Match made on paper

Representational pic

Established in 1908, the success of romantic fiction publisher Mills & Boon (M&B) has only grown over the years. In its home country, the United Kingdom, it sells one title every 10 seconds. And now Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, is set to join their roster, for she recently announced that she would be coming out with an M&B book, Her Heart for a Compass, in August 2021, drawing even more attention to the genre. If you'd like to give it a go, too, we invited Milan Vohra, who became India's first M&B author when her first book The Love Asana was released in 2010, to suggest how to go about reading and writing it.

Find what works for you

You know how with food you have an appetite for only certain items on certain days? Vohra says the same applies to reading too - some days, you want to chill out and read and on others, you want to delve deeper - and M&B have a readymade solution at hand. They've got several imprints to cater to diverse tastes. "It's an amazing brand experience. You have clear imprints for those who, say, like country romances or gay romances or those who like it romantic but not explicit," she shares. It is also key to note that picking up an M&B book is different from picking up any other work of romance. Vohra, whose latest book Head over Heels was released last year, likens it to watching an animation film by Disney. "You know it will give you a happy outcome and that you will go through a fresh journey each time. It's the same with an M&B book."

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York

Keep judgment aside

Don't dive into an M&B book with any judgment, which Vohra states, people often do with romance novels. She says, "It's as if there's a hierarchy, with literary fiction at the top of the pie and romance, way at the bottom. Then within romance, there are people who'll say, ‘Ah, it's romance but it's not like M&B.' And these are people who've probably not read an M&B in a very long time. But you need to keep in mind that M&B is successful for a reason. So, read it with the view of, ‘Let's see if this surprises me.'"

When writing, be authentic

Don't stick to a formula. There is a huge volume of work out in the world already, so it is easy for readers to know if the writer is trying to be someone else. "Write an authentic story even if you are writing to a certain trope - like how you have the closed-door murder in a suspense novel," Vohra asserts. She also emphasises the importance of not pinning your narrative on something flimsy. "For me, the worst is when a romance is constructed around a silly misunderstanding, which really could be resolved with just a conversation. Build a good reason for the angst, or else, you are wasting your reader's time."

M&B authors of note

For a classic M&B feel, Vohra recommends reading titles by British novelists Anne Mather or Charlotte Lamb. For a contemporary and witty selection, books by Fiona Harper and Nora Roberts are a good option. "No one has ever pegged Roberts as being an ‘M&B author' because she's written, romance, suspense and thrillers," she says.