forward in their relationship, or shunt them three steps back?
As to the particular lines… Some Harlequin Romance writers ‘close the bedroom door’, many write extremely sensual love scenes. Some Modern Heat characters fall into bed – or the back of a car, or a closet at an airport – in the first chapter, others play the sensual tension game so brilliantly readers must be flicking pages faster than they can read to find out what happens next and sometimes the ‘what ‘ doesn’t happen until the very end!
In my current Harlequin Presents release (and my first – yay!), THE MAGNATE’S INDECENT PROPOSAL, Chelsea and Damien meet on the third page, part a couple of pages later, then don‘t see each other again until chapter six! But what makes this a Modern Heat and not a Romance is that they are constantly, blisteringly, devastatingly sexually aware of one another, even while apart, and you just know that when they do finally get together it will be explosive!
The differences between the lines, my friends, are not in the doing, or the amount of doing, but the way that you tell it.
So then, are the differences between the lines more about voice?
The short answer? Yup!
My Harlequin Romance voice is emotional, real, warm, and timeless with characters and situations rooted in reality, with strong internal conflicts, heroines you’d be friends with and heroes you can imagine you might truly one day meet.
For Modern Heat I get to play at being fun, fabulous, sassy, edgy, dynamic, evocative, hot, contemporary and flirty, with heroines who have the kind of one liners you only think of three hours after the fact and heroes you only wish you could one day meet!
Pure Presents voices on the other hand are passionate, provocative, challenging, fiery, and intense.
Think quick! Where do you fall?
Themes, setting, character types, the dynamics of your love scenes, all of these things can be edited, but your voice is your natural imprint on a book, your turn of phrase, your sense of humour, your world view, these things are much harder to change. And truly, why would you want to? Love your voice. Cherish it. That way if you do find a home with Harlequin it can continue to blossom because from the moment you sell that first wonderful story you’ll hopefully be writing for the same line for a long line to come!
So how do you figure out where your voice fits?
Read, read read!!! Which kinds of books do you react physically to when reading? Which give you goose bumps, heartache, laughter, tears? Which books’ covers, and back cover blurbs, and themes, and styles stimulate the kind of feeling in you that your stories engender? More likely than not, that’s your home.
But you know what? At the end of the day the most important thing is to forget everything I’ve just said and just focus on writing a beautiful story. The wonderful, hard-working, clever eds in London are primarily looking for sigh-worthy, warm, sexy, imaginative romances written by unique voices.
Around the time I sold my first book, there were a plethora of sales by authors who thought they were writing for one line, and sold to another. The story could have gone either way but in the end it came down to the author’s voice. Romance? Modern Heat? They’ll know where to put you.
Good luck and happy writing!
To help out all those poor lost souls who couldn’t find their way home, Ally took a course on this very subject at the Romance Writers of Australia Conference a couple of years back. For more details on the differences between Harlequin Romance, Modern Heat and Harlequin Presents, check out the notes on Ally’s website.
Ally, what a fabulous post (and dynamic and edgy too I might add).
Have to say here that I targeted my first book at Silhouette Special Edition when I got picked up by Bryony at Modern Heat. How wrong can a girl be about where she fits, eh? But I still found a home. so yeah, I’d definitely agree with what you said about nurture your voice because in the end that’s going to be your most distinctive asset – wherever it happens to fit.
Thank you, Ally. Especially for the link to the articles on your website. Can I ask you a question?
If I decide that my voice probably fits Modern Heat, enter the comp and the eds like my writing but decide it’s a better fit for one of the other lines edited out of London, is there a chance they’d ask to see more of the story?
What does sassy actually mean? I looked it up on the web an dit said bold, spirited, saucy, cheeky, lively. i’v ejust read a MH where the h was a self confessed geek, blushed easily, had no social life and and was far from ‘sassy’
Have the guidelines maybe changed since this book was written? Do h’s now need to be bold, confident and witty
Hi Ally. I love, love, love your book! Your first chapter in ‘the magnate’s indecent proposal’ was fantastic.
Thanks for the great advice about the difference between romance and modern heat – I do really struggle, especially when it comes to the hero. I clicked on your link and noticed that it was for the modern extra 60k books, rather than the modern heat books. In it you say the heroes can be alpha or beta, which was definitely my take, but recently in modern heat I seem to be seeing very alpha, ‘presents’ type heroes. Is this the case now or am I getting muddled?
Thanks
C
Hi Ally,
Loved The Magnate’s Indecent Proposal. I will forever cast curious glances to all those couples ‘hiding’ in the shadows when I dine out!
That scene was scorching, I think I may have blushed while reading it…
A couple of us girls here have been discussing everything Modern Heat and sharing our worries/panic etc. We also discussed our D days, and funnily enough I was supposed to hit the send button yesterday. Can I just say how glad I am that I decided to sit my entry for a couple of days longer? Well I’m very glad.
I had read these notes on your site already but being reminded of them has given me a fresh new outlook. Going back over my ms soon and I’ll be taking everything you said about voice into consideration.
Thanks for the input,
Aideen.
Hi Ally,
I just know you’re talking to me. Whiplash? You bet. Today is the day I send off two entirely different stories… one’s a sexy romance (Mod Heat) and the other a romantic sexy (Romance/Sweet).
One was about a million times easier to write than the other, not that that necessarily makes it any better. But I can’t help thinking how nice it’d be to have a voice that suits the line I enjoy most. In the interim I’ll simply strap on a neckbrace and carry on as usual.
Robyn
Sorry I’m so late in arriving but I’ve been neck deep in revisions and have only just popped out of the cave!!!
ALICE- absolutely! The editors are ALWAYS looking for great stories, and they acquirte acorss all lines. If your book suits a line and is a ripping read, they’ll certainly want to see more.
As to heroine’s you can have all types. My heroine’s are always a bit on the sweet side having come from a Roamnce background. In “The Magnate’s Indecent Proposal” Chelsea is a real everygirl; a dog groomer who is never quite put together. In “A Night with the Society Playboy” Ava is a perrennial student more likely to be seen in jeans and sneakers than designer duds. But they both know who they are, they both have opinions and histories, and cool features and they stand up to their men when they need to!
I think it’s important to note no doormats allowed. The heroine has to be an equal for the hero, has to stand out to him, move him, affect him as much as he does her.
CLARISA – sorry those notes are from a course I took in late 2006 so the guidelines are slightly different. The word count is now lower at 50-55k. And as to the heroes think more Alpha than Beta, but I reckon my heroes are pretty sweet too
.
HEIDI – I hjad no idea you’d subb’d for Special! how interesting! And how wrong
.
ROBYN – wow how cool!!! Best of luck with both, hon. the fact that one felt more natural to you might well mean that’s where your voice fits.
Hope that answers any questions you had!
Best of luck and happy reading,
Ally
xxx