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Post by allthingshorror on Feb 11, 2009 18:37:29 GMT
Venture Books/Mills and Boon 1977  There have been threads on Hound of Frankenstein and The Blood of Dracula - but as I've just managed to find the last book in the series, thought it would be a good idea to put the pictures of them all here. Hound of Frankenstein - Peter Tremayne (Peter Beresford Ellis) The Blood of Dracula - Jack Hamilton Teed (Chris Lowder) Adam - Mike Baker (Fred Baker) Big Deep - Frank S Pepper Rig 59 - Matt Chisholm (Peter Christopher Watts) Tiger Trap - Patrick McDonald
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Post by carolinec on Feb 11, 2009 19:49:15 GMT
Mills and Boon?! You're kidding! I only associated them with all that romantic crap they did. I had no idea they did this kind of stuff too. Amazing! ;D
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Feb 11, 2009 20:15:17 GMT
Brilliant work Johnnie. A gob smacking surprise and I surely time for Dem to get out that software programme.
The prince of darkness dropped the dismembered body part from his bloodstained hands and turned at first shyly, then with a growing passion, gripped her in his powerful arms, 'My darling, My darling....
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Post by Dr Terror on Feb 11, 2009 22:11:58 GMT
They used to publish E.F. Benson as well.
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Post by pulphack on Feb 16, 2009 10:14:23 GMT
God they do look good - I'd still love to know if that Frank S Pepper is the same one who used to write Roy Of The Rovers! Must be, as in Johnny's interview, mr Adrian talks of bringing him onboard. Incidentally, there's a great JA interview on Youtube which my mate Paul directed me to - he spends ages trawling for 200AD/Action related interviews, and this one is mostly about his Fleetway days, but is fascinating.
I think they probably flopped as much because of the sales reps as anything. M&B's parent, Harlequin, run an imprint in the US which handles action/adventure, and three times in the last twenty years M&B have tried to launch the lines, with little success. They tried with Deathlands and The Executioner - the latter being a decent bet as Sphere and Corgi had them everywhere in the seventies and early eighties. But the first attempt ended up with loads of Deathlands in remainder shops and 10,000 being 'accidentally' pulped, which led to a certain Mr L James and his agent getting a settlement out of M&B for the cock-up. The subsequent attempts had some publicity, but as I heard it from the editor at Gold Eagle (the men's division, where all writers have to flex their biceps and growl as they type), the sales reps are brilliant at getting romance novels into shops and on shelves where they wouldn't normally go. But those shops (supermarkets, newsagent, etc) didn't want to risk space on non-romance. And the big chains weren't interested as the reps had nothing to offer in the way of deals for shelf-space (see previous posts ad infinitum about how stocking policies and the power of reps from the big boys affects what's in the shops).
M&B have just launched a line called Black Star Crime, which is shelved with their romances in places like Asda. The inventory so far has been mostly cut-down thrillers that previously appeared on their Mira list, but it'll be interesting to see how that changes, and indeed if the line survives. Crime novels at 2.99 must be tempting to the casual reader when they have ones next to them at 5.99, though.
I must take issue with the notion that M&B is crap, though. I used to think that, and now consdiered myself to have been a stupid snob for that attitude. True, I don't like romance, but then a lot of people hate crime, or SF (hello Dem!), or even (gasp) horror. Fact is, when we talk about pulp ficiton, popular fiction etc, you have to consider that at one time nearly half of all fiction sold was romance. It's still near that mark. Early pulps saw westerns and air aces and romance outselling crime, horror and sf.
Truth is, M&B make a lot of people happy. And that's cool. For the writers, although M&B aren't great payers the fact is that they can make a very decent living writing stuff they like. Which, when royalty rates and advances are low, means a hell of a lot of books sold. Romance sales underpinned the building of lists in horror and sf that otherwise wouldn't have existed (as did naughty books - just look at old mushroom jungle-era p/b houses, and the likes of Star!). As for the writers - those that have become names outside the pure M&B world - from Denise Robbins in the fifties and sixties to Charlotte Lamb and beyond - show a degree of skill and sincerity that makes the likes of Pierce Nace seem... well, like Pierce Nace...
I know I might be making a bit much of this, but when you consider that Dan/Marilyn Ross went from gothic romance to Dark Shadows (er, not that much of a leap, I suppose), and even Shaun Hutson has gone all kissy-kissy in his early days, it seems that we can get a bit wrapped up in this genre good, that one bad when all it comes down to is what you like and don't like.
Something that was brough home to me last week when I was reading an EF Benson anthology (edited by Jack Adrian, just to square the circle) that collected some ghost stories with some of his brittle comedies (Miss Mapp and Amy Bondham) and some of his early romantic melodrama stuff (Dodo). We remember him for the ghost stories. Few remember him for Dodo. And most remember him for Mapp and Lucia.
I had a point there somewhere but I've forgotten it. Oh well...
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Post by carolinec on Feb 16, 2009 11:10:44 GMT
I must take issue with the notion that M&B is crap, though. I used to think that, and now consdiered myself to have been a stupid snob for that attitude. True, I don't like romance, but then a lot of people hate crime, or SF (hello Dem!), or even (gasp) horror. Fact is, when we talk about pulp ficiton, popular fiction etc, you have to consider that at one time nearly half of all fiction sold was romance. It's still near that mark. Early pulps saw westerns and air aces and romance outselling crime, horror and sf. Truth is, M&B make a lot of people happy. And that's cool. . Ah, you've misunderstood me, Pulps. I meant that romance is crap as far as I'm concerned, my own personal opinion of the genre as I've never liked it - not that Mills & Boon are crap. Of course, many people enjoy romance, and M&B have probably been the biggest contributor to their enjoyment, which is great. My late mother-in-law had a huge collection of M&B books - she used to get through a couple a day sometimes, and she loved them! Which, as you say, is very cool indeed.  |
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Post by dem on Feb 17, 2009 14:17:53 GMT
I remember listening to an interview with Maxim Jakubowski on the radio after his wonderful Murder One had expanded to include a Romance section. The shop could boast several classy dressed women among it's customers and, sure enough, they'd head straight for the Romance section ..... but only because it was a short cut to the gory true crime coffee-table books which were more the shop's speciality.
Not sure if i'll ever try a straight Mills & Boon, but i bet they're not always too far removed from the Marilyn Ross/ Lancer Gothic Romances in spirit (beautiful women in dire peril) and i've certainly enjoyed my fair share of them!
Great scans, mr. horror!
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