Mills & Boon romance buffs in India can now expect some fiction about, well, literally undying love.

Come August, the brand will launch Nocturne, its paranormal romance series, here. With vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, angels and more, there's plenty of variety in this label, says Ms Clare Somerville, General Manager, India, UK and Export Sales, Harlequin Mills & Boon. The genre took off with Bram Stoker's end-of-19th century novel Dracula and now features current/recent favourites such as the Twilight and Buffy The Vampire Slayer series of books and movies.

Speaking to Business Line , Ms Somerville said, “There's a whole trend of the paranormal - people are being drawn into that through films and TV, especially the younger ones, and we're going to optimise it.” She expects Nocturne to appeal to younger readers, college students rather than teenagers for whom they're not really suitable, and not the young, single woman professional who's a typical reader either. Research among readers had revealed interest in paranormal romances, she added.

In India, M&B sells the Modern, Romance, Desire, Special Moments, and Historical series. Without revealing statistics, Ms Somerville said India is the fastest growing market for her company and the brand is doubling sales year-on-year. Harlequin Mills & Boon is a Canadian $500-million company operating in over 100 countries and entered India three years ago. Prices in India start at Rs 99.

For India, Mills & Boon is also launching a promotion where readers can contest to appear on the cover of an M&B novel to be published in December. This novel, yet untitled, is by Ms Asta Atrey who won the annual writers' competition M&B organised.

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