Sometimes the potential for disaster turns into unexpected treasure of the most spectacular kind. Such was the case with a recent assignment of mine: I was scheduled to interview author Eugenia Riley about her upcoming book for the December edition of The Romance Reader's Connection, only to find that her book is actually coming out next December. While trying to recoordinate our information, Eugenia mentioned a new project she was working on: writing a column for a new magazine. When I asked her about doing an article about that experience, Eugenia very kindly connected me with Arabella Managing Editor Sharon Lloyd, and this article was born. At very short notice, Eugenia sent me the preview issue of Arabella, and Sharon took time out of her jam-packed schedule to answer my questions and to send me supplemental information.

 Arabella Romances is billed as "YOUR magazine for passion, intrigue, and romance," and judging by the preview issue, Arabella delivers the goods. The debut features 8 short romance stories, covering several of the major romance subgenres: contemporary, historical, romantic suspense, and paranormal. Romance aficionados will recognize author Delores Fossen's name under one of the titles. The cover illustration, by famed romance illustrator Alan Ayers, nicely captures the spirit of both "Hot Dogs and Champagne " (a featured story) and Arabella Romances itself. Ads are limited to the first few pages of the magazine, and stories run complete in sequence, rather than begin in one section of the magazine and finish at the end among the personal ads (my personal pet peeve).

The photo essay on Italy incorporates a fictional travelogue starring real Italian landmarks and experiences, making for a much more interesting reading experience than a dry description of the beauty Italy has to offer. Susan Croce Kelly does a lovely job with "Going to Italy ? You'll find romance at every turn." Complementing this article are recipes for an intimate romantic dinner, complete with historical trivia. Another featured article delineates the history behind the choice of the name Arabella.

On the non-fiction end of the romance spectrum, Arabella features several columns, a puzzle, a handful of book reviews, author interviews and the requisite horoscope, written by romance author Elda Minger. Aspiring writers will appreciate author Jo Ann Ferguson's column "Belles-lettres," which is loaded with writing tips. Readers and writers alike will find a treasure trove of information in "What's Hot," by Eugenia Riley. This column showcases upcoming releases, new romance lines and imprints, and a special section called "The Hot Seat," where a subject matter expert from the romance publishing industry answers questions.

One aspect of Arabella sure to captivate readers is its reliance on reader input. Arabella's staff plan to be constantly evolving and changing to reflect industry trends and reader preferences. Reader feedback has been universally positive, except where the illustrations are concerned. Opinions on the artwork have been evenly divided. When compared with the luminous illustrations of artist Alan Ayers, showcased in several spots in the premiere issue, other artists fall considerably short of the standard he sets. This concern has already been addressed, and readers will see changes in the next issue.

Managing editor Sharon Lloyd has been busy answering questions and promoting Arabella. Here's what Sharon had to say about this project so near and dear to her heart.

Question: There are romantic magazines on the market already. What was missing from them that led to the creation of Arabella Romances? What makes your magazine unique? What challenges did you face as you prepared to launch Arabella?

Answer: While there are many romance venues available online, we believe the only real mass market print magazine devoted to romance is Romantic Times, which focuses on the romance industry, but devotes the core of its editorial focus to book reviews. In theory, confession magazines could be considered somewhat romantic, but are “true stories” versus romantic fiction. What led to the creation of Arabella Romances was Editor-in-Chief Melissa Wohl’s awareness of the lack of short romantic fiction that allows busy women to get a quick romantic “fix” when they don’t have time to read a book, say, during a lunch hour, a doctor’s appointment, commuting or late at night when starting an exciting book can result in loss of sleep.

“I found that the magazine market has a huge void in romance fiction,” says Melissa. “There are The New Yorker, Reader’s Digest or digests dedicated to mysteries or sci-fi, but no romance – that’s incredible since romance is the best-selling genre. I like to compare Arabella’s core, which is romantic fiction, to the short novellas and short stories that used to appear in Good Housekeeping or Redbook. Their stories were always a breath of fresh air because it was a romantic escape without the commitment of a long novel.

“Arabella is unique because the core is romantic fiction along with features and columns relating to the romance genre and industry. Romance readers, I think, are more interested in the technicalities of the romance industry than readers of other genres."

