Presenting...MIRA & Spice Editor Susan Pezzack

Let me introduce you to an editor from the Toronto office—Susan Pezzack. I'll let her speak for herself!

Tell us about you: I’m a huge Anglophile. I adore any and all things British, especially Monty Python, BBC television and have a mild addiction to Coronation Street. My fiancé tells me we can never live in England because he’s sure I’d run off with the first man who spoke to me with that yummy accent.

Role at Harlequin: I’ve been with Harlequin for seven years now. I began in the Marketing department, but moved over to Editorial after a year. I spent about three years working on Temptation and Blaze, then got the opportunity to work on the single title side of the business with MIRA Books. Then, in 2004, I was asked to help roll out Harlequin’s new single title erotic fiction imprint, Spice. Now I edit and acquire for both imprints.

Did you always want to work in publishing? For a long time, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. My degree in Fine Art and French Literature didn’t really offer me much in the way of gainful employment! I’d always been a huge reader – I used to bring a book with me everywhere as a kid, and I was always reading at the table during meals, even if it was only the back of the cereal box. I finally decided to try to explore whether I could do something with my love of books that also paid the rent. I went back to school and did a degree in Publishing with a focus on editing, and here I am!

If not, what else did you want to do? I saw myself as the curator of the
Royal Ontario Museum, believe it or not. My love of art and archaeology is still very strong, but unfortunately curator jobs are pretty hard to come by.

Favorite recent film/film of all time: An impossible question! I’m a sucker for romantic dramas/comedies, particularly the British ones like Love, Actually, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Sense and Sensibility and Notting Hill…but I also love historical dramas like Lion in Winter and A Man for All Seasons.

Favorite author? Roald Dahl, hands down.

Favorite meal/to make, to eat: There’s not a lot of food I don’t enjoy. Good, authentic fish & chips is one of my favorites. I could eat my weight in pastry. When we travel to Montreal it’s essential we have steamies (steamed hot dogs) and fries at least once a day. It’s the worst food in the world for you, but it’s such a treat.

Hobby? Obsession? I’m an avid horseback rider. And I’m obsessed with decorating shows.

Do you get to write off sex toys with your new Spice responsibilities? Lingerie? Hmmm, I haven’t thought to ask, but now that you mention it...

I want to be Powerful! But still…Pretty

It’s many years ago, it's Fall, and I’m having lunch with agent Irene Goodman, and I’m asking about her kids and we get into the Halloween costume discussion.

I hadn’t really thought about how important costume selection is to a child. It is who you are that year. Who you want to be. Who you want to try on—to stand out. To blend in. To connect. To explore.

So I asked, “So what is your daughter going to be for Halloween this year?” and I get an earful! She was thinking about this, she was thinking about that, she couldn’t decide. I can’t remember now all the options and alternatives, but there were many. Finally it all boiled down to one heartfelt cry, which her mother shared with me—which I have never forgotten:

“I want to be powerful! But still…pretty.”

I nodded. Wisely. Don’t we all?

And isn’t that what is so wonderful, so seductive about reading? About stories? That we slip into each character’s skin for a time and become powerful, pretty, everything beyond and in between.

We can indulge the many faces of our complex selves, we can balance any opposing fantasy within a story, assuming any sex, ethnicity, age, orientation, experience, social status. Indeed we can lose our human-ness entirely and run with the wolves, swim with the dolphins, soar with the birds.

We can find ways to be powerful…and recognize that we may also still want to be pretty. Or just pretty powerful. Or whatever.

________________

So what should you be reading to get you in the Hallowe'en mood? Check out
Girl's Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky, out this October from Red Dress Ink. Mindy sends these adorable eVites to her signings. She also has a blog. I haven't inspected them closely enough to understand the Cocktail motif. Shaken, not stirred?

I've just finished Girl's Guide after getting hooked on the first few chapters in the acquisition meeting when Mary Theresa presented it. It was delightful then, and after grabbing a copy of the book (the last on the shelf!) I indulged myself in this irresistible fantasy.

Is it a book of unpredictable tricks filled with interesting treats or a intriguing treat filled with unexpected tricks? It was a total treat! I really enjoyed it, loved the heroine, loved her familiar, enjoyed exploring a half-real half-created Washington, D.C. (my sort-of home town) through the author's eyes.

