Writing a book is like preparing for Christmas by Kate Walker

Being a writer is a lot like preparing for Christmas. Well, writing a book is very similar.

You spend ages just thinking about it. Thinking and planning. If you're like me, you make a list, or rather lists, and check them more than twice.

A list of characters and their backgrounds, their families and friends. Christmas is always about familes and friends. The ones you love and want to see a lot of - like your hero and heroine. And the ones who always cause trouble and start arguments, maybe drink a little too much - the villain or the 'other woman' - but you have to invite them anyway.

A list of conflicts and problems that you are going to throw in their way. There are always problems and hitches in the run up to Christmas. The special toys that the little ones want but the shop has run out of them already. The awkward brother who you just don't know what to buy for him.

A list of settings, houses, countries, perhpas even, in Presents novels, a palace and a penthouse. You have to know who is going to be where and when so that you can get everyone together if you want to - or, alternatively, arrange for some much needed private time so that you/your characters can . ..er . . . spend a little quality time together!

A list of all the nice little things that will also happen. After all your hero and heroine are going to fall in love so there has to be some reasons why this is going to happen. Some special meals togther with really nice food and drink.And all this involves planning and scheming, organsing and thinking, to make sure it happens.

Once your lists are written, all the planning done, then you start to work through them. And this is where the fun often starts. You often find that you have to keep changing things and adjusting, altering as you go along. Your heroine has decided - without telling you - that she's going to have a different job, a new name, that she won't go here or there . . and you have to make different arrangement to make sure she does even meet up with her hero.

The plot you've decided on doesn't quite 'fit' and you have to go looking for something different to fill the empty spaces, all in good time for the deadline when you have to have everything ready.

The setting - that wonderful palace you were going to make that everyone met in, has been overbooked - everyone's been using that setting recently - so you're looking for somewhere else. Somewhere warm and lovely that can fit all the characters you want to collect together.

And all the time the Big Day ( your deadline ) is getting closer and closer. You find yourself thinking about nothing else all day long. You work on your preparations/your writing all day, every day it seems. You get up early, go to bed late, but no matter how hard you try, you still find yourself wrapping or cooking - or slamming out words - in a rush on the very last day.

But at last, finally, somehow it all gets done. You get to Christmas day/the end of your deadline and all you have to do is to cook the dinner (or press 'SEND' on the email of your manuscript) and sit back and relax. You can have a glass of wine - or two - forget about work and word coubnts etc for a while. And you can look around and think how great it is that everything turned out well in the end.

Or at least you hope you can until your editor gets back to you with her 'tweaks' and revisions - which is rather like finding that the brand new gadget you were given doesn't work right or the underwear was in the wrong size and you have to take it back to the shop . . .

But hopefully these will only be minor hitches and you'll soon be able to say when anyone asks, 'Oh yes, I had a wonderful time - it was such fun!' (You always soon forget the stress and hassle when you look back at your memories)

So with the similarities betwen writng a novel and Christmas in mind, it's not really surprising is it that I chose a Christmas giveaway this year based on the Advent Calendar as we count down to December 25th. Over on my blog I'll be giving away a book a day - some old, some newer, some single novels, some 3 in 1 collections. And all you have to do is to come on over and chat, leaving a message in the Comments section.

But today you don 't even have to visit my blog. Today, the giveaway comes here to Tote Bags. Today's giveaway is one of those 3 in 1 collections. Mistresses Shackled with Rubies is a collection that came out at the start of 2010. It has stories by Lucy Monroe and Lee Wilkinson together with my own Her Secret Bridegroom which was originally published back in 2000.

Bride by deception!
After a whirlwind wedding in Venice, Amy discovered that her brand-new husband had only married her to gain a priceless old ring. Fleeing Italy, Amy never told anyone of her marriage to ruthless billionaire Vincenzo Ravenelli.
Four years later, while Amy knew she'd never really love another man as she loved Vincenzo, she needed to be free of the past. The time had come to return to Venice and confront her secret bridegroom . . .

