To celebrate its three decades promoting love and romance through a most unusual publishing venture, YourNovel.com, has upped its game to not only letting couples star in a romance/adventure novel together but also providing a favorite photo of themselves to create their own unique book cover on any of 30 different titles.
People laughed when they learned they could become the characters in their own spicy romance novel.
Innovation is nothing new for the Raleigh, NC, couple J.S. Fletcher and Kathy Newbern, who write together as “Fletcher Newbern.” They started their personalized romance novel company on their kitchen table with $200 back in 1992 with one paperback book that any couple could customize with their names, hometowns, workplaces, eye and hair color, best friends, favorite fragrances and music, affectionate nicknames for one another and more. Those details are scattered throughout the book thanks to an online questionnaire.
That first paperback, Another Day in Paradise (still the best seller), featured cookbook binding and a black-and-white silhouette cover. Thirty years later, the lineup includes more than 50 titles as perfect-bound, full-color paperbacks, hardbacks, and many as ebooks to keep up with publishing industry changes.
For 2022, they’ve doubled their offerings of paperback and hardback titles where any special photo can become the entire book cover. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, there’s something for every taste — beaches, cruises, exotic destinations, time travel, fantasy, detective stories.
All novels come with a customizable, dedication page, and for any book, the customer can add a smaller photo of themselves to the existing cover’s art. “Valentine’s is definitely our busiest season, so we suggest gift-givers order early to avoid delays,” says co-owner Kathy Newbern.
Partner J.S. Fletcher adds, “Over the years, our books have been called the ‘Ultimate Vanity Valentine,’ and we’ve been called ‘Computerized Cupids.’ We love that job title.”
Newbern notes, “Doesn’t everyone have that ‘great idea’ — scribbled on a napkin, stashed in a drawer, buried in a file? We’re a married couple who acted on our great idea 30 years ago, and it changed our lives forever.”
The co-founders and their bright idea have been featured in more than a thousand radio, TV, magazine and newspaper interviews including “The Today Show,” USA TODAY, ABC-TV’s “The View,” People magazine, Elle, Bridal Guide, Reader’s Digest, Entrepreneur and more.