what’s in a name?

It occurred to me recently that I might be confusing people with my flip-flopping & interchangeable use of the terms “Harlequin Desire” & “Silhouette Desire.”

Well, there’s a reason for this.  And in case you haven’t already heard, I’ll try to explain…

Starting in June of this year (2011), Harlequin’s “Silhouette” imprint will be absorbed under the Harlequin umbrella.

Basically, that means my line, Silhouette Desire, will become Harlequin Desire…  Silhouette Romantic Suspense will become Harlequin Romantic Suspense…  Silhouette Special Edition will become Harlequin Special Edition…  and so on.

As far as your reading experience is concerned, you needn’t worry—nothing vital is going to change.  The lines will remain as they are now, both story-wise & when it comes to covers.  The only thing that’s changing is the imprint name & graphic as it appears on the books. (i.e. The “Silhouette” name & icon that appear in the graphic above will turn into “Harlequin.”)

Which may take some getting used to, I admit.  I’ll also admit that I’m a little sad to see Silhouette go. :blinkie   I love Harlequin as a whole, but I’ve always been just a smidge partial to the sexy sound of “Silhouette” & the image of a man & woman in an embrace associated with it.

But I’m more than willing to go along for the ride & see how the name “Harlequin Desire” looks on my covers from now on.  (Starting, as I said, in June—just in time for HER LITTLE SECRET, HIS HIDDEN HEIR.  Woot! :dancing )

And in case you’re wondering why this change is being made…  Well, the truth is, the Silhouette line actually originated over at Pocket Books.  When Harlequin took it over, they kept the Silhouette imprint to avoid reader confusion.  But now that Harlequin is so well-known—a household name, really—it only makes sense, I guess, to just go whole-hog & make everything Harlequin.

So don’t be afraid when you start seeing this change pop up, okay?  Don’t freak out when your Silhouette Desires suddenly become Harlequin Desires.  And if you’re doing a search or looking around & can’t find “Silhouette Desire,” just change your focus a little bit & look for “Harlequin Desire” instead.

I swear, nothing is changing but the name!  And you know what Shakespeare said about names…a rose by any other would smell just as sweet. :uhoh   Or in this case, sexy.  My Desires will remain just as sexy as always—I promise! :socool

Comments

11 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Laura J. says:

    This will sound bad, but I really had no idea that they were once two separate companies. That could be because I am sort of late to the game when it comes to reading them, but if you wouldn’t have told me then I probably wouldn’t have ever noticed the change. :angeldevil Of course this could explain why I have a hard time when I was searching for older titles since I almost always put in Harlequin Desires when searching. :crazy

    • Heidi says:

      Ha! If you’ve already been searching for Harlequin Desire, then you’ll be ahead of the game come June! :biggrin

      And really, most people do refer to the thin category books as simply “those Harlequin romances.”

  2. mary k says:

    Ah, good to know.

    :goodmorning

  3. Anne says:

    I think they still should have them separate. Granted, I have read a lot of Harlequin books in my time, but my consumer impression of Harlequin is not as high as Silhouette.

    • Heidi says:

      I have a wee preference for Silhouette, too, but I think that’s because it’s been ingrained in me from early on. My fave lines have always been Desire & Intimate Moments, both of which fall—fell!—under the Silhouette umbrella. :biggrin

  4. liz says:

    as long as i get my monthly reads they can call it whatever they want thanks for the info :angel

    • Heidi says:

      LOL Same here, Liz! Won’t change my opinion of the lines or the publisher or anything like that. And as long as they don’t go changing the cover looks or the names of the specific lines, I’ll have no problem finding what I’m looking for. :cantputdown

  5. Katherine Garbera says:

    Heidi; Sounds good, but I think its starting in April 2010 because my April Desire is Harlequin Desire. So Desire readers should start looking for the change in April.

    Kathy 🙂

    • Heidi says:

      Really? I thought the official letter had said June, but hey, if they’re starting in April, it’s April. (2011, of course. It’s only bad to make that mistake if you’re still writing 2010 on your checks. :goofangel )

      Makes me even more glad I posted this now, tho…I was going to hold off till Spring or Summer cuz I thought I had plenty of time. Now, maybe not so much. :crazy

  6. Katherine Garbera says:

    So I totally don’t know what year it is. I meant 2011. :happyjoy

  7. Hollie says:

    figured it would happen sooner or later…
    my mom just brought me over a box full of my OLD! harlequins… from back in the 70’s….that was when they came in the mail in an 8 or a 10 pack! and yes i will re-read them! LOL!!

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