Mills & Boon Announces Season III of “Passions – Aspiring Author Auditions”

Jan. 12, 2012 - PRLog -- Mumbai, January 12, 2012: Post the phenomenal success of Passions-II, Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. the global leader in romance and publisher of the most widely read women's fiction books ‘Mills & Boon’ is pleased to announce the launch of Passions Aspiring Author Auditions- III.

Indian citizens can now live their dream of being Mills and Boon authors by submitting online entries for Passions III. All they need to do is submit an original story of about 1500 to 2000 words between Dec 14th 2011 and Jan 31st 2012. An international jury comprising of Mills & Boon editors will shortlist the top 5 entries which would be further put up for public vote for winner selection by Feb 2012. The winners would get editorial mentorship for a year & a chance to author a Mills & Boon novel. The website http://www.millsandboonindia.com provides the guidelines and deadlines which need to be met for submitting the stories. More than 700 entries poured in for Passions II, which has given fillip to the unveiling of the contest’s third season.

Mills and Boon releases ‘His Monsoon Bride’ Debut novel by Passions-II winner, featuring M&B’s first Indian cover  models! .The second Indian Mills & Boon book “His Monsoon Bride” written by Passions II winning author Aastha Atray would be available across the country from today onwards. The book records another first for Mills & Boon in India with the featuring of Indian models Saumya and Rohit Raghav (encouraging budding talent on the cover of Aastha’s book - “His Monsoon Bride”). The model hunt campaign was run in association with Talent Promoterz and the photo-shoot of this cover was done by renowned photographer Paramjit Chawla.

Says Manish Singh, Country Manager, Harlequin India Pvt. Ltd., “We have always received a fantastic response to Passions Aspiring Author Auditions & are confident that Aastha’s book would be well received by Indian audiences.  We’re  convinced  with  the potential of the writing talent  in India , to churn out books of great quality and are committed to promote aspiring writers through this wonderful & unique platform of Passions-Aspiring Author Audition that gives them a chance to fulfill their dream of being a published author. We always strive to give our readers something new to look forward to.”

Says Aastha Atray, “I am really excited for my first Mills & Boon book. Writing itself is a fulfilling experience for me and it becomes even more rewarding when one works with a publisher of this caliber such as Mills & Boon. I am truly thankful to Mills & Boon to present me with such a wonderful opportunity of realizing my dream to being an author.”
His Monsoon Bride by Ms. Aastha Atray-the second Mills & Boon book by an Indian author

Aastha is one of the 700+ budding writers who sent in entries to win a chance to write a romantic novel for Mills & Boon. After a delightful and close editorial mentorship by the Mills & Boon UK editorial team, ‘His Monsoon Bride’, by Aastha Atray has been launched across the country today. The book revolves around Amrita Piramal a rich heiress who finds happiness working in a public interest magazine and helping out people. The soft spoken yet independent girl is a natural Indian curvaceous beauty. Her life goes on uneventful till she meets Mehtab, a handsome millionaire with a ruthless and stern exterior and needs a wife to convince that his playboy days are over and that he’s finally settled down to business. With her family bankrupt, Amrita is forced to accept Mehtab’s shocking proposal. The book takes the reader through their journey of discovering love, with the fake marriage beginning to feel too real.

His Monsoon Bride-available at newsstands, bookstores & organized retail stores for Rs. 125/-
About Harlequin India Pvt Ltd
With over 20 titles now locally published and distributed every year through Harlequin India (HI), the thrill of reading a romantic novel is on the rise among Indian women. Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the global leader in series romance and one of the world's leading publishers of women's fiction catering to readers across 100 countries in 30 different languages. Mills & Boon being over 100 years old has established its brand dominance in the romance fiction segment and has a strong network of over 1300 authors from diversified & pedigreed backgrounds. Harlequin India (HI) started its India operations in February 2008, printing and marketing books locally. Mills & Boon’s most unique selling point is its series product. Distribution for series books is also unique as it follows a “magazine type” model. New titles are introduced every month while the previous month’s titles are recollected. The combination of these two factors presents consumers with a fresh, consistent product they can build a habit on. HI is currently publishing 14 new series romance titles every month, focusing on four series: Modern, Romance, Desire and Special Moments. These books are available for sale in newsstands, bookstores & organized retail stores everywhere.