A Vow to Wow Romance Readers
Attention Romance Readers! True love does exist and you can find it between the pages of a new series written by established authors . Read More of this Story
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‘Media’
Series Creator TRUE VOWS, the first Reality-Based Romance™ series
Michele made her own True Vow to hubby Matthew in July, 2007
At a very early stage in my publishing career, I had a pestering desire to do something noble in the book business. Sure, we New York assistants all dreamed about answering the phones and searching the slush piles for the “famous editors” we assisted, and then climbed the ladders ourselves with even greater ambitions of buying our first book, and then once we were promoted to official acquisitions editors (if we didn’t leave the biz first), dreams of the New York Times bestsellers list danced in our heads. But where was the nobility in it all?
I wanted to create something new, not reinvent the wheel, and I wanted to take chances and turn heads and do all of those sexy things that ambitious and passionate people do. I didn’t realize that I would take the back way into what would become my personal contribution to publishing, but the back way is the route I was destined to take, and the unexpectedness of it all makes my latest publishing endeavor even sweeter.
The endeavor? It’s called True Vows, of which HCI Books is the proud publisher. I have been the editorial director for HCI Books for four years, and for those of you who aren’t quite tapped into the non-fiction publishing arena, HCI is well-known for various brand name series, self-help, recovery, and memoirs, to name a few. And before my career at HCI, I specialized in strictly non-fiction, mostly of a prescriptive nature, with no intention of trying my hand at fiction.
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Romantic Fiction is about to take a Leap into the World of Real-Life Hearts and Flowers with a New Series
They’ve had the wedding, now read the book
Romantic fiction is about to take a leap into the world of real-life hearts and flowers with a new series of ‘faction’ books based on the intimate stories of happy couples. Guy Adams meets the pair who inspired the genre
Like any other happy couple on their wedding day, Mike Davoli and Anne Miller felt like the stars of a special, private love story when they looked into each other’s eyes and uttered the words “I do” on the picturesque shoreline of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, one August evening last year.
Today, they still feel like the stars of a special love story – but it’s one that the entire world will soon be invited to share: having become man and wife, the Davolis have agreed to have their relationship immortalised in a steamy Mills & Boon-style page-turner called Hard to Hold.
The novel is part of a unique experiment in a literary genre called “faction”, where writers use slightly embellished versions of real-life stories to create fiction. It will therefore tell how Mike and Anne met at a rock concert, fell in love, and overcame a series of ups and downs to achieve their happy ending.
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A New Line of Books has Romance Novelists Embellishing the Love Affairs of Real Couples
Our steamy bodice-ripper wedding
A new line of books has romance novelists embellishing the love affairs of real couples by Cathy Gulli
“What if they turn you into a crazy drug dealer and I’m a manic depressive transvestite?” That was Anne Miller’s initial question to her husband, Michael Davoli, when they were contacted by a publisher about starring in a new genre of romance novel—one based on real couples. “You don’t know what to do when strangers say, ‘Let us tell a fictionalized version of your story, please,’ ” says Miller. “You have to think the worst.”
The couple, who live in Albany, N.Y., was discovered by HCI Books, which publishes inspirational non-fiction titles such as the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, after their wedding appeared in the New York Times’ “Vows” section. HCI was starting a line of “reality-based romance” books—a unique literary venture. The first three novels, marketed under the banner “Vows: Life Romanticized,” will launch in October. They’ll be penned by bestselling authors, who between them have published more than 150 romance novels: Alison Kent (A Long, Hard Ride), Julie Leto (Stripped), and Judith Arnold (Barefoot in the Grass). Miller and Davoli’s story should capture readers, says HCI editorial director Michele Matrisciani, because it has the elements of a juicy romance: “The conflict, drama, love, quirkiness, personality.”
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Barbara Vey’s Blog on PW – HCI Launches True Vows
HCI Launches True Vows by Barbara Vey
February 8, 2010
HCI Books is launching a new genre in October 2010 that they promise will “rock the romance world and redefine memoir forever.” Their hook is that each book in the True Vows series is based on a true life couple.
“Welcome to Reality-based, or RB Romance™ where the inspiration of each novel is ripped from the headlines and based on personal interviews with real couples whose love stories read like the best in romantic fiction. Esteem authors Judith Arnold, Alison Kent, and Julie Leto are beloved story-tellers whose distinctive styles have won them large and loyal followings. Readers trust them to deliver compelling, page-turning reads, and beginning this fall romance readers will not be disappointed. They will be captivated by the unexpected—an experience that transcends anything that’s ever been offered in the genre before.
When fantasy meets reality anything can happen. Believe it. It’s true.”
The first book in the Vows series is Hard to Hold by Julie Leto and features Anne Miller and Mike Davoli:
New York lobbyist Michael Davoli feels like he’s been sucker punched when he meets Anne Miller at a concert. When fate leads him to move into same Albany apartment building where Anne lives, Michael falls hard. After all, Anne’s hot, his dog likes her, and she’s catnip to the senses after she picks a lock faster than Sydney Bristow can disarm a nuke.
Always fiercely independent, Anne’s crackerjack reporting skills and keen intellect are no match for the chemical reaction she has to this man with electric blue eyes. But while Mike effortlessly holds her with his gaze, he withholds the embrace she longs for. Why is he so distant? Has Anne misread his signals? When he finally confesses that he suffers from a neurological disorder that he’s learned to disguise from others but could keep him from ever holding her through the night—she makes a choice that changes the rest of her life.
Anne isn’t about to let anything like Tourette’s Syndrome keep her from the man of her dreams. But Mike has a second secret. Will this secret be the one that even a grand passion cannot survive?
With her trademark wit and sensual artistry, Julie Leto knocks this unforgettable romance out of the park and straight to the heart. Based on the true love story between Mike Davoli and Anne Miller, Hard to Hold is a modern day fairy tale that proves that the best things in life—and in romance—are real.
I found their real story on WeddingWire.com complete with pictures from their wedding taken by friends (used in the blog today). I know a lot of stories are based on real people, but this is the first time I’ve seen a website where you can actually feel like you were at the wedding. Kind of takes the whole happily ever after to a whole new level.
Read the Rest of the story on Publisher’s Weekly
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