And today's question is- m

Are you a planner or a dasherwhen it comes to Christmas?

One of my sisters will have bought all her presents - and wrapped them - by now. My brother in law will leave everything to the last minute and then dash around like crazy trying to find what he wants. Which sort are you? Calm, collected and prepared ? Or wouldn't it be Christmas unless you went out into all the crowds and the excitement in the last week or so?

Post your answers in the comments and Sid the Cat will get to work to pick a winner - he loves this Advent Calendar idea. He gets to have extra cat crunchies every day for 25 days! As far as he's concerned his Christmas has come already.

And for me my Christmas came early when I learned that my March Presents Extra title The Konstantos Marriage Demand has been short-listed for the Best Presents Extra award by Romantic Times. That really was a special joy.


I know it's a little early but I want to wish each and every one of you all the joys and happiness of the Festive Seasons, no matter what you're celebrating. I hope you all have a wonderful time with family, friends and those you loveclose to you - and hopefully a little something extra special and beautiful like the rubies in the title of this giveaway wrapped and put under the tree for you. Have a lovely time and I'll be back at the very beginning of the New Year to see you all again.

Happy Christmas!

Kate Walker's latest Presents title - The Good Greek Wife? - was out in Presents Extra in October and is still available now on Amazon, eHarlequin etc. You can get all her news and read the latest updates over on her web site or her blog.

Sid has chosen the winner and the name he picked out is EV - so Ev please email me kate AT kate-walker.com to let me know your postal address and I'll put your prize in the mail to you.

Just to remind everyone that you can still keep entering my Advent Calendar Giveaway over on my blog every day up to Christmas,

Brightening November by Kate Walker

I usually find November to be one of the most miserable months. The weather has changed from anything that could be described as autumnal and is rapidly turning into winter. The temperatures have dropped, the sun seems to have disappeared from the sky, the clocks have changed so that the nights draw in dark and fast - and it all seems very - well Novemberish.

But this year things have been happening that had brightened up my November so that in many ways it's turning into one of my favourite months so far. For one thing I've just reached the end of the celebrations of 25 years as a published author. I've just rounded off the celebrations by giving away 25 prizes to readers who entered my contest in October. I love sending out prizes so this has been extra-special. Although this year has been fun and I've had a fabulous time celebrating, it has been rather a 'looking back' time and now I'm ready to be looking forward. So when December dawns, I can plan ahead and start finding new things to celebrate for my 26th year.

One of those things will be the publication of the third edition of my award-winning 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance. This means that this book has now sold out twice since it was first published in 2004. I just got my first author copies yesterday and I'm thrilled to have them in my hands.

Another thing I'm celebrating is the fact that the Romantic Times Book Review reviwers' choice awards were announced. And my book The Konstantos Marriage Demand was one of the five novels short-lised as Best Presents Extra 2010. I'm pretty sure that I celebrated on here when The Konstantos Marriage Demand was chosen as an RT Top Pick for March - now I'm celebrating again. I'm in really good company - the other books short-listed are:

WEDDING NIGHT WITH A STRANGER (Aug.)Anna Cleary

RICH, RUTHLESS AND SECRETLY ROYAL (Apr.) Robyn Donald

THE TWELVE NIGHTS OFCHRISTMAS (Nov.) Sarah Morgan

ITALIAN MARRIAGE: IN NAME ONLY (Apr.) Kathryn Ross

THE KONSTANTOS MARRIAGE DEMAND(Mar.)Kate Walker

And now . . . they say that good things come in threes so what's the third one? That's a very special, gorgeous Christmas present that my lovely DH has chosen for me. What? Yes, I do know about it because I had to go and choose it. You see this is the sort of a gift that can't really come as a suprise.

I'll bet you're all wondering what I'm talking about - but I'm afraid you'er going to have to wait just a little while. As soon as I can I'll tell more about this extra special (to me) gift over on my own blog.

