Interview with Harlequin NASCAR Romance Editor Marsha Zinberg

Hello,
I am so excited to welcome Harlequin Editor Marsha Zinberg to the Backseat to talk about the NASCAR inspired series of books they are publishing. 
  
Marsha, how did you get involved with the NASCAR line?
 

As Executive Editor of Feature and Custom Publishing, any of our projects or programs that do not fall within the regular established series fall under my “custom publishing” umbrella.  Also, I have long experience with continuity series, so once Harlequin and NASCAR had agreed on their publishing “partnership”, I was asked to execute the program.

 Were you a fan of the Sport before?  

No, I can’t say that I was, but I was certainly fascinated by the whole NASCAR franchise, and travelled both to the head office in Charlotte, and to Daytona for the 500, so I definitely got a grand introduction to the sport, and learned a fair bit about it.

NASCAR and Harlequin joining together is quite the clash of the Titans - you are both huge names in any arena - what have been some of the most interesting results?  Any big surprises?

We were certainly thrilled when we got front page coverage in the New York Times of a media event we sponsored at the Daytona 500, and one of the more interesting results for us has been the huge media interest in this “publishing partnership” between the two brands. I think one of the biggest surprises for me as an editor was discovering how many of our current writers were already either NASCAR fans or people well-versed in the sport.  I expected it not to be that easy to find writers willing  to and  capable of writing these romance with the authenticity I felt they needed, but I was gratified that so many authors I knew well were very excited about the NASCAR romances, and very well-informed about the  sport as well. Many of our southern writers had been raised watching races every Sunday afternoon during the season, so it was not a big stretch for them at all!

Have you had any feed back from drivers?

Well, in our first season, we had an agreement with Carl Edwards that he would appear as a character in a couple of our books, and he was very pleased with the way that was handled.  His car during that season also appeared on the cover, and he was very complimentary about our company and our books.
  
If this is not too loaded a question - who are your favorite drivers?
Ever tempted to sit shotgun and go for a ride?   Who would be your chosen chauffeur?

Since I got to meet Carl Edwards, and was very impressed with how gentlemanly and gracious he was, I’d have to put him right up there.  I did get to ride around the track at Charlotte, in an SUV rather than a race car, but we got the feel of the track.  We didn’t go 180 mph, but we went fast enough for me, so that’s a good enough stock car riding experience for me at present!

 Marsha thank you so much for joining us here and sharing!

For readers interested in checking out the Harlequin NASCAR Romances visit Harlequins site and check out the FREE Download they are offering in honor of their 60th Anniversary!

http://www.harlequincelebrates.com/ - Enjoy!