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Romance for (insert name here)
10/02/2007 12:47 - (SA)
Portland - This Valentine's Day, one American publisher wants you to be the one doing the romancing.
Canada-based Books By You says it sells thousands of personalised romance novels each year with titles such as ER Fever and Pirates of Desire, where the reader is the star.
It is not Bronte, but customers are going crazy for the novels that make them the main characters.
Customers answer 20 to 30 questions about themselves and their beloved, ranging from body type to pet names.
Then the details are woven into one of the company's eight pre-formatted novels. Clients can even have their photos added to the book jacket.
One customer had a marriage proposal included at the end - for $34.95 plus shipping and handling.
Turnaround time is quick.
Publisher Michael Pocock said that if customers ordered their personalised book on Monday they would get it in time for Valentine's Day.
'It's a kick'
Virtually all the orders were done on the internet, Pocock said.
Kym Sprague, who bought a book for her boyfriend of three years, said she got a kick out of seeing her and her boyfriend's names and lives played out in the book.
She even let her daughters take a peek, but only at certain pages. The books have no explicit sex scenes, but the company says there is "lots of heavy breathing and rolling around".
Pocock said each book was carefully crafted to avoid alienating any customers, avoiding topics like marriage or religion.
The books are modelled after traditional romance novels, a tense plot, a happy ending and a few stolen kisses along the way.
Many boring Valentines...
Romance novels make up nearly 40% of all fiction sold, according to a survey by Romance Writers of America. So it is little surprise that the twist on the traditional seems to be doing well.
"I've been the victim of boring Valentine's Day gifts for many, many years," said Wendy Pickett, a 38-year old nurse who wrote ER Fever and Racing Hearts. "Any time I can help the opposite sex is very cool."
The company's busiest time of the year is Valentine's Day, followed by Christmas.
But the company said it was busy year-round with books for wedding anniversaries and, lately, for spouses who were overseas at war.
Richard Flynn, 23, bought one of the books for his fiancé last Christmas.
"It's really hard for a guy to pick out a gift for a girl that shows meaning and thought, this does," he said. "But you really have to know your girlfriend or fiancée, if you get the eye colour wrong..."
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South Africa