Sharon adds, "Actually, we’re different than most magazines, not just romance. We’re a mass-market magazine focusing on short romantic fiction, as well as other aspects of the romance industry that we believe interest not only romance readers but will attract and introduce other readers to romance who might not sample the genre otherwise. The magazine will include writing tips, publisher information, and interviews with writers and cover artists, plus relationship advice, travel and food sections. While we will have some reviews in each issue, Arabella is not a review magazine like Romantic Times that reviews the 200 or so titles published each month. Consequently, in most instances selection of books to be reviewed will be random, although an author interview may be accompanied by a review of his or her forthcoming book. We believe random selection is the fairest process.

"As far as I know, there’s no magazine on the newsstand today or by subscription that has the particular mix that Arabella has. In fact, we’ve been very gratified to have lots of letters from people telling us how they were disappointed when other mass-market magazines dropped fiction from their format and how excited they are to find Arabella, so I think our audience is really getting the Arabella difference."

Melissa continues, “As for the challenges in preparing to launch the magazine, all I can tell you is that it was a laborious process. We worked for months perfecting the business plan and forming a publishing company, as well as establishing the new magazine. I won’t bore you with the technicalities, but it was a challenge to get this all out on time and meet our high standards, especially since market acceptance and enthusiasm accelerated our publishing schedule by approximately six months.”

Q: What is Arabella’s mission statement?

A: Simply put, publish a quality magazine to:

Deliver passion, intrigue and romance to readers who love romance.

Q: Judging by your website, this magazine appears to serve the total romance reading community with a complete package that has something for everyone. Does having a broad focus make putting the magazine together easier or more difficult?

A: The anchor of the magazine is romantic short fiction. In one respect, the magazine is targeted towards readers who love to read romance and are not necessarily interested in becoming a romance writer or in industry news. On the other hand, romance readers are fascinated with the industry and they are indulging their love of romance by reading about other aspects of the genre. Apart from the industry columns, Arabella has articles and features with a romantic slant. Although the focus is different than anything currently existing and requires walking something of a fine line editorially, the focus actually is narrow in that it is romance. It is harder to pick the features because there are so many ideas.

Q: How did Arabella come to be?

A: Once upon a time, in a forest in Fontainebleau, an MBA candidate and his bride met another MBA candidate – the precise circumstances of the meeting being a tad unclear at this point, but which may be revealed eventually in the history of Arabella – and a wonderful friendship was born.

At length, the bella bride, like the quintessential Arabella, sought to entertain herself by reading books and magazines while MBA candidates Avi and Lye were researching the men’s magazine market. Once Melissa, Arabella’s “Founding Mother,” got wind of this great, but decidedly male-oriented, endeavor, she started propounding theories about why women were unfortunate not to have innovative magazines for women like Maxim for men and an idea was born. The original concept went through several permutations as the founders gained market knowledge and realized that although romance is the best-selling genre in publishing, there was no mass-market magazine that filled this very real need.

Graduation day arrived, degrees were awarded, and the friends sat down and basically said to one another “it’s now or never.” Avi and Melissa returned to the States while Lye continued gallivanting around the globe, but all three were actively involved in ongoing research about magazine publishing.

Avi and Melissa met Heather when they attended the Independent Press Association Conference in San Francisco in January 2003, and gravitated towards one another when they agreed on a topic of conversation. Once Avi and Melissa discovered how talented Heather is, they invited her to join the “A” team.

Q: What elements of the magazine will be constants from issue to issue? What kinds of things are you considering for future issues? Where do you hope to find Arabella five years from now?

A: The first few issues will be testing the waters to see what appeals to readers and what does not, as well as what is useful to our readers. Definitely we will adjust some aspects of the magazine based on reader response – and we do invite reader response. We will continuously fine-tune our editorial direction so that Arabella constantly evolves to deliver what readers of romance want – we are dedicated to romance and romantic fiction. That is our core. As for future issues, we are tinkering with a lot of ideas like having fiction covering more subgenres, exciting features relating to romance, such as more author interviews, historical costumes or food . . . all things romance-genre related.

