Romance Editors in their Natural Habitat

by Victoria Curran
So…this morning…despite the Superromance Vision team needing Editorial feedback on covers ASAP…I decided to wander oh-so casually through the Toronto Harlequin headquarters…seventh floor, on the Editorial side of the fire door (Proofreading and Copy editing are on the other side of the end of this hallway, to the left of Editor Kathryn Lye). Got a cell phone in my hand…everybody loves to have their picture taken, right???


Yeah, this picture (below) of Kathryn isn’t posed at all. She is always smiling as she edits. (Subtext in her eyes: Get outta here and let me get back to this line edit, ta.)
Hey! Directly across the hall from Kathryn, where’s Dana, see below? 



Oh, right! Personal day…(Notice the little stack of brand new October 2015 Heartwarming books on her desk, yay! Happy belated book release to the October babies. (Also notice that Dana doesn’t shut or lock her door when she’s out for the day. Hm. I wonder what her office will look like when comes in at 8 a.m. Monday? Heh, heh.)
In the same hallway, the next door to the west: My office!

And, no, I am not holding onto the door frame for support. Even though so many many hours editing our beloved authors is killing my spine…whine…it’s all good! 



Hey, how did Dianne Moggy sneak into my office? She’s kitty corner far away from me… Photobomb! (Plus, how am I reading anything with my readers on top of my head. Hm: fake.)

Now, taking a sharp right at the photocopier outside my office and wandering past the room divider, whoa! It’s Assistant Editor Claire Caldwell’s lair. She’s the keeper of all books Heartwarming and Gold Eagle (long live Mack Bolan!). Although nobody has any idea what’s in that ancient file cabinet in front of her anymore… We think it holds up the divider.


And here’s Claire at her computer pretending to work…. Man, she’s better than me: she has her glasses on her face.






If Claire stood up and looked over the cube divider on her right, what would she see? Editorial Assistant Deirdre McCluskey, clutching her stash of Heartwarming books hot off the press, see below!





Now, wandering north (right) out of Deirdre’s office, past Johanna Raisanen’s office on the other side of the hallway, we reach…the home away from home of Executive Editor and frequent Heartwarming guest editor Paula Eykelhof, who has never thrown out a single card she receives from authors (can you see them displayed on her window blinds?)

Paula was not happy having her picture taken, so I will have to flee the country today:





Before I pack up my purse and make a run from Paula’s wrath, I quickly headed to the end of the hallway, past photobomber Dianne Moggy’s cozy corner office…


… to guest Harlequin Heartwarming editor, Adrienne McIntosh. Now, be forewarned, Adrienne is very dramatic. And she’s got a big workload…AND all she really wants to do is work with Heartwarming author Pamela Tracy all day long, but alas, she has to sometimes work on Harlequin American and Blaze. Poor, Adrienne!

Stop emoting, Adrienne, you’re the end of my tour for today and I’ve got to hop a bus and get outta town before Pamela Tracy posts this blog and Paula sees it!!!






Hope you enjoyed this little tour of romance editors in their natural (unnatural?) habitat. We skipped some of our species for space, so stay tuned to more pictoral adventures at Harlequin in the future!
It’s fall, we’ve got our new October Heartwarming books on our shelves, Canadian Thanksgiving’s around the corner and we have an awful lot to give thanks for. Thanks for reading, thanks for writing, and thanks for loving clean romance!

Victoria 

Comments

  1. Oops, we couldn't rotate Paula Eykelhof's picture! She is beyond a doubt coming after me now...eek.

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    1. Fixed it. Now she's just slightly tilted!

      Great post, Victoria. Thanks for sharing the pictures!

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    2. Thanks, Kate! You can't really make her out well anyway, so hopefully she'll forgive me. Eventually.

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    3. I think she's frowning...

      :-)

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks, Liz! Hey, congratulations. I don't have any prize to give you, but your editor Charles Griemsmann was the first to submit an edited story for A Heartwarming Thanksgiving. You win!!!

      (Readers stay tuned: the first of 13 Heartwarming Thanksgiving FREE stories goes up on harlequin.com Nov. 2.)

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    2. Uh-oh. Did I just spell Charles's name wrong????

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    3. Yeah, he's just one "n" on the end, but I won't tell him. :-) I loved doing the TG story.

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  3. Victoria - how fun to see all you wild women in your natural habitat. Seriously - fun to see you at work. I'd like to spend all day with Pam Tracy, too! Have a great weekend, all of you.

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    1. Well, who wouldn't love to spend all day with Pam Tracy. Especially in HER natural habitat. (Please, Harlequin, send me to Arizona? I don't care why.)

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  4. What a fun post! Love being able to "see" where you guys work. :)

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    1. Wish you could see it better! Next time I'll build in a day to crop tighter...

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  5. Umm...Ms Senior Editor, my name is spelled Macintosh, like the computer, not McIntosh like the apple. I realize it is fall and there are a lot of apples floating around, so I'll forgive you this once.

    Fun idea! It's like an editor safari!

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    1. Uh-oh. I've misspelled two Heartwarming editors!! Yes, an editor safari. Just don't feed them, please. (Okay, feed them. That's fine.)