Pat Schroeder Speaks Out in Response to Books@Google

The following letter is from former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, in response to "Books@Google" by Jason Epstein which appears in the current issue of The New York Review of Books. I don't know if it will get published, though it certainly should.

I thought it very articulately captures the points at issue, was beautifully written and wanted to share it with you. Yes, I have Pat's permission!

To The Editor
The New York Review of Books
October 4, 2006

In his encomium to Google (TNYRB, October 19), Jason Epstein flicks a dismissive hand at the legal action which publishers and authors have undertaken in an effort to bring Google’s library project into compliance with U.S. copyright law. He also mischaracterizes that project as an “utterly heroic....effort to digitize the public domain contents of the books and other holdings of major libraries.” Were Google’s activities limited to public domain materials, neither the publishers, nor the Author’s Guild, would be in court.

In line with its self-stated mission “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” Google is now engaged in making digital copies of the entire collections of some of this country’s most prestigious academic libraries: Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, and the institutions comprising the University of California. It was only a matter of time before Google focused its ambitious vision on the books and journals housed in these libraries. They are the sum total of who we are, how far we’ve come, and where we’re headed. Former Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin said it better than anyone I know: “Books are the main source of our knowledge, our reservoir of faith, memory, wisdom, morality, poetry, philosophy, history, and science.”

There is no doubt that Google has the creative vision and resources to carry out this monumental task. Nor is there any question about the value of making lesser known and out-of-print books readily accessible and searchable, giving individuals and institutions an opportunity to make more informed choices about contents before committing to a purchase, bringing the works of little-known authors to a whole new audience. But Mr. Epstein completely misses the point when he says that “Lawyers for Google and the publishers will continue to exchange Talmudisms on this conflict until book publishers decide to enter the digital world to everyone’s advantage...” We’ve got news for Mr. Epstein—publishers are already planted in the digital world with both feet! Other players, including Yahoo, Microsoft, Amazon, Adobe, the Internet Archive, as well as the publishers themselves, are currently engaged in projects and strategically planning others to make works accessible, searchable, and available to the broadest possible audience on the Internet without abandoning copyright protection.

The key question is rather: does Google have the right to make complete copies of someone else’s creative work for its own financial gain, infinitely enhancing its advertising revenue, without permission from the work’s creator and without sharing any of the benefits it will derive? We think not! We object to Google’s library project not because of its lofty goals, but because of its shoddy business model—a business model which assumes that a $120 billion dollar, profit-making corporation can use its size, power, and image to expropriate rights and property that belong to others and then add insult to injury by telling them it’s for their own good.

Google is doing it right in Europe by obtaining permission from authors and publishers before digitizing their works. Google is doing it right here by licensing content in highly publicized arrangements with the Associated Press and Viacom. Google is even doing it right with individual publishers who have opted to make some of their works available for digital search. Google is not doing it right in the library project! Instead, it presumptuously assumes it can copy complete works still under copyright without obtaining the permission of the copyright holder, claiming its actions fall under the rubric of fair use because they will only show “snippets” of the work to searchers. "Snippet" is Googletalk, not a legal term. While it is possible for a library patron to copy a portion of a book under fair use, Google cannot claim that patron’s right. The word “snippet” is thrown around to distract people from what Google is really doing--reproducing entire copyrighted works for financial gain without permission. This is emphatically NOT fair use. Oh yes, and Google also neglects to say they’re making another full copy of the work, without permission, and giving it to the library as "payment" for being able to copy the library's entire collection. Using someone else’s work as "currency, " without permission, has never been a fair use.

If the perfect search engine is, as Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin once described it, “like the mind of God,” then let it be used in ways that nurture and support the creative genius that feeds it, allowing writers and their publishers, photographers, visual artists, composers, and other creative spirits to benefit from their own work, just as Google benefits.

Pat Schroeder

More Than Words Book launch October

Introducing the third annual More Than Words anthology.

