Happy July - With Kate Walker

It's the first Sunday in July - it hast to be as  I write all my blogs for Tote Bags 'N' Blogs on the first Sunday of the month! But the  first Sunday of july marks a month that's always rather special for me.Rather special and rather busy!

I've just done the revisons on my latest book - fingers crossed that my editor like them  - and now I can look forward to the rest of July as I do every year.  What's so special about July? Well, apart from the fatc that  we do usually - well, sometimes, finally get the summer weather we've all been looking forward to, there are some event s coming up this month that I look forward to.

For a start, tomorrow is the Men's Final day at Wimbledon.  For years my Sunday afternoon treat has been to watch the men's final, together with a bowl of strawberries and ice cream as I do some heavy duy research by watchig the strong, fit men wearing white shorts and tee shirts and pounding up and down the green of the tennis court. Some years I've been really enthusiastic, strongly supporting one player or another but this year I don't really mind who wins -  I'll just enjoy the event. (It's probably just as well I'm not supportign anyone as when I do, I tend to get over-enthusiastic, yelling  'Oh yes Rafa or Roger or  whoever - more! More! This can get slightly embraarrassing when I realise that the windows are wide open and the neighbours can hear every word - but then they know I'm a romance writer so they expect me to be a bit crazy!)

In a normal July, the first event I usually get to is one I'm going to have to miss this year - the Romantic Novelists' Association has its annual conference  from July 8th - 10th. This year I'm not going to make it.   I wish I could be there to catch up with everyone and meet friends I don't usually see except at this one event.   Maybe next year.

But July 14th is one date I'm not going to miss. On that day The Babe Magnet and I will have been married for years and years and years  - I was a  child bride, honest!  I remember we just picked the date out at random - three weeks after we left university.  It's a very special date obviously and one well worth celebrating.

Then at the end of the month  the Babe Magnet and I will head for one of our favourite places in all the world -  Caerleon in Wales. This is where we take part in the fabulous Writers' Holiday help in part of the University campus there. We've been going for - I think it's ten years now, and we've only missed it once. Our year just didn't feel the same that time.  We both have a very special place in our heart for Wales because it was while we were both at university there that we met for the first time and so in many ways it fels a little bit like going home.

We are both teaching a course this year - I'll be teaching Writing Romance based on my 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance. And the Magnet is teaching Writing Poetry. We'll also have several clear days when we can read and relax - there is always someone interestign and fun to talk to at Caerleon - and there  are some wonderful speakers, a poetry reading . . . the Welsh Male Voice choir. I can't wait!

And we always add on a day at the beginning and the end of the visit to Writers' Holidays - staying en route at the lovely town of Great Malvern - we've done this every time we've been to Wales and we love Malvern with it's steep hill, lots of interesting craft and jewellery shops  and - most importantly for my husband, a fabulous second hand bookshop where he can spend hours just investigatig the shelves and always fnds something that's just fascinating -  and that he claims will help him with his research into his own writing!

Oh now that I've told you all about my July I'm gertting even more excited at the prospect - I just can't wait to  pack the cases and head off for Wales.

So what about you?  Are you doing anything special in July? I know that so many of my American friends and readers will of course be celebrating on Monday - so can I take this choance to wish you all the very happiest Fourth of July  - I hope you have a wonderful day!

My latest novel- The Proud Wife (Presents Extra)  is still available  on Amazon or eHarlequin.com and   my 2000 title Constantine's Revenge has just been reissued as an ebook. Coming up next will be The Return of the Stranger which is out in September (UK) and October in Presents Extra in USA.

You can find out the most up to date information and all about these boks over on myweb site  or on my blog

Oh and over on My Tote Bag - there's a contest to win a couple of  my  backlist books - this month its The Antonakos Marriage and  Bedded by The Greek Billionaire.  Good luck!

Sitting still by Kate Walker

There's a song going round and round in my head at the moment. It's that famous one sung by Frank Sinatra all about the fun of going trav'ling - you know the one . . .

Its very nice to go travling

To paris london and rome

Its oh so nice to go travling

But its so much nicer, yes its so much nicer, to come home

This song is in my brain because at last, after a long July of being here there and everywhere. I'm finally home - and I'm staying for long enough to unpack properly and not just in order to wash my knickers and turn round and repack for a different destination.

I started last month with a couple of library events in different parts of the country. Then there was a fantastic trip to Washington and the RWA national conference. That was a lot of fun! I got to meet up with so many of my writer friends, make new ones with people I met. I talked with readrs - always such an important part of my trip to , had lunch and dinner with editors and other Presents authors, and I explored Washington by trolley car and on foot. I had a wonderful time.

I finally flew back to the UK with just five days in which to unpack, turn round, repack and head for Wales where I was teaching the Writing Romantic Fiction course at Caerleon Writers' Holidays in Newport. Again that was a fantastic week - in spite of the rain that poured down in such torrents that I seriously started to wonder if I should think about building an ark! This was the 25th Writers' Holiday so there were some celebrations to mark this very special event - one of which was my own secret gift to the organisers Anne and Gerry Hobbs. I had dedicated my next book - Kept for Her Baby - to them and luckily my author editions had arrived in time for me to take a copy with me to give to them.

So now I'm home again. The cases are unpacked for at least - oh - six weeks! - I'm sleeping in my own bed, wandering round my own garden and it feels great. The cats have even started to think about forgiving me for abandoning them - though there was some heavy duty sulking before they made up their minds.

And at last I can get back to work! All the time I was travelling I had these two new ideas buzzing around in my head and not enough time to really write them down or develop them into a full proposal for a couple of new books. But now all that is going to change. I have a special project to start with - a for a brand new mini series sugested by my editor. That story has a fabulous sexy Greek hero at the centre of it. And then after that I have a handsome Sicilian waiting impatiently for me to start his story.

And I can't wait to get to meet them.

So although I'm sad that my wonderful travelling month is over, I'm looking forward to staying in one place for a month or two. And I'm anticipating some long, enjoyable days with these new heroes and their stories that I'm just itching to write.

What about you? Are you travelling anywhere interesting this month or have you had yur holidays and like me are finding it's 'oh so nice to come back'?

It's very nice to go travling

But it's oh so nice to come home

Kate's next title for Harlequin Presents is Kept For her Baby which will be published in Harlequin Extra in October.

You can find out more about her and her books on her website and her blog.