Personalized
Romance Novels: The Husband and Wife Team Behind yournovel.com
Have you ever wondered
what it would be like to star in your own romance novel? The husband-wife
team of Kathy M. Newbern and J.S. Fletcher had that thought and
made it happen, not only for themselves but for thousands of readers
around the world.
Using the exotic settings
they’d explored firsthand as travel writers, the duo writes romance
novels that—thanks to the help of a computer program—star the
reader and a special someone. Writing under the pen name Fletcher Newbern,
the two run this unique and successful company called yournovel.com
that has been featured on the pages of publications ranging from People
to InStyle and talked about on shows like The View. Lovetripper.com checked
in with this writing team to find out what makes yournovel.com so appealing
to so many readers. [Check out
all the titles available from YourNovel.com!]
What are the basics of yournovel.com?
Kathy
M. Newbern and J.S. Fletcher cruising down the Seine with the Eiffel
Tower in the background.
The couple on assignment on a
Patagonian
cruise.
Photos courtesy yournovel.com
Fletcher: Yournovel.com
is a 14-year-old company started by a husband-and-wife writing
team that writes and produces personalized romance novels in which
any man and woman can star as the hero and heroine.
We currently have 19 books available with a variety of story lines.
The customer selects a book, then fills out a simple, online questionnaire
of 23 personal details about the starring couple: their names,
hair and eye color, where they live, where they work, their best
friends, favorite music, favorite perfume and cologne, how long
they've been a couple, things like that. Then, when the book's
done, those details appear in some fashion on nearly every page
of the book.
Newbern: One of the neat things is that every book comes
in a wild or mild version in terms of the romantic interludes.
While more than 95 percent of those ordering want theirs wild,
it's nice to have the mild option if you're giving this as a gift,
for instance.
All of our books are romance adventures, so in them, the couple
goes away to some exotic location. They may choose to visit Tahiti,
take a cruise in Alaska, spend a romantic week on a Caribbean
Island, opt for a last-minute getaway to the Outer Banks of North
Carolina, get in touch with nature at a dude ranch, or find themselves
throwing beads from a Mardi Gras float in New Orleans. Those are
some of the books' scenarios.
Fletcher: Over the years, our customers have asked us to
come up with a way to put their photos on the covers and also
to add a hardback version of our titles. Well, this year we've
added both options.
What is your market? Who’s buying the
books?
Newbern: When we started the business, we thought that
the novels would be mostly purchased by women, but we guessed
wrong. Our statistics show that it is about even as to who orders
the books. There is a slight edge to women, but we have found
that men are looking for a really romantic gift that they know
women will like.
Fletcher: Even though our customers are about evenly split
between men and women, we think the readers are more women. The
men are buying the books as romantic gifts. Guys tell us they
appreciate the help in figuring out what to buy that is romantic,
besides the traditional flowers and candy and lingerie. They are
looking for that special something that their mate will enjoy.
Newbern: We also encourage our customers to read aloud
to each other, so I also suspect the men get into the "spicier"
parts of the books. We tell them to get creative: Don't just hand
her the book. Present it by candlelight in a hot bath with a glass
of champagne.
And why do they buy the books?
Newbern: Our books are a different kind of gift and much
more unusual than your typical lingerie or candy or flowers, and
they last a lot longer. We have also found it can be seasonal
- for instance, more women buy during bridal season because they
are getting a book for a special girlfriend. Sales are pretty
evenly distributed among all ages and types of relationships.
Fletcher: The books are given for so many great reasons,
but the thing that I hear from our customers the most is that
they are something new to give, especially for couples who have
been together for many years.
How did you two meet?
Fletcher: Kathy just walked into my life one night while
I was producing a comedy show on the Outer Banks. She had just
moved back to the area to take a new job. I was standing at the
door when she walked in that night. I asked her to pay the cover
charge, and she said, "Oh, no. I don't pay a cover here.
I know the owner." Of course, I knew the owner, too, and
Kathy went right on in. After the show, I went over to where she
was sitting and a mutual friend introduced us, saying, "Hey,
you are both writers. You should get together."
How long you've been doing this together?
Newbern: In 1992, I was on a panel at a public relations
conference and the ice-breaker question was: "What would
people be surprised to find out about you?" I answered that
I had written a yet-to-be published romance novel, which got an
appropriate response. Fletcher, my then boyfriend, had driven
to the conference with me, and at lunch, one of the women, a friend,
at the table said, "Wouldn't it be great to read about yourself
in on of those romance novel?" Well, we all laughed and kidded
around about it. Then, on the four-hour drive home, Fletcher and
I looked at each other and the proverbial light bulb went off.
We said, "You know, we could do that!" and actually
started outlining our first book, "Another Day in Paradise,"
on the back of a manila folder on the drive. We started writing
it the next day.
Fletcher: We acted on a great idea, and 14 years later
are going strong. We firmly believe that the only way to get something
done is to do it.
Kathy: We did not want to look back at some point and say,
"You know, if we had just done that personalized romance
novel thing."
As a couple, how do you write together?
Fletcher: And our writing styles are remarkably similar.
We both believe the verb carries the sentence and convincing dialogue
is essential. Where we differ also becomes a strength: I tend
to be more scientific in my approach and Kathy more emotional.
We believe the combination makes our writing more believable and
accessible to women and men.
Newbern: It's especially rewarding to write about love
with the one you love in a business that's all about promoting
love. Fletcher and I are well suited for doing this. We are both
very sensitive - and he's very romantic, by the way - and we're
observers. Like all writers, we pay close attention to people,
situations and physical settings.
Another unique aspect of what we do is use our experiences as
travel writers to write romance novels. We get to go to some pretty
exotic locations and usually the romantic ones will find their
way into one of our books. We recently were fortunate to work
with Couples Resorts in Jamaica to set a book there. And everywhere
we go, we find that the undercover research is the most fun.
What's up with the Wild or Mild option?
Fletcher: Each of our titles comes in a mild and wild version.
The "wild" version offers more detailed, steamy romantic
scenes, similar to the romance novel genre. "Wild" uses
those fun romance novel euphemisms but is never graphic. It is,
however, racy in nature.
The "mild" version of each book is exactly the same
story line, but the romantic scenes have been limited and left
more to the imagination. In either case, do consider that the
book is about two people in love, so they will make love in the
book.
Newbern: Customers always seem to say, "The wilder
the better," but our philosophy is "titillating, yet
tasteful." We actually believe a little teasing is more arousing
than just flat-out telling it all. Think of a woman in sexy lingerie.
She's not showing you all she's got, if you know what I mean,
but she's very alluring. Our books have been recommended as a
way to spice up a relationship, too, so we think it's great if
our writing sparks people's imaginations to embark on an adventure
of their own. Our books are fun. A lot of the sexy stuff is very
tongue-in-cheek, so there are laugh-out-loud moments.
How many people (or what percentage of orders)
include movie stars in their books? Who are some of the most popular
movie stars to be incorporated?
Newbern: Yes, you can star in a book with anyone you choose.
We have a small percentage, less than 1%, who put celebrities
in their books, and it's mostly women who do so. Often, they'll
create a fun gift for that girlfriend who currently doesn't have
the perfect guy. So why not invent one? The choices are cyclical,
depending on who's "hot" at the moment. John F. Kennedy,
Jr., however, was far and away the most popular before he met
his sudden demise. In favor recently is George Clooney.
