Thursday, July 23, 2009

American Heroes... and then some


I posted this on the American and Vintage Rose shared blog the other day, but it bears repeating so I thought I'd post it here, as well.

Last night’s American Rose line celebration chat proved, once again, that while our numbers in AR are small, our hearts are mighty! Thank you to all the editors and authors who came out to celebrate with us.

AR editor Allison Byers took great delight in finally giving us the scoop on what she’s been teasing us about all month long—our American Heroes series. For those of you who missed it, here’s a recap:

American and Vintage Rose* are combining for a series entitled "American Heroes." The hero/heroine can be a person in the military or one can be an everyday person who inspires someone, changes his/her world for the better, or displays heroic qualities that a romance reader would embrace. Think of Rosie the Riveter, suffragettes, a southern belle who saved her home, northern ladies who had Antietam at their doorstep, nurses and doctor who fought under enemy fire, firefighters during the Chicago fire. There are so many historical figures in our lifetime, and we on the American Line want to capture that spirit and share it with our readers.

The stories can be 30,000 to 100,000 words. The time frame is anything from 1492 to 1992 (the end of the first Gulf War). Vintage stories can be set on foreign soil, but the hero/heroine must be an American. American Rose stories must be set on American soil.

What I found most interesting was when we began to discuss the many kinds of heroes there are out there. I was amazed at the ideas our authors threw out there. Canadian Mounties? Absolutely. A pilot on 9/11? You betcha. Gulf War heroes? Yep.

The bottom line, authors, is these are YOUR lines and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my three plus years at the helm of the historical department, it’s that no matter what direction I think a line may be heading... the authors usually have a different idea entirely! Which is why we are always open to suggestion.

In the next few weeks I will be working hand in hand with the VR and AR editing teams to revise the guidelines for both Vintage and American Rose, and I welcome your input. I am continually amazed by the enthusiasm and excitement you show for these lines, and if there’s a direction you’d like to see these lines take that they haven’t already, or have a question about whether we do/do not accept certain settings, feel free to email and tell me.

After all, the authors are in charge of things around here, I’m just along for the ride. *G*

Nicole D’Arienzo
Managing Editor, Historical Division
ndarienzo@thewildrosepress.com


*to clarify… Vintage Rose accepts both American and non-American settings post 1900. The American Rose line accepts settings from 1492 through the first decade of the 20th century but only deals with American settings. English Tea Rose accepts all non-American settings up to 1900 and Cactus Rose focuses on historicals set in the Old West.

4 comments:

Anita Mae Draper said...

Hey Nic, I hope it's okay to pass this on...I've spread the news on my personal and my writing blogs today.

I don't want to post my URL's here in case you think I'm enticing you to go look...
however, if I don't and you want to look, you shouldn't have to take time from editing to go searching for them either.

So, here they are, just in case:

http://anitamaedraper.blogspot.com
and
http://prairiechickswriteromance.blogspot.com

(I'm so helpful. You can tell I'm Canadian, eh?)

NicDarienzo said...

Thanks, Anita Mae! By all means, pass it along!

Friday is my "catch up" day for blog-hopping and visiting. Each week I try to visit blogs/websites I haven't been to before, you never know when I'll be stopping by! *G*

Unknown said...

i just submitted an ms to their sweetheart rose line.
great blog! i'm following you now. you should pop over/follow mine. i have all things books...
nice seeing you.
xo

Jen Childers said...

History is just one story after another, that's why i love it. i have to laugh when we talk about our strong heroines as though women "back in the day" werent. Have you met your grandma?
My grandma was such a peacemaker, yet her hubby trained WW1 vets, she saw 2 sons go to WW2, and 2 more to Korea, grandkids to vietnam and great grandkids to the gulf war. She was the spirit of joy through so much pain, she was awesome.
Jen