Harlequin Puts Its Faith in Unlikely Bedfellows

NEW YORK —  There’s a new kind of romance novel in which no bodices get ripped, no loins throb, no breasts heave, and the cover is more likely to feature a wedding dress than a shirtless Fabio.

And while a kiss is still a kiss, it no longer sends the hero on an inexorable journey to “the pulsing flower of her womanhood.”

Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., one of the world’s leading publishers of romance novels, is introducing a line of inspirational Christian fiction in which the heroine is chaste and God is the third figure in every love triangle.

In a testament to the growing popularity of religious fiction, the publishing house launched its new Steeple Hill division in September with three Christian romances.

Steeple Hill plans to bring out three of the novels a month through 1997 and eventually branch out to broader areas of religious fiction and nonfiction.

With Harlequin’s publishing muscle behind it, the line represents a major step for religious fiction, enabling it to break out of Christian bookstores and into mass-market sellers such as Kmart and Wal-Mart.

“It not only speaks loud and clear about the market, but it does, if you will, give a validity to this market because it speaks from a commercial voice,” said Phyllis Tickle, religion editor for Publishers Weekly.

The new Harlequin fiction line also returns the romance novel to its gentler roots, when governesses would look longingly across the room at noblemen and the tale would end with nothing more salacious than the characters rushing into each other’s arms and saying, “I love you.”

As romance fiction took off during the 1980s and more publishers entered the field, the competitive juices produced ever more explicit prose. In Steeple Hill romances, the kisses are described in passionate detail, but the action stops there. Rather, the love stories are set in the larger context of the characters’ relationship with God. Through faith, they overcome past hurts and learn to love again.

In the final scene of “In Search of Her Own,” by Carole Gift Page, Phillip and Victoria watch the moonlight cast a soft glow over the sleeping son she had given up years ago.

“No matter what happens, we’ll never be alone,” she says, “because our heavenly Father will be with us and watching over us forever.”

Harlequin believes there are a lot of people out there who are looking for fiction that is consistent with their faith.

Lisa Miles, special promotions manager for the publishing house, said inspirational books are one of the fastest-growing markets, with sales projected to rise from 118.4 million books in 1995 to 133.2 million in 2000.