"20 Questions" with Senior Editor Brenda Chin

One of the lines we have the most questions about is Harlequin Blaze. So we've gone directly to the source--the Senior Editor who actually has the answers, Brenda Chin! Of course, her time is valuable, so we had to limit ourselves to asking about the line instead of asking for addresses to cover model's homes. So, taking from your submitted questions, we've picked these pressing issues with which to address our resident Queen of Steam.

And away we go...

1) What is the most important message you would like writers approaching your line to know before submitting?

I consider it imperative that a would-be author understand a series before trying to submit. She needs to know the series hooks and how they are used, the type of stories-and characters-that are appropriate to the line, and most importantly, the series promise to the reader. In Blaze, for example, we don't have a lot of boundaries. However, we guarantee a supersexy story with characters an average reader should be able to identify with. The level of sexual tension needs to be at its' highest level, and the hooks used are meant to stir our sexual interest, to make us envy-and identify with-the heroine in her sexual quest. However, this leaves a lot open as far as storyline. We've done books that are paranormal, contemporary fantasies and even ones set on foreign soil. In July, we'll be launching our newest mini-series, Blaze Historicals, which breaks the contemporary time barrier Blaze has had all along. Lucky for me, Blaze authors are good at pushing their limits.

2) Heroines: What is the most important quality your readers are looking for in their leading women?

The most important quality our readers look for in a Blaze heroine is reader identification. Not only does a heroine need to be identifiable, she needs to be realistic. This is crucial to Blaze, because if the reader does not identify with the heroine, if she doesn't become the heroine, then she's nothing more than a voyeur once the sexual situation gets started (which in our books, is usually pretty early). But if a reader can identify, she gets to go along for the ride and vicariously experience the sexual adventure.

This brings us back to the realistic part-all characters' actions, reactions and motivations need to be believable. Nothing pulls a reader out of a story faster than when a protagonist does something totally inappropriate to his/her character, just to move the plot along. A writer needs to ask herself...if I were in this situation, what would I do? And then go with that.

3) Heroes: Same question.

Blaze heroes also have to be like real men...to a certain extent. He's like any hot guy you might meet on the street, but with more charm, more depth, more charisma. A Blaze hero needs to know what to say and what to do to make a woman melt. But our guys don't fall into any particular category - we've had construction workers, gigolos, sports heroes, veterinarians, doctors, firemen... Average men who are heroes at heart. And they, too, need to be identifiable, because they are attainable to ordinary people like you and me. And that feeds into the fantasy.

4) Please list the three most important qualities you are looking for in a manuscript.

The three things I look for in a manuscript are #1) Voice, #2) Characterization and #3) Storyline and hooks. While the plot and story elements are important, they're nothing if an author can't create characters that jump off the page, and write in a voice that grabs me and won't let go...

5) What is the most common-or annoying-mistake or misapprehension writers are making with their submissions? (ie: incorrect grammar, format errors, inappropriate behavior in characters, etc)

Ever since the Erotica market has taken off, the Blaze editors have been inundated with a lot of sexy manuscripts that aren't suitable for us. The problem? There's a lot of sex...with no characterization and no emotion. This is probably the most regular problem we encounter - people forget that Blaze is, first and foremost, a romance. A very sexy one, yes, but still a romance at heart. And for a romance to work, you need to create characters a reader will care about, and make sure there's an emotional payoff at the end.

6) How important is the first page of a manuscript to you?

The first page of a manuscript is important, but not critical. First pages can always be revised...or changed altogether. Starting in the wrong place is a common mistake we often see in manuscripts from unpublished authors.

7) Can poor synopsis skills cause you to reject a manuscript outright?

Poor synopsis skills can only make us reject something outright if a synopsis is all we have to go with. And it depends on what is considered ‘poor'. If an author gets the story across-its hooks, characters and sensuality-in a voice that intrigues us, poor synopsis structure isn't going to hurt anything. However, if the synopsis makes it look as if the author isn't capable of writing a workable manuscript, that's a different story.

8) Is it unwise for an unpublished writer to create secondary characters with the intention that they'd have they have a spin off manuscript of their own?

I don't think it hurts for authors to link books before they publish. However, they can't get too attached to them-it's not likely all linked stories make the cut. It's happened, I'll admit. But not often. Linking characters can also lead to a very common mistake - letting the linking stories/characters overshadow the main one. I've seen a number of books where the author was so busy making sure I saw the big picture, i.e. the complete mini-series, that she neglected to tell the story she was trying to sell first.

9) Will there ever be a time when writers will be able to submit their manuscripts via email?

I can't say if there'll ever be a time when writers send their manuscripts by e-mail...but there's no system in place yet. Right now, we allow some of our published writers to send them electronically, mainly because we have tight deadlines and e-mail is much faster. However, even that can get complicated...and costly because the manuscripts have to be printed. I don't our policy changing anytime soon.

10) Blaze has one of the shortest submissions guidelines on EHarlequin. Is there a reason for that? Is there anything you refuse to consider for Blaze?

First of all, I need to apologize - I've been meaning to update the Blaze guidelines for a while now. As I mentioned before, as long as a manuscript is very, very sexy, has a hook that tickles a reader's sexual interest, and seems to fit Blaze in regard to characters and word count, we would consider it.

11) Can a writer submit for sub-lines of Blaze, such as Extreme or Blush? And will there be more sub-lines in the future?

When submitting, it's fair for an author to target one of Blaze's sub-series like Extreme or Blush. However, in the end, it is the editor's decision whether or not the book is published that way. After all, a manuscript that an author considers quite revolutionary could be fairly ordinary to us. After all, we know what's coming up in the Blaze schedule, as well as what's gone before.

