An insider's guide to writing for Mills & Boon

Three of the publisher's most successful authors sweep Alison Flood off her feet for an impassioned journey through the tempestuous challenges of writing romance

By Alison Flood, guardian.co.uk, Monday 15 February 2010

Left - Mills & Boon want the title to reflect exactly what's in the book' ... detail from the cover of The Italian Duke's Virgin Mistress by Penny Jordan.

The Wealthy Greek's Contract Wife. The Prince's Chambermaid. The Italian Billionaire's Secretary Mistress. Mentioning the titles of Penny Jordan and Sharon Kendrick's latest novels for Mills & Boon draws embarrassed chuckles from both of them.

"Titles are contentious, I tell you," says Kendrick. "[Mills & Boon] want the title to reflect exactly what's in the book" – the subtext being that the authors might prefer something a little more subtle. "I never bother about the title," agrees Jordan. "When I buy books I buy by author. But Harlequin must know how to run their business."

In Kendrick's and Jordan's cases, they clearly do. Jordan is the acknowledged queen of Mills & Boon. She's been writing for the publisher since 1981, has produced more than 170 novels and sold more than 70m books around the world. Kendrick, meanwhile, has just delivered her 75th book. That's 75 heroes, 75 heroines, 75 all-consuming love affairs and an estimated 150 sweaty sex scenes – Mills & Boon couples usually do it at least twice in the course of their 55,000-word romances. How, exactly, do these authors keep it up?

"It is very difficult to have a new take on an old story, and romance is an old story – it's been there forever. It has to ring true to the reader but at the same time you have to write in a way that keeps them turning pages," says Jordan, who churns out 5,000 words a day, writing four Mills & Boon novels a year, as well as two sagas for HarperCollins as Annie Groves. "You know you've got to grab their attention by the end of the first page." In fact, in her romance A Bride for His Majesty's Pleasure, the scene is set by the end of the first paragraph: "'And if I refuse to marry you?' Although she did her best not to allow her feelings to show, she was conscious of the fact that her voice trembled slightly. Max looked at her. 'I think you know the answer to your own question.'" The reader knows what they'll be getting – ruthless ruler, virgin bride – right from the start.
Read the rest of Alison Flood's story at The Guardian online.