But I can tell you that lookig forward to that and all of these little celebrations have really broghtened up my November - and it's still only the 7th .

So as you know I like to share when I'm celebrating, I'm m offering a giveaway copy of my short-listed title The Konstantos Marriage Demand to someone who posts a comment here today. Just let me know which Presents novel you've read you think should be awards Best Presents or Best Presents Extra for 2010.

(Or if you don't read Presents then tell me about some really special present someone gave you - or you gave some one. That will still be the Best Present!)

The Konstantos Marriage Demand is still available on Amazon or eHarlequin, But of course my latest Presents title is The Good Greek Wife? which is out in Harlequin Presents Extra in shops right now or again on Amazon or eHarlequin. This is the book that sold out here on the UK and it's been appearing on all the bestseller charts now it's out in America.

If you want to know more about The Good Greek Wife? you can find out on my web site or my blog where all the most up to date news and contests appear.

And the winner is - Linda Henderson. Linda please email me kate AT kate-walker .com with your postal address and I'll get your book in the post to you

Autumn's here! by Kate Walker

The summer has definitely gone. Outside my window as I write this here in the UK the skies are grey and the rain is coming down - again. It seems to have been raining all week. There were a few bright hours one morning and again early yesterday. All the water barrels are filled, the garden is soaked, the cats are huddled inside and if they do venture outside they stay for five minutes or so and then they're at the door, begging to be let in. It's too cold and miserable to be outside.

But I don't mind at all. In fact I welcome it. I'm glad to see the summer temperatures fade and the nights draw in. My husband has started to light a real coal fire in the grate in the evenings and I really don't feel like going outside too much. And that makes this sort of weather perfect writing weather. And I need to get some concentrated writing done.

I've been so busy over the summer, with the conference season and then with the teaching I've had to do. And teaching means travelling all over. I've been to London, York, Caerleon in Wales, Durham, London again - all wonderful places to visit. It was fantastic to meet up with everyone who was on the course on writing romance that I was teaching. We had a lot of fun. One of my favourite memories is of teaching a workshop on How To Write a Sex Scene on a Sunday morning in Durham with a mixed group of men and women of different ages and backgrounds. We had such a laugh. You see, when I teach this workshop and I get the students to write, each one of them has to have a 'sex change.' The women have to write as men and the men as women - it creates some really interesting moments. And sitting around talking about writing, discussing how to build characters, how to target your writing, is always fascianting and enjoyable. When I visited London it was for the Romantic Novelists' Association Conference and then again, last month, for the annual lunch of the Association of Mils & Boon Novelists. Meeting up with so many wonderful romance writers - ofd courese we talked about books and writing again.

But I'm ready to stop talking and really get down to the real thing. I've had a book that has been waiting to be finished for too long, put off as I prepare classes, organise handouts etc. I'm also ready to stay still for a while. I love travelling. I love visiting new places - or revisiting them as is the case with York, Wales and Durham. But I'm tired of living out of a suitcase. I'm looking forward to having my own things around me. Sleeping in my own bed, having a chance to read the books I've collected up on my travels. It's at time like this that I think of that song sung by Frank Sinatra -

It's oh so nice to go trav'ling

But it's oh so nice to come home.

So I'm looking forward to the Autumn - the Fall - and I'm looking forward to settling down and doing some concentrated writing. To getting this story off my desk and onto my editor's desk. And then to writing the next story with the next set of characters who are beginning to grow, their story developing inside my head. Prehaps it's because I spent to long with September/October meaning new school/college year, new term and all those lovely new notebooks, pens, and other stationary that came with the start of school.