As for five years from now, we’re peering into our crystal ball. Our vision is to be the best new magazine to hit the stands in a long, long time. Our business plan allows for very conservative growth for the first year or two, followed by steady, solid growth, but the initial response has exceeded expectations and my gut feeling is that Arabella’s growth will be a lot more rapid than projected. Beyond a solid readership and an ever-increasing market for writers, predicting five years out is difficult. We expect to be firmly entrenched in the market, and my personal desire is to be able to go into any bookstore or airport in most any country and find Arabella on the stands and know that our readers enjoy the magazine. And if we’ve been able to discover a great new writer, both Melissa and I will be thrilled.

Q: Many companies have a face to go with their brand name: Betty Crocker, The Quaker, etc. Will Arabella have a face? Why or why not?

A: “Romance is timeless and universal,” says Melissa. “Arabella cannot have one face because she represents so many different types of romances and so many different types of women and men. I hope, instead, that we have brand recognition. Meaning that when readers hear the name Arabella they automatically associate it with romance. I think it would be a disservice to have a face to Arabella because she is constantly changing. I would love for readers to recognize Arabella by the beautiful cover art, which will change in each issue.”

Q: You have some well-known names contributing columns to Arabella: Elda Minger, Eugenia Riley, and Jo Ann Ferguson. Do you plan to bring other authors on board to contribute their vision to the Arabella perspective?

A: Definitely. We would love to have more authors to turn to and mentor the magazine as it grows.

Q: Who came up with the magazine's title, and how was it chosen?

A: Melissa wanted the magazine to be named Bella because, in Italian, bella means pretty – the word rolls off the tongue and sounds lively and entertaining. Apparently others agree because there are at least two Bella Magazines, one in the U.S. and one in the U.K. , so Bella was out. Another proposed name was Saucy, and the tone of that seemed maybe a little too lively. As often happens, a number of names got bounced around before I reverted to one of my favorite reference books, The Oxford Companion to English Literature, to look for a great heroine’s name that we hadn’t already considered and found Arabella, which serendipitously included the word bella Melissa wanted, plus Arabella was the quintessential romance reader and her story straight romance fare. A little more research turned up the Richard Strauss opera Arabella – another romp of a romance.

After that, Arabella made her presence known – sort of like a character that a writer invents, but that then takes on a life of her own – let me just say Arabella made it known she wants to represent every woman who loves to read romance, who contemplates love and who deep down believes happy-ever-after endings are possible.

Q: The magazine's motto is "My magazine for passion, intrigue & romance." Who coined that slogan?

A: Melissa coined the slogan because those three adjectives are the essence of Arabella and what reading romance is about.

Q: Do you plan to cover all subgenres of romance? What are you looking for, in terms of fiction contributions? Must aspiring authors be agented to be published with you?

A: We hope to cover all fiction subgenres and our mix will reflect reader preferences, with each issue having a variety of subgenres. As for fiction submissions, we are looking for something that is well-written, within our guidelines (www.arabellamagazine.com) and original. Aspiring authors can either send a query or just email or mail their manuscript to us.

It is not necessary to be agented or previously published. Each manuscript is read by at least two readers and is evaluated on its individual merits and our current needs.

Q: What are the steps a submission goes through before it’s either accepted or rejected?

A: We have a policy at this point that both Melissa and I read all stories and the ones that we both like then go out to various other readers and occasionally some that we don’t like as much but are well-written also go out to readers because we want to get other opinions. At the moment, I must apologize that we are a little slow in getting back to writers. We received hundreds of manuscripts and, as noted, many of these are very high-quality, which made the selection process for the Preview Edition somewhat agonizing, but it’s a great problem to have. We will improve response time once all the business of founding and launching a new magazine is complete. We can assure writers that all submissions will be read.

Q: What are you looking for in a submission to Arabella Romances?

A: Overall, superior writing and awareness of the structure of romantic fiction, which differs from other short-story forms. Writers should familiarize themselves with the guidelines. Being previously published is not necessary – we are receiving submissions from both published and unpublished writers and often there’s no difference in quality. We are very serious about discovering new talent.

For non-fiction, we welcome queries. Too, we’ll have current needs under our writer’s guidelines on Arabella’s website.

