RX For Love: Harlequin Medical Romance (2)

ladies;

I just couldn't resist. I'm the first to post a note in the new room!! I hope we can do as well in the new room as in the old. I have really enjoyed all the comments. On the marketing of Med Romances subject, I would buy most any book with George Clooney on the cover esp one written by one of my favourite Med romance writers. If he is too expensive, there are other good looking actors, models out there that would certainly do justice to a pair of scrubs and a stethascope!!

Linda

Do you mark your favorites?  If so mark this one as a favorite and remove the previous thread from your favorites and you'll always come back to this one.

many Presents but love the Medicals and if I didn't hear some of the titles on this thread I wouldn't get the special releases. I also hate the way they change the titles here. If more people tried the meds I think they'd really enjoy them. They should be made more available and advertised so people would hear and try them. If more people wanted them then they'd have to make them available.

just now figuring out (thanks Nancy, for the heads up about this!) that I can check in here on the Medicals forum to figure out what other Medicals are being released.  I love the Medical line and wish it was more accessible!

Maggie--thanks for the email addy--I've already sent off a plea. I would encourage other NA readers of Med Roms to send an email, too.

But good point, Fiona, about Randall and Dianne, and I know Randall, in particular, is keen on getting the meds into the US and Dianne is a very nice woman who 'listens'.

Chocolate cake.  Anyone got a good, idiot proof recipe for chocolate cake?  Mine is so pale, and, if I'm honest, on a blind tasting, I doubt if you'd know it *was* chocolate cake.  It's just not chocolatey.  One of my aunts used to make the most gorgeous chocolate cake - almost black in colour - and moist and very moreish, but sadly she would never give me the recipe - it's a family one, she would say with a wink - and she died last year so the recipe died with her.  This is the recipe I'm currently using:-

4oz self raising flour sifted, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 4oz margarine, 4oz caster sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder.

It makes a nice cake, but it's not a chocolate one if you know what I mean

Maggie Kingsley

 HI, I grabbed this off the net as it is almost the same as the recipe I use which is in a book downstairs. any good quality dark chocolate will do. VERY RICH!

 This dense cake uses ground almonds instead of flour.

Toasting the almonds before grinding them helps bring out the flavor.

Ingredients

• 6 ounces Scharffen Berger 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate
• ¼ cup espresso or double strength coffee
• 10 tablespoons butter
• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 6 large eggs, separated
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups almonds, toasted and finely ground

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment.

In the top of a double boiler or in a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and coffee.

With an electric mixer and a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until ivory colored. Add the egg yolks, two at a time. Continue to beat until the mixture is light and airy. Fold in the cooled melted chocolate.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with the salt until they form stiff peaks. With the beater running, add two tablespoons sugar and beat until glossy. Fold the ground almonds into the whites. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg white mixture.

Pour into the prepared pan. Place in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 350 degrees F. Bake 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees F. Bake an additional 45 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees and bake 15 to 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave in the oven, with the door ajar, for another 30 minutes.

Cool on a rack. Remove the sides of the pan. Serve sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar. Whipped cream is optional.

Remember our discussion in the old thread about taboo subjects in the H/M&B books? The elephant in the room and so on? Well, Liz Fielding is finally back on the boards after her dd's wedding and here's what she said in the thread that reviewed her book and triggered a comparison/contrast discussion between her book and Maggie's.

While we address all kinds of emotional issues and dilemmas that face modern women, abortion is so divisive, with opinions so either side of the divide, that can't see editorial taking this on board in series romance.  Even if editorial wanted to see how flew with readers, I suspect that marketing would veto it.

This subject came up in the story because this was something that Miranda had never told anyone, not even the brother who'd saved her from spiralling down into a depression from which, honestly, I believe suicide would have been the only conclusion.  It was the mental illness aspect of the story that I thought the biggest step out of the envelope in this book, tbh.

Remember what one of the elephants in the room was that Amy in particular talked about taking on?? So, hmmm, maybe the medroms can push the enevelope first? 

I haven't made time for Liz's book, yet. It's available in both print and eBook formats, so y'all could download it and read it now. I know y'all have enough time to do that. Okay, so maybe not, but an interesting study . . .

