She couldn’t help but smile. “Just one.”
“I don’t suppose it’s the one you named after me.”
She shook her head. “He sleeps outside.”
He stepped toward her. “Banished, eh?”
Her mouth went dry.
He moved even closer. “Men don’t like to stay out in the cold.”
She licked her lips. “Wasn’t there something about a thunk?” she whispered.
“Thump,” he corrected, his hand finding the small of her back. “And I believe it was your heart.”
And it was then, as she tried to remember how to breathe, that his lips touched hers.
Avon Is Romance
The Story of the Company—and the Authors—Who Created Historical Romance…and Continue to Blaze Romantic History
In 1941, the world is at war…and Avon Publications prepares to release its first 12 paperbacks—mere days before the fateful strike on Pearl Harbor. The first Avon paperbacks cost 25¢ apiece; the entire first edition of Avon’s debut line sells out almost immediately.
The popularity of Avon’s paperback offerings, consisting of mainstream fiction, mysteries, westerns, doctor/nurse, and pulp fiction titles, continues to grow apace, causing larger publishers to take notice of the emerging publishing house’s unprecedented success. In 1959, The Hearst Corporation acquires Avon, including rights to all of the company’s backlist titles.
Under the Hearst umbrella, Avon diversifies its offerings, publishing groundbreaking fiction in paperback format. In 1972 the company creates a literary precedent with the publication of THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER, the world’s first historical romance, by literary trendsetter Kathleen Woodiwiss. Avon and Woodiwiss add a chapter to publishing history as the novel immediately hits the New York Times bestseller list, beginning a proud tradition of homegrown hits at Avon.
In 1977 the Woodiwiss phenomenon reaches a new pinnacle, climbing to the coveted #1 spot on the Times list.
Shortly thereafter, Avon releases another paperback novel that will obtain epic success: in 1978, more than three million copies of Colleen McCullough’s epic The Thorn Birds hit the stands, immediately followed by a second print run of 250,000 copies. The book climbs to the #1 spot on national bestseller lists instantly.
Ever looking toward the future, Hearst publishes William Morrow & Company in 1981, and establishes Morrow/Avon as hardcover/paperback publishing powerhouses. The formula created by these imprints working in tandem allows the publisher to reap even greater profits in book sales.
Avon is an acknowledged force in the romance genre, thanks to the talent and popularity of their writing stars. This successful publishing formula continues to garner industry attention: in 1999, HarperCollinsPublishers merges with Morrow/Avon in a tactical move to bring the best commercial fiction to the American marketplace.
Avon Books, as part of HarperCollinsPublishers, continues to break new ground in romance. Avon recently makes national headlines in February 2006 with the introduction of Avon Red, an imprint dedicated to mainstream publication of today’s most sophisticated erotica.
Advances in e-book technology make this a very exciting time in publishing…it’s the dawn of a new era in functionality—and portability.
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THESE WICKED GAMES. Copyright © 2006 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition November 2006 ISBN 9780061758201
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About the Publisher
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