Times have changed at Mills & Boon

Mills and Boon has joined the e-book revolution by converting 200 of its books to e-book format. The downloads on the Mills and Boon website went live in October and are also on sale at Waterstones. The publisher will now convert 70 of its titles a month in an attempt to have as many of its books as possible available as e-books. Harlequin (Mills and Boon's Canadian parent company) has been selling e-books for two years and it has grown month upon month. Mills & Boon has launched a crime and thriller series in its first venture beyond romance publishing since it was founded 100 years ago. Black Star Crime kicked off in August with five titles, and will initially publish five titles every two months. In a sharp departure from the traditional Mills & Boon offering, the publishers will also launch a new raunchier series of books next year under the Spice imprint. Claire Somerville, Mills & Boon's marketing director says “You can chart the development of social and sexual mores, the history of women and the evolution of women's role socially and sexually, all through Mills & Boon." However, the publishers are still guaranteeing its readers a happy ending!