Novel Newsflash–YA Imprint from Choc Lit

Exciting news bloggers. Choc Lit will be launching their very own Young Adult imprint this August. Read on to find more!

Award winning indie publisher Choc Lit is to launch a young adult imprint called Choc Lit Rocks.  The first book under the new YA label will be New England Rocks, to be published worldwide in August 2013 in ebook and paperback formats. This title is the first in the New England series written by Christina Courtenay, marking a departure from her award winning historical fiction.

The heroine of the New England series is Rain Mackenzie, a young woman who trouble just seems to stick to.  Expelled from her British boarding school, she can’t believe her bad luck. Not only is she forced to move to New England, USA, she’s also sent to the local high school, as a punishment. She’s determined to hate everything, and her rebellious nature soon finds new ways to court controversy. And that’s not all she’s courting...

“Following a successful 2012, and recent expansion into the US, Australia and New Zealand, launching our YA imprint seems the logical next step,” said director Lyn Vernham.

In early January Choc Lit strengthened their position in the New Zealand market by purchasing world rights in Close to The Wind by Zana Bell from Northland. Zana’s book is a historical novel in the tradition of Georgette Heyer, about a pioneering woman who makes the long voyage from Europe to New Zealand during the 19th century.

With new signings in New Zealand and Australia, plus the launch of their YA imprint, Choc Lit will be stepping up production and distribution in 2013.

This is the first book that will  be published by Choc Lit Rocks.

The Author Christina Courtenay lives in Herefordshire and is married with two children. Although born in England she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden. In her teens, the family moved to Japan where she had the opportunity to travel extensively in the Far East.

Christina is vice chairman of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. In 2011, Christina’s first novel Trade Winds (September 2010) was short listed for The Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Award for Best Historical Fiction. Her second novel, The Scarlet Kimono, won the Big Red Reads Best Historical Fiction Award. In 2012, Highland Storms (November 2011) won the Best Historical Romantic Novel of the year award (RoNA). And The Silent Touch of Shadows (July 2012), Christina’s fourth novel, won the award for Best Historical Read at the Festival of Romance. New England Rocks is Christina’s debut young adult novel and the first in a series of three.