For fiction, we want emotion. The lure of romantic fiction and most fiction is the ability to live in the protagonist’s skin, to have a vicarious romantic experience. One thing I might mention is that the resolution must be believable; that is to say that if the hero and heroine suddenly profess undying love and pledge to spend their lives together at the end, this expectation needs to be set up in advance even though we all expect a romance to end this way. Including children is acceptable, but in a short story with limited space for development, children can sometimes dilute the romantic tension. The result is a heart-warming story that we enjoy, but it is not as romantic as other stories – of course, there are exceptions.

Q: What kinds of short stories grab you?

A: Ones that make me jump up and scream “YES!” Seriously, Melissa likes creativity with a twist. She particularly likes historicals and exotic locales, which I also enjoy. I like most of the sub-genres, with a slight preference for supernatural elements that are believable. We have an absolutely delightful short story for the October Preview issue that has a paranormal element we all love – Blackberries in May. I think readers will love it – just a great story.

Q: What kind of features will you offer?

A: The Preview Edition will feature Alan Ayers, the noted cover artist, Arabella throughout history and closet romance readers. We expect features to cover the gamut of romance from historical costumes and food to early romance writings or famous historical romances, new or shifting romance trends, favorite heroes and heroines – in short, anything of interest to romance readers. As mentioned, we are open to suggestions and we have received some great queries. We believe romance readers and writers are intelligent and our features will reflect that belief.

Q: You mentioned writing tips. Can you talk a little more about that?

A: Yes. JoAnn Ferguson will write the column Belles-lettres. This column will feature a submission from an unpublished author that we believe has talent, but the story needs to have a few things “fixed” or polished before publication. Once the finishing touches are complete, our goal is to publish the story. This column is going to be very helpful to new writers or to those who want to become writers.

Market tips will be included in Eugenia Riley’s What’s Hot? column, featuring new lines and hints straight from the editors of romance books.

Q: Are authors paid for their fiction if you select their stories?

A: Absolutely – writers are the lifeblood of any magazine and fiction is our core focus. As noted in our guidelines, payment is currently 10 cents per word and will increase as the subscriber and advertising bases grow.

Q: How can someone get information on Arabella and/or obtain your submission guidelines?

A: The best source of current information is at www.arabellamagazine.com or by contacting submissions@arabellamagazine.com.

Q: I checked the guest book at your website, and the comments so far have been uniformly favorable. The only area in dispute seems to be the artwork--reaction seems to be split down the middle of the love it/hate it line. Do you plan to stick with the same artists, or will the artists change from issue to issue?

A: “I would love for the audience to understand that this first issue was a preview/test issue,” says Melissa. “We were testing the waters and part of that test was with the artwork. I can guarantee that artwork for the January issue is much softer and romantic in tone. We have different artists and I would hate for readers to lump all the artists into one mass. Just like we are publishing many writers who are not published, we are also using many artists who are just starting out. Art is very subjective, but I do know that there was a consensus about the art for this issue and we are taking it in a different direction. As I said before, this is a testing and learning process, which is why reader feedback is very important.”

Q: Where can readers find Arabella?

A: The premiere issue hit newstands on October 15. This is a very limited Special Collector’s Preview Edition available to regular subscribers as a free gift for subscribing on our website. It also will be sold on some magazine racks at the big chain bookstores and I’m not totally sure where else. We are very excited!

Q: Will Arabella Romances be available in stores outside the US ?

A: Yes, but I am uncertain about the Preview Edition, or precisely when international availability will occur, but the international interest in Arabella is so strong, it is only a matter of time, which it now appears will be sooner rather than later.

Q: When is your official launch? Can you give some hints as to what it will contain?

A: Official launch will occur early in 2004. To quote Heather, our art director, “I am absolutely blown away by the quality of fiction we are getting,” so you’ll see a lot of great fiction. And we’re going to start an exciting series about heroine archetypes and their place in fiction. We haven’t finalized the other features yet. We will begin themed issues, say all historicals, contemporaries, etc., sometime after regular launch, but the editorial calendar is not completely set. We want to be very responsive and the October Preview Edition will give us an opportunity to assess what Arabella readers want.

Q: What about the men? The readers, the heroes, the husbands and lovers? Is Arabella aimed mostly at women (because they're the majority of the romance reading population), or are you also aimed toward men, to strengthen relationships, discuss the merits of fantasy vs. reality, and compare the reading experience of men to the reading experience of women? Also, many women read romance for the heroes. How will you incorporate those fictional heartthrobs in the content of Arabella?

