PRINCE JOE was reissued in May, 2002 as a Mira single title release!
"Not only is the suspense nail-bitingly intense, the blistering passion and emotional sensitivity make this a love story you’ll put in your treasure chest." 4 and 1/2 Stars and a WISH Award. Melinda Helfer, Romantic Times
"Suzanne Brockmann’s U.S. Navy SEALs are definitely radioactive in the love department." Suzanne Coleburn
Note From
Suz: Okay, so here's how the
Harlequin/Silhouette distribution system works -- at least the way I was led to
believe it: (Or at least this was the way the books were distributed back
in May, 1996, when PRINCE JOE was released.) H/S would
release their monthly shipment of books in two batches. One batch would come out first thing,
early in the month, and the other batch would come out a few weeks
later.
Silhouette Intimate Moments came out in the second batch of books. Lines like Special Edition and Harlequin SuperRomance came out in the first.
The story I heard was that all of the Harlequin/Silhouette books were shipped to the West Coast of the USA on a train. (I picture the Little Engine that Could, bravely carrying boxcars of romance novels to California with a cheery smile on his brave little face...) And in early May, 1996, the happy train that carried the first shipment of books to the West Coast was hit (literally) by a freak storm. This storm was so powerful it actually derailed the train, pushing it off the tracks and into a reservoir. (As I recount this tale, I'm struck by the absurdity of this. However, I will continue. Whatever the details, the truth remains that a train (probably one without a smiley face on the front) carrying the first shipment of H/S books was derailed and the cargo (i.e. books) destroyed.
So, you know in those author/publisher contracts when they say things like "Act of God?" Well, this was considered an Act of God, those books were considered lost, and, kids, they weren't ever replaced. (Which was a serious blow to the authors of those books, you can be sure!)
Now, by the time the second batch of H/S books made their way to the West Coast (and I'm talking about the entire West Coast. Not just California. But more like West of the Mississippi...) all those avid series romance readers were desperate for SOMEthing to read -- especially the fans of longer contemporary romances, such as SuperRomances and Special Editions. And, alleluia, here was the shipment of Silhouette Intimate Moments. And, included in that shipment was a nifty little book with the rather unusual title of PRINCE JOE (and an interesting cover, too) by an as-yet-unknown new author named Suzanne Brockmann.
My theory is this: IM readers picked up PRINCE JOE. Special Edition readers picked up PRINCE JOE. SuperRomance readers picked up PRINCE JOE. And, being desperate for something to read, they all gave it a go and bought the book. PRINCE JOE sold like crazy -- so crazy, in fact, that it showed up as number 104 on the USA Today Extended list!
So you see, I believe that PRINCE JOE's success was due at least in part because of that train that derailed and left all those readers desperate for a good book!
2/15/01 Note from Suz: The "missing scene," edited out of the original draft of PRINCE JOE is here! Click here to read it and read ABOUT it!
Click here for an excerpt from PRINCE JOE.
HARVARD CRASH JAKE MITCH LUCKY