They’re your neighbors, your aunts, your sisters and your best friends. They’re women across North America committed to reaching out and changing lives, one good deed at a time. Five of these exceptional women have been selected as this year’s recipients of the Harlequin More Than Words Award:

Debra Bonde's Seedlings Braille Books for Children
Deb Fruend's Team Activities for Special Kids
Seana O'Neill's Cottage Dreams
Kathy Silverton's Stitches from the Heart
Gloria Gilbert Stoga's Puppies Behind Bars

And once again five award-winning bestselling authors have kindly offered their creativity to write original short stories inspired by these real-life heroines:

Catherine Mann
Kasey Michaels
Susan Wiggs
Tori Carrington
Karen Harper

Available wherever books are sold or at www.eHarlequin.com in October 2006. Proceeds from the sale of More Than Words anthologies are returned to the program to support more causes of concern to women.

If you know a real-life heroine, nominate her for next year’s More Than Words anthology at www.HarlequinMoreThanWords.com

Presenting...Associate Senior Editor Patience Smith

Patience had a rich and varied career prior to becoming an assistant editor at Harlequin in '97, but I'll let her share her information in her own words. I'm delighted to present Patience Smith....

Tell us about you: I started my relationship with Harlequin at fourteen while studying for final exams. I had pulled an all-nighter to study for History and had three hours before my Latin exam. To get through that day, I had to drink many Tabs and read a romance.

After stealing Harlequin Presents from my roommate’s pile, I devoured them when I should have been studying declensions and conjugations. I wound up getting a C on the History exam and an A—would have been an A+ if I hadn’t skipped an entire section due to sleep deprivation spaciness—on the Latin exam. I credit the romances for helping me ace Latin.

I continued to read romances during those times when I should have been doing something else—like writing my master’s thesis, doing lesson plans, typing memos for lawyers and answering phones for oil traders.

Role at Harlequin: I’m the Associate Senior Editor for Silhouette Intimate Moments which will turn into Silhouette Romantic Suspense in February 2007.

A lot is happening in Silhouette Intimate Moments/Romantic Suspense. The line has already changed editorially in that we are looking for suspense in every book—though the romance is the heavy focus. We’re looking for highly romantic, passionate category romances set anywhere in the world and containing some element of suspense.

The SIM/SRS team has revamped the covers, which will begin a transitional phase in October 2006. And the line changes its name and introduces its new covers starting in February 2007. Very exciting!

The feedback for the changes in the line has been overwhelmingly positive.

Did you always want to work in publishing? I’ve always loved reading and writing, so I knew I would wind up doing something with words, if only to do graffiti in bathrooms.

If not, what else did you want to do? I wanted to be a movie-star, but because I don’t like auditioning, memorizing lines or starving myself, this didn’t work out.

Also, I can’t act.

Did anything surprise you about the editorial role? It surprises me how little time there is to edit, but also how much fun it is to see a line evolve over a year—and to be a part of it.

What are most challenging/most satisfying aspects of job? The most challenging aspect is gathering all the materials in order to make deadlines. I have to rely on many people, which I’m not used to.

The most satisfying aspect of the job is the interaction with authors and editing. My favorite time of day is early morning when I first come to the office. It’s quiet and I usually spend the first hour just reading before noise levels rise.

Anything make you totally insane? Doing things at the last minute. Most of the time, it’s my own fault.

Can you finish the sentence: "If I read one more story with…. I will fall asleep." If I read one more story with the hero and heroine bickering for no reason, I’ll fall asleep. Same goes for the heroine stating at the beginning of the story that she doesn’t have time for a man and is too focused on other things.

Or “I wish I could find a story that….” I wish I could find a story that makes me cry. That happens every now and then and it’s always a treat (waterproof mascara is a good investment). That’s when I know I have to have the book.

Favorite recent film/film of all time: Favorite recent film: The Devil Wears Prada. Favorite movies of all time: Jaws, Notorious, Heat, The Hours, All About Eve, Hannah and Her Sisters, Silence of the Lambs

Favorite meal: To eat: Steak, mashed potatoes and peas (and cheesecake). To make: cupcakes. And I excel at overcooking rice, vegetables and pasta.

Most amazing recent purchase: I bought in one week a new big TV, computer and cell phone but have trouble working all three of them. I have discovered the magic of texting, which annoys my friends and family since I’ll send them really important messages like, “Hi.”
Hobby? Knitting, watching movies, collecting elephants (not real ones)

Most surprising thing about you we’d never guess in a million years? I’m known in my family for using a lot of foul language, which I think I inherited from my grandmother. Also, I read tarot cards, did calligraphy professionally for fifteen years and was the ace pitcher on a co-ed softball team all through high school.