Penn

I actually just read a Medical recently that tackled the issue of mental illness quite well.  It wasn't the hero or the heroine but the hero had dealt with an ex-wife who was mentally ill.  It was very powerfully done.  As a social worker, I'll be honest that I've avoided any of the other lines when they tackle issues like this because they usually tend to make light of the issues in unbelievable ways or worse, they involve a social worker breaking all ethics to get involved with a relative of a client.  But the Medicals have really taken on some of these real life issues in very believable ways.  This is not to demean or criticize the other lines by any means but I'm also wondering if the difference might be the targeted audience of the various lines?  In other words, you would expect more real life issues in a line that features medicine as part of the plot (hope I'm explaining this well enough).  Regardless, as Amy noted elsewhere, this paranormal junkie is now hooked on the Medicals!

definitely read it if you wrote a paranormal!!!! 

My "friendly little competition" is for books that you have not blogged/reviewed here -- ANY books that you've not blogged here. Some people aren't participating at all, some do here and there, but don't do all the books that they've read for lots of reasons (would rather spend their time reading than blogging is a popular one). As a matter of fact, one of the 5 people who have given me a list HAS blogged quite a few books, but didn't blog/review all of hers, so her list is the ones that she didn't do online.

Anyway, I'm kind of hoping that a Canadian will take me up on my challenge and we can do a competition based on where the lists will be mailed. But, that might mean that everyone from a Commonwealth country would send their lists to her, and then I might lose! Oh, wait, it's just for fun and to help fight illiteracy, so everyone wins.

Penn

I was at a book store this afternoon and there were 3 out of 4 books from the last group (the one before the this month). The book that was not on the shelf was Carol Marinelli's Billionaire Doctor, Ordinary Nurse. Nine medicals looking for a home.

Thanks, Nancy for that good news.

BTW , didn't there used to be a 'reply to post' button? I can't see it so had to retype the heading. Please point it out if I have gone blind as well as everything else!!

Penn, I am typing out a list of the books that I and my family have
read this year. Umm....it's long. I clearly need to stop reading!  Do
you want my list in the body of an email, or as an attachment?  And
some naughty younger people - make that Holly and Patrick - have
insisted on adding comments about the books they've read. Do you want
me to delete those, and just give you the titles?

Hey! Long is great. In the body of an email is good. Any comments are welcome! I'll take what I can get! :)

Penn

Hey Nancy - medicals in B&N - woohoo!!

 You have a picky child too, Maggie? My boy is the picky one. He's much, much better than he used to be but still...its a frustrating process. And then you get those people who say, Oh if he lived in my house he'd eat or well, you know, you have to start them young. Argh! Like I made a decision to expose my son to only 5 of the most boring, bland foods in existentce and my daughter to everything!! Puh-lease!!

Amy

Oh, Lynne, that sucks, it really does. You spend all that time clearly giving a very successful workshop, and can those present buy your book at the end of it?  Nope.  Some days you really do wonder why you bother, don't you, but at least you went down a storm and I bet those ladies - and men? - remember your name for the future. I know - I know - it doesn't help at the moment - but short of flying to the UK and raiding HMB's book depot what can we do?

Amy, you get it, too?  I also get the, 'Well, the thing is, you have to be firm with them, and only give them what you want them to eat.' Excuse me, but Holly can refuse to eat for an awful lot longer than her mum or my nerves will stand.  And I don't want meal times to be a battlefield. I want them to be pleasurable.  It was the same when she was just a tot. We used to get the, 'The way to get a child to eat is to cut all their food into fancy shapes, and designs.'  Oh, really?  Holly sussed that one out from the word go. I remember - oh, my heavens, I remember - the time when her mum made her a  complete Disney castle out of carrots, sweetcorn, potatoes, and chicken.  She spent the whole afternoon on the wretched thing, and Holly took one look, stuck out her chin in the way only she can, and that was that.  And then we had the train shapes - carrots for wheels, the body of the train out of meat etc. Hopeless. We're holding on to the fact that she's growing - only an inch shorter than her brother who eats like the proverbial horse - her skin is good, and her hair is glossy.  I think when she hits teenagehood she might get better because she'll want to be 'like her friends', but if she doesn't I'm not going to be the one who tries to force feed her!

Maggie Kingsley

I found the new room.

Wow, I was so surprised when I went to Coles Bookstore here in Toronto and discovered 4 current Medical Romance books are the shelf.

