Something About Engines
My local newspaper had a front page - front page!!! - story on Harlequin’s new NASCAR series. As I’ve stated before, this is a 16-book series where all books have a NASCAR setting. I don’t know a thing about NASCAR, so I can only assume “NASCAR setting” means in and around racing. I’ve also stated that it is pretty unlikely I’ll be reading these. No offense to the authors. Congrats to them for finding this new romance writing niche and for selling, but I have zero interest in NASCAR.
The article talked about how author Nancy Warren and NASCAR driver Carl Edwards teamed up so that Warren could make sure she was accurate in her portrayal of the NASCAR world. The bottom line is this: NASCAR is excited and Harlequin is excited. I’m not, but I’m not alone on that either. Kate Duffy (my editor at Kensington) commented on the series and said:
Certain things are hard to translate into romance fiction. Music and dancing, for example. What I’m concerned about is I don’t know a whole lot of romance readers who love NASCAR the way they love “American Idol,” say. Sports is just not something we talk about at our big romance conference.
Uh-huh, what she said. For example, I’m a chick who loves college sports. Despite that, except for a few by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, I can’t think of many (any, actually) sports-related romances I enjoyed. For the most part, I have no interest in a sports guy hero. So, like Kate, I’m skeptical.
For the authors’ sakes, let’s hope Harlequin and NASCAR are right. The NASCAR spokesman pointed out that 40% of NASCAR fans are women, so maybe… The fact the books are being sold at races and the NASCAR website, in addition to traditional Harlequin sales venues, might help. It will be interesting to see if this sort of cross-promotion does well. If so, it will be even more interesting to see who else Harlequin and other publishers team up with for future series.
February 19th, 2007 at 10:48 am
I don’t understand the NASCAR thing, either. But to each his own. Hopefully the books will find an audience.
Cindy
February 19th, 2007 at 11:08 am
The partnership has paid off. Look at the free and positive publicity Harlequin and Nancy Warren has received in print papers from the NYT to your local paper. It’s probably the smartest thing that Harlequin has done in years.
February 19th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Well…I guess we aren’t the target audience for the Nascar thing if that’s what we’re saying.
Jane, I’ve not read the articles in NYT etc, but are they talking about the books, or are they talking about how the partnership come about? We’ve seen this before. The papers are talking about the million dollar advance and the kind of publicity the publisher’s putting behind the book, and…nada. The book doesn’t sell because they aren’t talking about the book.
February 19th, 2007 at 11:37 am
It is tough to argue with free publicity. I just wonder if there really is a big market for this. It could be that many folks will say: I love Nancy Warren and don’t care what the hero’s career is. Like Cindy, I hope so because I love to see authors sell books and people buy romance. We’ll have to see if this was a good move by Harlequin after a series of “huh?” moves.
May - There is a photo of Nancy and Edwards. The article talks about Nancy’s book as well as the partnership between Harlequin and NASCAR. The article also mentions Pamela Britton’s NASCAR book from last year - IN THE GROOVE. Hers was one of three to introduce the concept of the NASCAR romance before the launch of this series. I don’t remember any other author or specific book being mentioned. I’m guessing the idea is to get folks interested in the concept. Heaven knows the series has gotten a significant amount of media attention, which is Jane’s point.
February 19th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Ten foot pole.
February 19th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
LOL, Alison.
Cindy
February 19th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
I have been to a few NASCAR races and watch it on tv when I remember it is on (and nothing else is). I am not a diehard fan though like some I have seen (especially at races…it is kind of scary how serious this is to some fans…something I never understood). It is just something that I enjoy and have on in the background while I read or do other things…just like any other sport I watch. I never really thought about it as a romantic setting though (although the film Days of Thunder had a bit of romance in it).
I have only read one of the NASCAR books. A NASCAR Holiday, an anthology that came out around Christmas I believe, was enjoyable. In the anthology, racing was a theme, but races were not the main story really…that could be because the book took place during the off season when drivers aren’t racing much. The stories involved a woman wanting to impress her father so she helps a rival with his car, a BUSCH series (think Minor League for racing) driver who wanted to race in the Big Leagues (NEXTEL series) so he hires a woman to pose as his wife to impress a sponsor, and a driver who is followed by a doctor for an article to prove drivers are athletes. The thing about the basic plot of each story (with the exception of the last one maybe) is that they could have worked with any theme about a business or sport (and probably have). I don’t know if the other NASCAR books are that way or not…probably not based on the descriptions I have read.
I must say that I have heard more about the line itself rather than the books. I would rather hear more about the stories. I buy based on story, not line. I remember when they first announced the line. One of the NASCAR websites listed possible titles poking fun at the idea.
I guess that I would read more of the books, but only if the storylines interest me…I am that way with any book. I don’t usually care what the theme is, if the plot sounds good. I am open to new things…if I wasn’t I wouldn’t be reading contemporaries now and never would have touched a paranormal. I would have missed some great stories. But to each his own!
I would be interested to see where the books sell the most…I wonder if areas near racetracks would have higher sales figures than those without racetracks….NASCAR is big here in the South, so maybe the books will do well here. I don’t know. I have heard about some promo events taking place at the racetracks for the line…I think they had a Speed Dating event in Daytona to promote the book, Speed Dating…you never know what will work when it comes to promos.
Sorry for rambling!
February 20th, 2007 at 7:39 am
I will start by saying that I am not a Nascar fan. I think the sport is boring beyond belief. The only part I find interesting are the accidents and I can watch ESPN’s highlights and see them. That being said a friend of mine gave me a Harlequin Nascar series book and I love it. The characters were great and the story line flowed nicely. I have read books in every genre and can say that I have loved some and disliked some. But apparently I am in the minority, I love a sports hero. To me a sports hero is truly an alpha male. They are normally tough, muscular and sexy. There are the sumo wrestlers that I don’t care for and such that I will definitely not fantasy about, but a nice quarterback and I am all there. Most of the books I have written have a sports hero, however their career only gives you an idea of their personality. I mean lets get really you can have an accountant with a kinky side you know nothing about. I think that a hero’s profession is only a small part of why we fall for them. Just as a side note, I love SEP’s book, her latest Natural Born Charmer is probably one of my favorites by her.
February 20th, 2007 at 8:56 am
I am a NASCAR fan and never miss the races that are on mosts Sundays. So I imagine I’ll enjoy the series.