A: “The magazine is primarily for women romance readers, but there are about 7 percent male romance readers. Actually, we have heard from a number of readers that husbands and lovers are reading Arabella. Plus, we know of at least two men that bought a copy and then went back and bought out the bookstore’s supply to give to people and girlfriends. And we have received a high proportion of submissions from men. Fictional heartthrobs are part of any romance story so I don’t see that as an issue,” says Melissa. “Of course, all your questions are possible feature story ideas.”

Q: Who is Arabella? Tell me about your team.

A: The Arabella team is an amazing mix. Everyone is ultra-entrepreneurial with multiple talents and experience. Most of us have lived in several countries and traveled extensively, so our perspective is quite international and provides a real appreciation for the submissions and subscriptions pouring in daily from all over the world – but then, romance is universal. Another aspect of the team that I find extraordinary is that – in addition to considerable business experience – all of us are published writers and editors.

CEO Avi Turetsky, formerly an investment banker for Lehman Brothers, obtained his MBA from Insead in Fontainebleau , France , where he published the INSEAD Citizen newspaper. While there, he met Arabella Publisher K Lye, also in the MBA program. Mr. Lye was a regular contributor to Gorillasia, the Asian Red Herring. At Insead, the two conducted a research project for Emap, the publisher of FHM, which analyzed innovation in the men’s magazine market. This work evolved into a finalist for the prestigious Rolland Berger Business Plan competition. As a result, the two became extremely interested in publishing – an unusual career path for MBA grads.

Editor-in-Chief Melissa Wohl, who is married to Mr. Turetsky, holds a Masters in Political Science from the New School for Social Research. She loves to read and create, so Arabella represents the fusion of those two loves, and her creativity was doubtless fostered by her eighth-grade teacher and peers referring to her as the next Judy Blume.

Heather Chappell, Arabella’s talented art director, came to the team from Living Blues, America ’s leading blues music magazine, where she was also art director. She holds a B.A. cum laude in Studio Art from Wake Forest University – which she attended on scholarship awarded for her short-story writing, so you can see her creative abilities are abundant.

I was president of Lloyd Communications, a company specializing in corporate communications and editor of Inside SCI, an award-winning corporate magazine with worldwide circulation, as well as editor and writer of smaller publications, academic papers, a literary magazine, niche magazine start-ups and non-fiction books. I am a published novelist, columnist and short-story writer.

We’ve been blessed with a team of widely respected publishing and circulation consultants – just absolutely top people – and an advisory board of best-selling romance novelists, renowned cover artist Alan Ayers, a professor, a leading romance bookseller, a noted entertainment columnist and a licensed psychotherapist, as well as other romance-industry specialists – and we’re still growing so by the time this is in print, I will likely have omitted someone.

Q: How did you come to be on the Arabella team?

A: Melissa contacted me after receiving my resume from Creative Moonlighters. I love magazine editing, but had vowed never again to go near a new magazine because it’s always a risky venture and can be heartbreaking. However, Melissa and I immediately hit it off – both A-type personalities, we’re very connected kindred spirits and think alike, often the same thought simultaneously – so I listened to what she had to say and very much liked what I heard about the team’s business experience and capabilities, plus the concept was one I could believe in and consider somewhat of a mission. That’s the official and true version, but the bottom line is that when we were first discussing this, the hair on my arms started standing up and that’s always a very positive sign I need to pay attention. So here I am, doing what I love to do.

Q: What do you hope Arabella Romances will bring to the industry of romance books?

A: We have several hopes. First, to discover new talent and bring recognition to current authors who may not yet be well-known, as well as introduce new readers to established authors. Secondly, to fulfill current romance readers’ need for a short romantic fix when time doesn’t permit reading a book. Thirdly, to introduce new readers to the joy of romance reading. And, finally, to do what we can to remove the historical stigma from reading romances.

***I'd like to thank Sharon Lloyd, Melissa Wohl, and Eugenia Riley for their cooperation and enthusiasm regarding this article. We at The Romance Reader's Connection wish Arabella Romances great success and the best of luck with their new venture. We'll look forward to future issues of this new magazine.