Carina Press, Harlequin’s digital-first romance imprint, plans to launch Carina Adores, a line of contemporary and classic LGBTQ+ romance tales with characters drawn from throughout the spectrum of LGBTQ+ communities. The new line will debut in June 2020 during Pride Month.
The launch of Carina Adores also marks the 10th anniversary of Carina Press. The new romance line will debut with two titles in June and then publish one title a month. Carina Adores titles will be released in e-book and mass market paperback formats. Titles will range from 55,000 to 65,000 words.
Carina Press senior editor Kerri Buckley emphasized that the new romance line will be inclusive and feature classic storylines crafted for LGBTQ+ romance fans: “Our launch authors have delivered fresh, authentic takes on the small-town reunion romance, the buddy road trip that turns into love, the May-December trope and so much more,” she said.
The first two Adores titles are The Girl Next Door by Chelsea M. Cameron, a female/female romance between millenial neighbors in a small town; and The Hideaway Inn by Philip William Stover, a male/male romance between a big time businessman and the now grown-up farm boy who broke his heart in years past.
In July Carina Adores will publish Just Like That by Cole McCade, a male/male May-December romance between a psychology instructor and a former student. August will bring Hairpin Curves by Elia Winters (a 2019 RITA Award-winner), a female frenemies-to-lovers romance set during a snowy road trip to Quebec.
Carina Adores is accepting agented and unagented submissions. For more information visit the Carina Press website.
Harlequin v-p of editorial Dianne Moggy said, “We’re excited to begin this inclusive romance line and look forward to bringing more stories that reflect the wonderfully diverse romance reading community.”
Corrections: the term "queer" for LGBTQ communities was removed from an earlier version of this story; Carina Adores is an LGBTQ+ romance line and not an imprint.
