HCI Books Launches Reality-Based Romance Imprint: Reality TV and Romance Novels Collide

By Jason Boog 

hcilogo.pngToday HCI Books announced the new Vows imprint, publishing what they call a brand new “subgenre” of romantic literature–reality-based romance, or “RB Romance.”

The series will match romance writers with real life couples, turning the wedding column into steamy nonfiction. In the words of the press release, it’s “Life…Romanticized.” Romance novelist Julie Leto will write the first book, a retelling of a real life romance in New York City. The series will launch in 2010.

Here’s the juicy description of the first reality-based romance: “New York lobbyist Michael Davoli feels like he’s been sucker punched when he meets Anne Miller at a concert … Michael falls hard … But while Mike effortlessly holds her with his gaze, he withholds the embrace she longs for … he finally confesses that he suffers from a neurological disorder that he’s learned to disguise from others but could keep him from ever holding her through the night–she makes a choice that changes the rest of her life. Anne isn’t about to let anything like Tourette’s Syndrome keep her from the man of her dreams … Hard to Hold is a modern day fairy tale that proves that the best things in life–and in romance–are real.”

If you want to confirm the reality of the story, check out the couple’s wedding webpage. What do you think? Will real life romance sell beside the imaginary kind?