Love, Actually

The popular series of romantic novels Mills & Boon gets an Indian makeover

Tall, dark and handsome. Petite, pretty and perfect. The two shall meet, fall in love and share an amazing chemistry. The altercations and differences notwithstanding, the couple will walk down the aisle and live happily ever after. In Mills & Boon novels some things are forever, like love. However, when the popular romantic novel was launched in India, its publishers, Harlequin Mills & Boon India (HMBI), decided to give it an Indian twist. The authors of Indian Mills & Boon set out on a mission to keep in mind the preferences of Indian readers while conceiving the characters, situations and stories.

While over 20 titles are now locally published and distributed every year through Harlequin, Manish Jain, country manager of HMBI, says that the success story dates back to 2008, when they launched the India operations. The company’s network, which is more than 100 years old, comprises 1,300 authors from diverse backgrounds. An author development programme is conducted through the contest titled Passions Aspiring Authors Auditions (PAAA). “The first Indian Mills & Boon, titled The Love Asana, was launched in December 2010 and written by Punjab-born Milan Vohra. The second winner of the PAAA contest, Aastha Atray’s book will be launched in December 2011,” says Jain, adding that the cover of the novels will also have Indian faces, selected via a model hunt.

Full report here Indian Express