Back in 2003, two writers and critique partners were getting tired of being told there was absolutely no market for male/male romance. Publishers all over the country were turning these stories down, but Shawn Clements and Lorna Hinson had been writing for years, and loved the spicy-hot aspect of m/m fiction. They knew other people felt the same way, and on the impetus of an online chat, Torquere
Press was born. Torquere Press has always been about the readers of LGBT romance, providing those readers with great stories about men and women who truly care about each other. Whether novel-length or short story, whether steamy or sweet, Torquere provides readers with the fiction they crave. The catalog has grown from those first five books released in September 2003 to approximately two thousand titles and nearly two hundred authors, including Sean Michael, Chris Owen, Tory Temple, Kiernan Kelly, Mychael Black and Stormy Glenn. In 2007, Shawn and Lorna launched the Prizm Young Adult line, a labor of love created in the name of giving back to the LGBT community, who has been so supportive of Torquere through the years. Prizm books focus on the experiences of gay teens and young adults. In 2012 Prizm Books opened up to mainstream as well as LGBT stories for young adult and new adult age groups. Torquere has also supported charities with a short story collections for the last three years, with authors donating their royalties, and Torquere matching those donations 100%. In 2014 Shawn and Lorna chose to focus on their writing careers and sold the business to the other shareholder in the company Kristi Boulware along with her fiancee’ Joanna Talbot. Torquere's tagline has always been, "Romance for the Rest of Us"™ and a lot of people have asked what that means. It means that Torquere pushes the boundaries, providing romance for readers who like to color outside the lines and believe that everyone deserves a happy ending. It means that you can love traditional romance and also embrace differences in life and love. Anyone can enjoy a Torquere Press book as long as they bring an open mind to the bookshelf, and as long as they enjoy a traditional romance with non-traditional characters. Kristi and Joanna have over 30 years together in experience in the publishing industry, marketing, business management and more. We are very excited to see where Torquere and Prizm go in the next few years with much success. We have been around for over 10 years and are not going anywhere but up. You can find the Torquere Bookstore at www.torquerebooks.com
The Prizm Young Adult line is at www.prizmbooks.com
Oh, and for everyone out there who wonders, it's pronounced "tore-care-ay"!