And it was the current meds, not the three/six month old meds?

Double Yeehah!

Maggie Kingsley

Hey Bookbuff,

My head is spinning with this Cole's MedRo book sighting.  I'm simply going to quit trying to figure out this business.

I've lined up twelve authors for a book fair fundraiser book signing later this month.  It is in a book store, too.  Even with my ISBN# the book store lady cannot find my "currently available at Harlequin website" book to order.  She goes through a dristributor and isn't allowed to purchase from this website.  So once again, little ol' Lynne had to order her own books to have some on hand for the signing.  And it's a headache to work that out with the Barnes and Noble book store.  So in the future, unless I know it is a special mass market release, like the books in August were, I'm not going to try to promo myself in the US.  There really isn't any point.

Having said that, I cannot believe the influx of requests for pages on my website.  So my conference workshop really stimulated people into checking out my work.  I wish there was some way I could do this sort of thing in the UK where it really might make a difference in my sales.  Or in Australia.  I guess that's why the blogosphere is so popular.  People all over the world can communicate without leaving their chairs.

Thanks for the heads up, Bookbuff!

You're welcome, Rae, though maybe you might want to rethink my offer after you've read my post on H&H, and sadly every word of it is true.

Lynne, that is such a crying shame. You go to all the trouble to promote the med line, and now you can't get the books. Have you tried your editor?  Sometimes they can fast track books to you for a promotion, though I do know there's a limit to how many you can get. Or - whisper this - there are sellers on EBay who seem to manage to get copies of our books a couple of days before they've even hit the shops - quite how they do that, I don't know. Unfortunately, you could be way out of pocket, once you factor in the postage. You know, there has to be a better way of promoting the med line than this, there really must be.

Maggie Kingsley

I did you use email addy of Karin at M&B--she thanked me for expressing interest in reading Med Roms, but she kind of circled around in a defeated way as to why they don't promote Med Roms in NA (her--well because you don't read them over there, me--maybe you need to promote them so that readers know they are available--like put them in the stores, her--but there is no interest, me--pounding my head against a wall). But she did say that she would forward my email to the powers-that-be in Toronto.

Jessica!  It's great to see you here, but downright depressing to hear that things haven't changed for Meds in the US since 1995!

I love the line and am proud to be writing for them, but I get disheartened at times over US distribution.  I live here, but barely exist in print.

Nancy/Shandean - thanks to going to bat for us.  You're a gem of a reader!  Rest assured, we love you for it.

Maggie, thanks for understanding the frustration.  Amy is right, there's something about walking into a store and seeing your book there that legitimizes the author's efforts.  I just keep telling myself, I'm out there in the world, a place I never expected to be and I am grateful!

Believe me I am, just a bit frustrated, too.

Maybe someone should look into if they can improve the 'blurb' on the back covers, some of the titles are not quite attractive either, also the front covers are getting a little sleazy. (I am talking about the Presents, Romance).  

Maybe that would help to increase the sales.

Okay, <cover big mouth>  

Hello Orchid!  It's great to see you here.  I'm one of the newer Medro authors, US based.  We've had discussions about the titles, and the answer is that they title the books according to hooks that their readers like.  So since the MedRos are based in UK, the titles must be what that UK audience likes.  Not all things translate well, even int he same basic language, but marketing has their thing down to a science, and no one can accuse Harlequin of not knowing their market.  And the authors don't get a stab at the cover blurbs either.  Medical Covers have gotten better in my opinion.  At least lately, there seems to be some real hunks on the covers, like Amy Andrews latest, and Laura Iding's fireman.  And Dianne Drake has a real hunk on her latest cover - out in UK at this time.  I have a woman who looks exactly like the character I imagined when I wrote the book, but the guy doesen't look at all like Gavin.  The cover model looks like Roman Polanski!  LOL.  Gavin was a man's man.  A tough, tight, no-nonsense man who has short brown hair.  In my mind he was a HUNK!  But the cover shows a rather nice looking guy without any real sex appeal.  IMHO.  But I still like the cover, because it conveys a good feeling, and hopefully that sells.  It's great to meet you Orchid.  I hope you'll stop by again.

Deb!  We've been told that starting in Jaunary the US medros will all be available in e-books.  And we're very happy about that!

We love your support ladies!  And needless to say, we love Medical Romance!!!!!