Finally, Martina Cole lands a US publisher

Martina Cole may not be the biggest-selling novelist in Britain, but she certainly comes close. Her publisher, Hodder Headline, now affixes her novels with the “#1 bestseller” tag before that comes true…but it almost always comes true now. But Cole’s never been able to find an American publisher, largely on the grounds that her books are “too Essex” or “too gritty” or any excuse that leads to editorial boards killing potential deals. And even though there have been rumblings for a good 18 months that a US deal was “imminent,” I figured it would never happen. Why change the status quo?

Except it has:

UK bestselling author Martina Cole’s CLOSE, and a second book, to Jamie

Raab of Warner, for six figures, for publication beginning in spring

2008, by Sarah Thomson at Hodder Headline in conjunction with Darley

Anderson at Darley Anderson.

And the deal makes sense for one reason in particular: Warner (or whatever they will be called eventually) has been desperately looking for an A-list female thriller writer to call their own, whose track record hasn’t been dwindling or rising quickly enough or stagnating completely. And because Cole’s never been published in the US, she has no track record. That means Raab & co. could build her quickly or at least create some name awareness with the major chains.

Very interesting news, to say the least.