Guilty pleasure you refuse to feel guilty about? Watching Dr. Phil.

Most interesting thing you've done lately? This is not so much interesting as it is obsessive—In the last seven months, I’ve knit ten pairs of slippers, four purses and two Peruvian hats, all of which I’m going to sell.

Inspiring event? In August, going to a family reunion and seeing so many interesting, fun people in one room. It made me realize how lucky I am.

Today’s favorite expression or quote? "Whatev”, which I got from Senior Editor of Special Edition Gail Chasan. Who has the time to add the extra syllable?

Comic book character that embodies characteristics you most admire? I sort of like Marv from Sin City. He’s done some evil deeds, but his heart is mostly in the right place. At the other end of the spectrum: Wonder Woman. Lynda Carter has always been my hero! I even bought her album.

Superpower you would enjoy having? Ability to beam myself places without going through the pain of traffic, driving, sitting in cramped places for hours, living through turbulence.

If you had a magic wand that would allow you to do one thing Naughty and one thing Nice, what two things would you do? Naughty: I wouldn’t protest if a magic wand allowed me to steal several million dollars from a bank without anyone ever finding out. Basically, anything having to do with theft, as long as I don’t have to be punished for it later. Nice: Put the cast of the Jon Stewart show in the Oval Office.

Least favorite characters in fiction and why? Rochester and Heathcliff because they’re just too much work. Also, this is wrong and bad of me, but because I had to read Le Petit Prince so many times, I came to despise him.

What do you have on your bulletin board? A picture of Ganesh—the god that removes obstacles. A lot of charts for deadlines and an 8x10 glossy of Keanu Reeves, courtesy of Marie Ferrarella.

Looking for… New authors for SIM/SRS. This line has a strong author base and we’d love to add new voices. As always, I’m looking for a book that will sweep me away and make me forget about day-to-day responsibilities (like studying for Latin and History exams).

Bought several great… Veteran authors to contribute to Silhouette Intimate Moments/Romantic Suspense. Rachel Lee, Catherine Mann, Lindsay McKenna and Susan Grant will contribute short stories for two separate military Christmas anthologies to be published in 2007 and 2008. And six authors—Marie Ferrarella, Caridad Pineiro, Lyn Stone, Nina Bruhns, Kathleen Creighton and Karen Whiddon—came together to create a new royal, international themed continuity, MISSION: IMPASSIONED, which will happen in 2007.

Just about to publish…. Lindsay McKenna's paranormal romance, UNFORGIVEN , which is in the launch month of Silhouette Nocturne, is about to hit bookshelves in October.

This story is amazing. Jaguar shapeshifters, the fight for good and evil and falling in love with the enemy—oh my!

I read it in one sitting.

Congratulations...

To Susan Wiggs for hitting the top 15 New York Times Bestseller list with her MIRA title Summer At Willow Lake on August 27th, 2006, her debut on the published list. Totally fabulous! I love Susan's writing!

To Maria Snyder for her Luna title, Magic Study being selected as an October Book Sense pick. Her first book, Poison Study also got a starred review in Publishers Weekly when it came out and was also selected by Booksellers as a Book Sense pick. Both fabulous stories. Available in
eBooks or Audio.

To Charles Davis for getting a starred Publisher's Weekly review for his MIRA title Angel's Rest, a touching, heart-tugging tale of childhood, place and the shifting currents of innocence and awareness that coming of age brings. A lovely story.

To Deanna Raybourn for getting a starred Publisher's Weekly review for her first book Silent In The Grave coming out in MIRA in January, 2007. It's a fascinating, unusual and compelling mystery. Worth the wait!

To Pam Jenoff for her debut novel coming out from MIRA in March, 2007, The Kommandant’s Girl for getting a starred Publisher's Weekly review.

To Crystal Green for having a very cool video clip for her upcoming October Silhouette Bombshell, Baited. You can check it out on www.YouTube.com if you search on Baited-Book-Teaser (or just click on this nice link!)

To the queen of romance Nora Roberts, for her always stellar bestseller performance on her most recent titles, Dangerous (Risky Business, Storm Warning and The Welcoming) and By My Side (From This Day and Temptation). I know I shouldn't have favorites, but I do have a soft spot for Storm Warning!