And yes, I'm sure there will be more sub-series as time goes on. As I've mentioned earlier, the next one is Blaze Historicals--the first book, BOUND TO PLEASE by Hope Tarr is out in July 2008. Another sub-series we've come up with this year is Blaze Encounters-multiple linked stories in one book written by the same author. Leslie Kelly published ONE WILD WEDDING NIGHT in January of this year and it was a great success. We've got a few more coming next year - Tori Carrington is launching our 12 month military mini-series, Uniformly Hot!, with a Blaze Encounters featuring four Marines on shore leave. And then Stephanie Bond will be doing another one in October, to celebrate Blaze's 500th book.

12) Are there specific guidelines for Extreme or Blush?

There are no specific guidelines for these sub-series. To be Extreme, a book has to meet two qualifications - 1) It has to be the type of story that's never been done in Blaze before, and 2) The level of sensuality has to be at its highest point. For Blush, we're looking for stories that are written in a light, playful voice, stories that aren't overly dramatic. However, the level of sensuality still needs to be Blaze-worthy. These books aren't any less sexy than an average Blaze.

13) Could MALE POV be a stronger element in any of the books in the future?

As far as point of view, we tend to keep the male/female ratio about 50/50 (of course, this can vary a bit by author). I really don't want to mess with this too much, because each point of view offers something critical to the line. We need to see the heroine's point of view because we absolutely need to identify with her, to experience the sexual thrills through her. And we need to see the hero's point of view because part of that sexual thrill is knowing what he's thinking about the heroine/us. Understanding the hero's motivations and desires actually increases our sensual experience because it's something we never get in real life. By keeping the point of view close to 50/50, we get to see-and experience-the story from every angle.

At the 2007 National Conference, you were paraphrased as stating that everything from traditional hooks to stories that are almost mainstream will be considered and the covers will get even hotter. Our next few questions will center on this.

14) What have been some of the more successful series and types of stories for Blaze? Such as Secret Baby for Presents or Cops for Intrigue and Romantic Suspense.

Some of the bestselling themes for Blaze are... Forbidden Fantasies, The Wrong Bed, men in uniform, cowboys, Extremes, Blushes, hero-driven stories of every type and Christmas books. However all the Blaze books do fairly well - there's not a lot of difference between the themes above and other types of stories. One thing we've noticed is that Blaze readers tend to read by author more than readers of a lot of other series do. And a number of Blaze authors also write Single Titles, either for us or other houses, so they bring that readership back to the series shelves with them.

15) The Blaze guidelines call for a "Sex In The City" sophistication, but the covers are somewhat traditionally "steamy". Is there a possibility the covers will be changing for a sleeker look? Can you give us an example of the changes to look for?

When we went to 6 books in July 2006, we made some adjustment to the covers, going for the sleek, sophisticated look. However, that didn't work particularly well, and in April of last year, we agreed to change our approach, pushing the sensuality in everything - covers, titles, back cover copy. And it's worked! We currently have an incredible art director who understands what women find sensual, and he's given us some wonderful images. Even our sales reps love the new covers, and we can't deny sales have improved. So, we're going to keep going with what's working.

16) We know that Blaze books are sexier, edgier and hotter than any other line at Harlequin. Is there a minimum number of sensual scenes for a manuscript to be considered? Or a preferred point by which the relationship will be consummated?

There are no requirements, per se. However, I'd expect to see at least 2 consummated love scenes, with an incredible amount of sexual tension and a number of close calls before that point. Basically, from the time a reader opens a Blaze book, all they should be thinking is...When are they going to do it? And the characters should be fixated on the same thing.

17) Blaze guidelines were updated last year and it was noted that "paranormals" had been removed from the examples. Are these no longer being considered?

To tell you the truth, I don't believe ‘paranormals' was ever in the Blaze guidelines, although I could be wrong... Anyway, we do publish several paranormal books a year in the line. However, I have to be careful that there aren't too many...and that these books are Blaze books first (complete with high level of sensuality and sexy hook) and paranormal second. While I personally love paranormal stories, I have to give Blaze readers what they expect first, with a few treats like paranormal, historical, etc. thrown in along the way.

18) How prolific do you expect a Blaze author to be?

Ideally, we'd love new authors to be able to write two books a year, if given the opportunity. The schedule doesn't always allow us to publish them that often, but I've discovered it's very useful to have a few books waiting in the wings for when holes appear in the schedule. If you can only write one book every year, or every year and a half, it will be next to impossible to build an audience. And as I mentioned, Blaze readers tend to go by author. If you don't have enough books out, you're not going to be recognized

19) Why are there no medical Blazes? Mills & Boon has a Medical line, but these are very different from American style medical dramas. Would something like Gray's Anatomy type stories be considered?

As a matter of fact, we do have 3 medical books coming this year. Lori Wilde's next mini-series, Perfect Anatomy, takes place in a medical facility (kind of like the TV series Nip/Tuck), and features doctors and nurses as protagonists. It'll be out in June, August and October of this year.

20) Please recommend three books from your line that best showcase the tone and feel of your line, for aspiring writers to review.

I'd have a hard time picking just three. An author might want to instead consider popular themed mini-series to get a feel for the line. Ones to watch are Forbidden Fantasies, The Wrong Bed, Do Not Disturb, 24 Hours, Uniformly Hot! and Lust in Translation.

Thanks for having me, Dee. I hope this has helped...

Brenda

So there you have them, kiddies. The answers your little hearts were craving after. Feel free to post your thoughts or thanks and be sure to follow them up with submissions! Blaze is waiting for YOU!