Presenting...Diana Ventimiglia

Name: Diana Ventimiglia

Title: Associate Editor, Desire

Born: Long Island

Lives: Astoria, Queens

What is the last book you bought? Between You and I (and yes it is actually spelled that way; I gasped too)

Last non-job related book you read?
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, currently reading
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Whose books are must-haves for you?
Anything Hemingway and Nick Hornby. I won't say I'm obsessed but I am.

If you were going to the Oscars, what color would you wear? Probably yellow or emerald green.

When you have a terrible day, what comfort food do you have to have?
Burgers and Cupcakes...there's actually a place that sells both and it is the best place on earth.

The movie you need to watch at least once a year:
About A Boy, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (that is certainly the gift that keeps on giving the whole year through), Super Troopers, and When Harry Met Sally...I could watch that movie everyday for a whole year.

What is your theme song?
Sex Bomb by Tom Jones (this could be because I want to go on a date with him) Walk the Dinosaur by Was not Wuz...if you haven't heard it check back to 1986 and you'll thank me.

Go to movies/netflix/buy?
Go.

When you’re not at work, what do you do?
Go to the gym, write, draw, hang out with friends, walk to Magnolia's to get cupcakes.

Where would you live/what would you do if you didn’t have to worry about working?
I think I would live everywhere...or at least try to visit as many places as possible...I'd also study some languages...Italian, French, Japanese.

Who is your longest friend that you still talk to weekly?
My friend Kevin that I've known since middle school.

What was your favorite class in school and why?
Art because there were so many things to experiment with and tools to express myself.

How would you like to become famous?
I'd like to win Project Runway...but first I'll need to learn how to sew....

What do you wish you had invented?
Hmm...cell phones, although I really hate them sometimes.

What other occupation would want?
I would love to be a photo journalist for National Geographic/Anything business... absolutely not want?
Traders, brokers, blah, blah. I don't think I could ever muster the energy to like it.

If you had the option of living one hundred years in the past or future, which would you choose and why?
I've always wanted to go back in the past and see what New York looked like, what my home town looked like, etc.

Which TV show/movie would you like to be on and which character would you play?
Dee from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia...because I have a girl crush on her and I love that show.

What is your least and most favorite household task? Oddly enough I like cleaning the bathroom...I hate doing dishes

What was your favorite childhood book? When did you last reread it? Norma Jean Jumping Bean!!! If anyone has ever heard of it or seen it please let me know!!! I haven’t read it in years!

What would other students have said about you way back when?
They would have said I was outgoing and had really big hair...I'm not kidding, I used to pick out my curly hair in middle school because I didn't know what to do with it.

Do you believe in ESP/magic/ghosts/aliens?
I totally believe in ghosts and they scare the bejesus out of me!

What’s something your colleagues don’t know about you?
I used to figure skate competitively.

What is your favorite sound?
The rain.

Do you have pets?
No, but would like to sneak one into my apartment!

Name one guilty pleasure:
Celebrity magazines--love them!

Who are your role models?
My mom and my friend Mara who has the biggest heart of anyone I know.

And, to paraphrase James Lipton from The Actor’s Studio, when you arrive at the pearly gates, what would you like God/Allah/Mohamed/Moses (insert any other deities here) to say to you?
That I was a kind person who cared about people...and that they have a Burgers and Cupcakes 2 blocks down that way.

Presenting...Allison Lyons

Here's a series of questions Allison answered for an internal wiki that she agreed to share. Some of you may have already 'met' Allison when she posted earlier with her report on the Emerald City Conference.

Name
Allison Lyons

Title
Editor, Continuities

Where were you born?
Queens

Where do you live now?
Queens

Where would you live if you didn’t have to worry about working?
In the mountains

What was your favorite class in school and why?
English--books...

Favorite book you’ve worked out that is out? Ever?
Too many to choose from.

What is the most fun part of your job?
Editing

How would you like to become famous?
I wouldn't...ever

What do you wish you had invented?
The electric fan

If you had the option of living one hundred years in the past or future, which would you choose and why?
Past--I always wanted to know what it was like in turn of the century New York

Which TV show/movie would you like to be on and which character would you play?
TV:
Jane Tennison on Prime Suspect

Movie:
Amelie as Amelie

What is your least and most favorite household task?
least:
Washing floors

most:
Making the bed

What was your favorite childhood book? When did you last reread it?
The Tiny Little House, by Eleanor Clymer--can't remember the last time I read it

Did you ever look back on your high school quote? What do you think about it now?

Yes and it makes no sense--then or now

Do you believe in ESP/magic/ghosts/aliens?
Yes

- Presenting...Mary-Theresa Hussey, Executive Editor

Presenting...Mary-Theresa Hussey

Did you know that when Harlequin Presents launched, it was intended to simply be a verb, that is Harlequin was "presenting" the author to the readers? Well, here I am to present Mary-Theresa Hussey, Executive Editor of the Silhouette imprint.

