Random House announced today that the “Loveswept” imprint is coming back this summer with a modern twist: the line will be digital-only.

The imprint, which was popular in the 1980s and 1990s, originated at Bantam Books and has been dormant for a dozen years. It relaunches in August with eight new works. According to Random House, one new ebook will be released each month in the fall.

Loveswept helped launch the careers of authors such as Janet Evanovich and Tami Hoag. Some popular past  titles will be revived, including This Fierce Splendor by best-selling author Iris Johansen – although I’m guessing it will get an updated cover.

The Loveswept tagline – Love stories you’ll never forget by authors you’ll always  remember – is also coming back. 

According to Publishers Weekly, Sue Grimshaw, category specialist and editor-at-large, will host a new website, RomanceAtRandom.com, to discuss all things romance while also promoting Loveswept and Ballantine Bantam Dell titles.

Amazon announced today that thriller writer John Locke is the first self-published author to sell more than a million ebooks via the online retailer. 

Locke has reportedly sold 1,010,370 Kindle books using Kindle Direct Publishing.

Locke joins an elite group. Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Charlaine Harris, Lee Child, Suzanne Collins and Michael Connelly are the other members of the so-called Kindle Million Club.

“Kindle Direct Publishing has provided an opportunity for independent authors to compete on a level playing field with the giants of the book selling industry,” said John Locke, in the Amazon press release. “Not only did KDP give me a chance, they helped at every turn. Quite simply, KDP is the greatest friend an author can have.”

The Louisville, Kentucky man is the author of nine novels including “Vegas Moon,” “Wish List,” “A Girl Like You,” “Follow the Stone,” “Don’t Poke the Bear!” and the New York Times bestselling ebook, “Saving Rachel.”

Locke’s latest book, “How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months,” is a how-to guide for self-published authors.

Foxnews.com credits female romance readers with being the real force behind skyrocketing ebook sales.

According to the article by John Quain, women account for 55 percent of ereader owners. And they’re helping drive titles like “Maid for the Billionaire,” “Outcast,” “My Horizontal Life” and “Cotillion” – to the top of Amazon Kindle’s bestseller list.

The New York Public Library, which has the highest circulating ebook library in the U.S., is seeing the impact of this. The article says its ebook loans are up 36 percent over this time last year. Romance novels are the library’s most popular genre by far, their checkout rate is more than double that of mysteries, the second most popular genre.

The library says most ebook checkouts take place on weekend nights.

The article’s findings are in keeping with a recent survey by the Book Industry Study Group, which identifies today’s ebook power buyer as a 44-year-old woman who reads romance, buys at least one ebook a week and spends more on books today than she has in the past.