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    2. Um, hello? Did everyone take a close look at this photo of Adrienne MACINTOSH? Does everybody see what I can see???

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  6. I'm laughing all the way through this. First I wondered at the mindset of the editors with CLEAN work area. Then, I relaxed when I saw a few with towering stacks (like my desk).

    Thanks to Kate James for fixing Paula so she doesn't get one of those slanted headaches.

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    1. Remind me to post a shelfie someday. It's so...embarrassing! (If you want to see towering stacks.)

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  7. How fun to get to see the editors and the offices. Thanks for the tour! As I've said before, you all look like you are having so much fun!

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    1. For sure Kathryn is! She gets to work with you on award-winning books, Tara. Congratulations on your recent win!!! That was for Honeysuckle Bride, right? Kudos!

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  8. What a fun tour. I hate to say that all of your offices look much more organized than mine. I must go rectify that ASAP. A wastebasket and a match???
    Happy upcoming Thanksgiving to you all. Eat and read to your heart's content.

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    1. Thanks, Roz. I get two Thanksgiving dinners this year. Bonus!

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  9. hahahahahahaha- I loved your tour, Victoria! I can feel the sense of humor and camaraderie coming right through those pictures. What a lovely group of talented professionals with whom to work! Of course, now I really want to know what's in that file cabinet...

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    1. I suspect it's nothing exciting... In the old days we used to have carbon copies of author contracts and folders of correspondence for each author. We also kept copies of slush letters and so much more! I'm sure that's what's in that file cabinet. I'm too lazy to go confirm it, though.

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  10. Wow! Fabulous tour. I think y'all must have the best jobs in the world. If this writing gig doesn't work out, can I camp out in your office? P.S. I'd be the one hiding under the desk with a stack of books and reading all day.

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    1. Sure, LeAnne! You'd have to wedge in among all the electrical cords, the blue box, the green "organics" bin, the wee garbage (that's all they'll let us have now: they're trying to force us to recycle), and the running shoes.

      Oh and Rula Sinara's 2014 National Readers' Choice Award, Best First Book, is wrapped carefully in a bag tucked out of the way down there. (I promise, Rula, someday I'll get that to you!!!)

      Make yourself at home!

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  11. What a wonderful, fun Friday post!! See, our editors are just as fun and entertaining as we Heartwarming authors! Loved this, Victoria. Thanks for giving us a glimpse!

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    1. Thanks, Cerella! I'm now off to try to meet up with my roofer to pick the colour for my new shingles. Can't go wrong with black, right?

      Have a fabulous weekend, everybody!

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  12. This was so much fun! Thanks for making me smile today, Victoria. p.s. I hope no one ever sneaks into my work space to take a photo. Yikes. It's a tad messy....

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    1. You're welcome, Carol. Embrace the mess, I say!

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  13. Happy Thanksgiving, Victoria! Thank you for introducing us to the editorial staff! Nice to see Johanna's name here, if not her photo. Tell Paula it's lovely to see her. She's the first Harlequin editor I ever met and she was so encouraging. Some (ahem) years later when I made my first sale to AR, Paula sent me an email the next day, saying she hoped I remembered her and offering her congratulations. Swoon! Her email is still in my inbox.

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    1. Happy Thanksgiving back at you, Lee! I'm sorry I missed Jo (hanna). I was in a mad rush because I had a call with an agent and I should've snapped the photos earlier in the week. My bad. I actually got photos of guest editor Piya Campana and ran out of time to include her--I had Pam on hold waiting to put this thing together!

      I will definitely remember you to Paula. She's a mentor for me, for sure. Such a great editor. Kate James is so lucky to have her as her editor!

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  14. What a wonderful Friday surprise!! Oh how I envy the Harlequin editors who are surrounded by all of these beautiful Heartwarming books, and others. It would be my dream job to work there. What a privilege to have gotten a glimpse into the offices where the magic happens. Thanks so much for sharing with this Heartwarming book lover. ( :

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    1. It's a pretty great job, Laurie I, there's no denying it! Could be why we don't have high turnover here...! Enjoy your weekend, hope you get to read!!!

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  15. It's wonderful to put faces with names! And of course no one looks like I expected. You are all beautiful...not that I expected you not to, but with editors sometimes...:-) Thanks for a delightful blog!

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  16. I'm late to this party. On deadline right now--and you should see my desk! No, you shouldn't but I do know where everything is. Loved seeing the HW offices and all the editors. Thanks, Victoria. Dana's office is really tidy!

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  17. WOW! Look at Dana's desk. I will not be showing anyone my desk, not until I clear all the Diet Coke cans away. Extreme recycling...yeah, that's what I'll call it!

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  18. HOLY MOLY. How can anyone work at such a clean desk like Dana's???? I envy that. I have clutter on top of clutter. And at my feet, behind my back. I'm so impressed. This was the MOST fun tour I've had in a long time. Thanks, Victoria!!!! I'm still smiling.

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  19. I'm doubly glad that my computer issues have been resolved...seeing this post was worth every nail-biting, hair-pulling, lip-gnawing worrisome moment! What a treat visiting the offices--and seeing the faces--of our favorite publishing pros! :-)

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