To Silhouette Nocturne , for being born this October! Happy Birthday!

Lindsay McKenna's Unforgiven and Kathleen Korbel's Dangerous Temptation are an amazing pair of stories to launch the line with. Of course, I am only speculating, knowing those authors, because I can't get hold of copies of the books for love or money! While I managed to snag a cool Nocturne bag at the RWA, do you think I was smart enough to score books? Noooooo. Why do I want to fill my suitcase with my own books, I thought. Well, eventually the excitement will calm. Surely? As someone who loved Shadows, it's really exciting to see the market has "grown into" this genre, and to be fully participating in it again!

To Vanessa Del Fabbro for winning the 2006 Christy Award for excellence in Christian fiction in the Contemporary Series category for her Steeple Hill title, The Road to Home.

To Tara Taylor Quinn for her next title, In Plain Sight, interview in BookReporter.com, and do take advantage of the $1 off coupon!

To M.J. Rose, whose Venus Fix is one of The Book Reporter's Reading Group Guide titles--check out The Venus Fix Reading Guide .

To Debbie Macomber for her free Podcast on Audible! Not to mention 6 Rainier Drive success on the New York Times list (#3 on upcoming October 1st New York Times list) as well as having not one but TWO Harlequin Ginger Blossom Pink Manga titles (No Competition and The Bachelor Prince) out and available. It doesn't get much better, does it?

To Moi--I will be guest posting on one of my favorite romance blogs, Romancing the Blog on October 10th, introducing myself & what's happening in new business.

There is always something going on...the challenge is keeping up!

Copyright, Digital Coursepacks and a joint announcement from Cornell and the American Association of Publishers

I wanted to share a recent press release from the AAP on copyright. As you can see, it involves college coursepacks. There is more detail, but a significant point is that duplicating material digitally must be treated with the same respect for copyright as if it were physically duplicated.

You may think that is fairly straightforward Copyright issue-reading someone's material whatever the format, is accessing and using their work-but for many, it doesn't seem to be so straightforward. Correcting that perception is an educational process.

And while I expect there are very few enlightened institutions of higher learning where romances are making up many of coursepacks, the principle of copyright is at issue, and that should be important to us all. Especially as it is respect (or lack of) for copyright that is being taught to a new generation.

As almost every academic is a published author and I expect many students hope to make their living creating intellectual property, this should be a core value of our academic institutions. I really applaud Cornell for having stepped up and so compelling articulated the importance of this issue to their institution and to education.

Press Release :

CORNELL UNIVERSITY AND PUBLISHERS ANNOUNCE NEW COPYRIGHT GUIDELINES GOVERNING USE OF DIGITAL COURSE MATERIALS
Jointly Written Guidelines Affirm That Copyright Law Applies to Electronic Course Content

New York, NY, September 19, 2006: As part of ongoing discussions over the manner in which Cornell University provides copyrighted course content to students in digital formats, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and Cornell recently announced a new set of copyright guidelines to govern the use of electronic course materials on the library's electronic course reserves system, on faculty and departmental web pages, and through the various 'course management' websites used at Cornell. The guidelines affirm that the use of such content is governed by the same legal principles that apply to printed materials.

The guidelines, which were jointly drafted by Cornell and AAP, make it clear that faculty must obtain permission to distribute such works to the same extent as permission is required with respect to reproductions and distributions of publishers' copyrighted works in hard-copy formats.

"Cornell and AAP concur that instructional use of content requiring the copyright owner's permission when used in a printed coursepack likewise requires permission when used in an electronic format," said John Siliciano, Vice Provost of Cornell.

"The Publishers and the authors they represent are gratified that Cornell has responded positively to their concerns and has taken a leadership role on this issue in the academic community," said Pat Schroeder, former Congresswoman and head of the AAP. "With more and more content now available in digital form, it is important to clarify the copyright responsibilities that accompany use of that content,
and to be sure that colleges and universities are enforcing the rules they adopt."

Mrs. Schroeder continued, "AAP hopes that Cornell's actions will set an example for other colleges and universities and provide them an opportunity to review their own practices and institute similar guidelines."

Discussions are ongoing between AAP and Cornell concerning additional approaches that may be appropriate to encourage compliance with copyright law so that instructors' postings of electronic course content conform with legal requirements.

More info on the AAP site:
Press Release