Romance publisher Avon Books is experimenting with eBooks without digital rights management (DRM) controls. The publisher is offering a DRM-free options on select digital titles from its imprint. The DRM-free files will be sold in Adobe ePub editions.

The publisher explained that the idea is came from reader demand. Author Tessa Dare explained: ”I know that DRM can be a frustration for honest, paying readers who just want to purchase and read books on their preferred devices.  Avon’s experiment will help me reach a new segment of the digital readership.”

Avon has also launched a new Facebook app, the Avon Social Reader, that lets users read excerpts from upcoming Avon releases and share this content with their friends. AppNewser has more: “Up to 20 percent of each book will be available to read. The content includes social media share buttons, and the app will connect to e-commerce links so that customers can buy the eBooks if they like them. Avon got the idea after doing a survey that found that  romance readers spend a lot of time talking about their favorite books in social networks.”

The app launched this week with twenty-nine titles available for exploring. This includes: A Scandalous Scot by Karen Ranney;  Confessions from an Arranged Marriage by Miranda Neville; and Mating Season: A Cabin Fever Novella by Alice Gaines, among many others.