Romance and erotica are among the hottest categories in ebook sales and library lending. With this in mind, HarperCollins U.K. has announced a line of digital-only erotica that will launch at the end of the month.

Mischief Books, part of the publisher’s Avon romance imprint, will roll out its first 13 titles on March 27. Following the launch, the line will release four ebooks per month under editorial director Adam Nevill. Prices will range from $3 to $6 (£1.99 to £3.99).

In The Wall Street Journal, Nevill says the imprint, which will operate under the tag line “private pleasures with a hand-held device,” is a sign of the times: “It used to be a long walk to the counter with an erotica selection, but now that’s a thing of the past.”

Indeed, with stats in the WSJ pinning romance and erotica at 17 per cent of sales in adult fiction with 40 per cent of those sales in digital format, it seems likely romance and erotica might be on the vanguard of important digital innovation.