What does she do? She is responsible for overseeing the overall direction for all Silhouette lines: Desire, Special Edition and Romantic Suspense at the moment, as well as working with her own individual author base.

She is a remarkable reader with an amazing memory and is the unofficial "go to" person for all queries received that start: "I read a book about a guy with a girl and an escaped bear and a car race, but I can't remember..." But let me let her speak in her own words! Tell us, how did it all begin?

"I began as an Editorial Assistant for Silhouette Romance, working for Tara Gavin in '89. She said she knew she wanted to hire me when I sat down, saw Diana Palmer and Ann Major covers on her wall and knew the characters names!

From that point on I moved from Silhouette Romance, Special Edition and Intimate Moments, back to Silhouette Romance to be Senior Editor and then Executive Editor for Silhouette. I was also lucky enough to be in on the start of LUNA Books, and still work with many of those authors."

My list is fairly eclectic. I’d love some Romantic Suspense or Desire writers, and currently work with Red Dress Ink and MIRA authors as well as a lot of paranormal/fantasy writers for Romantic Suspense and Nocturne as well as LUNA. While I’m not as active in acquiring as some other editors--I have a lot of management responsibilities as well--I do keep an eye out for strong projects to bring forward for the company.

"I first started reading series romance when I was 11. We were in Ireland and I ran out of my Nancy Drew titles and my aunt (also Mary Theresa), gave me a batch of Mills & Boon titles. The first one was a Janet Dailey title called THE MASTER FIDDLER and I was hooked by Cholla (yes, that was the hero’s name!). After that, I discovered the stash in the library and used book stores and I’ve never looked back!

"Even in college I used a friend’s local address to get access to the library so I could feed my addiction throughout the year. (I'm pretty sure the statute of limitations has run out on that crime. :-) ) I still love the books we publish, and my only frustration is that I’ll never get to read them all!

"I read a lot of Presents, Desire, Romantic Suspense, Special Edition, Intrigue and Blaze and a smattering from the other lines. I’ll also read a bunch of the MIRA and HQN titles as well. And of course all the LUNA titles I didn’t work on! So when I graduated and discovered I could actually get a job working for this company and get these books for free…Well, my fate was sealed!

"I was a series addict from a young age! Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Rick Brant, Cherry Ames, Vicki Barr, Trixie Belden, The Happy Hollisters , The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, Tom Corbett and more were followed by Tolkien, Heinlein, Norton and others. Characterization, dialogue and fast-paced plotting are and were key. Along with romance, I still love fantasy, romantic suspense, mystery, thriller and larger than life stories.

"The best part of this job is access to the wonderful people—authors and colleagues and readers. Even when I’m reading a manuscript that won’t be publishable, I feel that there’s a sense of hope and positivism in romance that I don’t always find when reading other genres.

"For me, the most difficult part of the job is rejecting manuscripts and dashing hopes. It’s especially hard when it comes to projects that aren’t really very bad, but there’s nothing special about them. As we say, we can often work with a storyteller who needs structure, but someone who has structure but no voice, well, that just isn’t something that an editor can easily fix.

"On the positive side, one of my most recent and exciting purchases has been for debut author Rachel Vincent’s werecat series. STRAY came out in '07 and ROGUE is out right now--April, 2008. [Isabel interjects that she's just learned Rachel will make her debut on the April 13th New York Times Bestseller list at #32, whoo hoo!]. I’ve already read PRIDE and the proposal for PREY. She’s got a wonderful voice and energy and enthusiasm and I really look forward to everyone else reading these projects.

"I have always felt that series novels have a 'formula' in the same way that other genre fiction or certain types of poetry does. There’s a structure, a rhyme scheme, an expected conclusion and a theme, but the writer’s voice and subject matter make it sing...or falter.

"And at the heart of genre fiction is the characters. The reason readers can return to a familiar story idea is the characters are believable, relatable and filled with emotion. The ability to have a reader live vicariously through the character is what makes a real storyteller.

"It’s not an easy thing to do either—I’ve tried maybe twice to write something and never got beyond two pages. The commitment needed to finish a book is intense, and the work is hard! I have total respect and admiration for those who make it look easy and who can face the screen or empty page day after day.

"As for what it takes to make a good editor, most editors I know are intensely curious about a lot of things, but always about people. They watch movies, read magazines, obsess about TV and pop culture. They respond to the zeitgeist, but what interests them is the individual in the situation. They also have to have great memories and incredible patience, as they read a manuscript multiple times!

"They must be willing to invest themselves by striving to help the author say what she wants to say as clearly and cleanly as possible, walking a delicate balance between being a “first reader,” a representative of the publisher and an advocate for the author. Communication is key, and making sure that the end goal—of a “good story, well told”—is achieved.

"If I wasn't going to be an editor—and money, skill and talent were no object!—I’d probably like to be a photographer for children, landscape or even weddings. But it makes a nice hobby at least!"

Their loss is our gain—though Matrice is also our unofficial photographer and in between the numerous piles of books, her office has many beautiful photographs of children and landscapes and family events. Truly, a renaissance woman.