angela james might be one of my heroines

I've followed Angela James on her blog, Romance Divas, and most recently Twitter. Her journey just as a woman and mother today has been pretty cool to see, and of course as an editor. Now the news that she'll be heading up Carina Press, a new digital imprint from Harlequin, is so cool! My impressions of her from various boards etc. is that she's a good editor and has excellent business savvy...something I'd like in my own editor, lol.

I used to be a book editor myself, waaaaay back in the day before the Internet was as friendly and all-pervasive as it is today (that would be from 1995-1998 if we must be exact). Working for Alyson Books as a 20-something was eye-opening and cemented my desire to stay in the writing field. It also gave me tremendous insight into the publishing process and what editors go through. I like to think I was a good editor, respectful of my writers' work, while also holding firm to the line of polishing a book in order to give the buying public something wonderful (and darn sexy) to read. In one of my "other" lives as a freelance writer & editor (yeah, I'm one of those...have several diverse interests, lol), I had writers say positive things about my work as their editor that gave me confidence...and reminded me that the writer's work is always paramount, although a healthy dose of sound advice from a professional someone else is good too, heh. :)

So. Congrats to Angela James, and congrats to Carina Press. I like the idea of NO DRM too and higher royalties too--very much so. And, having worked with Harlequin as a freelance back cover copywriter for several years now, I respect their business savvy, marketing, accessibility, and definitely the friendliness and professionalism of the staff there with whom I've been in contact.

Overall, a win-win situation for everyone it seems. I'm looking forward to seeing how this venture will progress. Congrats to all involved!