And because of the cooler weather it's even more fun to daydream of far off places, of hot sunshine and foreign countries. Countries like Spain, Italy, Greece, where the stories of my novels are set. As you'll be tell from the title - The Good Greek Wife? - my very next book is set in Greece. On the island of Ithaca to be exact. And for me there's a whole pleasure in being able to curl up with a book and be transported to the glorious Greek sunshine, the sea and the sand, while outside - like now - the rain is pouring down. This book has just had this really great review from Romance Junkies:

THE GOOD GREEK WIFE? is definitely high on passion and Greek intensity! The story takes place in a very condensed time but it works well for the shock and awe that comes with seeing Zarek again after assuming he is dead. Kate Walker has these two going at each other with hurt, love and anger from the get-go, but it is in preparation for the true reveal of their feelings. The emotions are so heightened in this story that it adds a lot of intensity and spirit to Zarek's and Penny's reunion. And even with the presence of the evil family in the background, Zarek was able to show Penny that he had more in mind for their reunion than a divorce.

I don't know about you but that's just the sort of story I'd want to curl up by the fire and lose myself in another world.

What about you? Do you have something that you're really looking forward to now that the summer's over? Or do you hate the way that the evenings are closing in and the mornings are darker? I have a signed copy of The Good Greek Wife? to give away to someone who posts in the comments section. This book is already sold out in the UK so you'll want to grab a copy while you can.

Oh, and talking of giveaways and prizes, as you know I've been celebrating 25 years of being published as a romance writer, and to round of the year of celebrations I'm running a special great big contest over on my web site. I have 25 prizes of a book from my backlist and a Kate Walker tote bag - one for each year I'm published on offer. So check out my Contest Page to find out what to do. Answer 4 easy questions and you could be in with a chance of winning.

Kate Walker's new book The Good Greek Wife? is released in the Presents EXTRA line up on October 12th.

If you want to enter the 25th anniversary Contest then check out the Contest page of her web site. That's where you'll find all the details. And the most up to date news is always available on her blog.

AND THE WINNER IS - ALISON

Alison please contact me kate AT kate-0walker.com and I will arrange to send your copy of The Good Greek Wife on to you. Everyone else - why not have a go at the 25th anniversary contest?

New Beginnings by Kate Walker

I’ll admit that I was stuck for something to write about for today’s blog post. I’m in the last stages of finishing the latest book and my mind is focussed totally on that. It’s been a struggle to get this one written what with doing Valentine’s Day talks in several libraries and travelling to Wales for a weekend teaching writing romance . So I didn’t have much inspiration for blogging.

I thought about Wales, because I’ve just come back from there Spring – and Spring Cleaning but then I was looking back at some of my previous posts and I found that last year at this time I talked about those then! Hmm – nothing changes much in a year does it? The one thing that has changed is that I have a brand new book out in the shops this month and that always makes me smile. And recently I had news that made this one even more special.

As many of you know, I'm celebrating 25 years of being published - my first ever book, The Chalk Line was published in December 1984. In all those 25 years, one of the things I always dreamed of was to win the honour of having my book names as a Romantic Times Top Pick in the month it was out. It never happened - well, not until now. Several of my books earned the score of 4.5 stars, but none of them were ever awarded that elusive Top Pick.

Then suddenly, at the end of 2008, my November release, Bedded By the Greek Billionaire was the first of my books to be awarded the Top Pick for that month. I was thrilled. An ambition achieved. So imagine my delight when I just discovered that it's happened again. I just learned that my next release - The Konstantos Marriage Demand (Presents EXTRA March) has also been given the Top Pick selection for March. Once again I'm celebrating. And it’s every bit as much of a thrill the second time around.


I’m not quite sure what made this book so popular. (It’s been getting great reviews all over the place too). But I know one of the things that made it special for me when I was writing it and that was because there was the extra ‘edge’ to the background of my two central characters because I was writing about a long-standing, generations old-family feud.

But one of the great things about romances is that they always show how, with determination, open-mindedness, thought and – most importantly - love – the past can be put aside, the future opened up, and the characters can start afresh. That for me is one of the most important things about reading and writing romance. That whole sense of new beginnings when anything and everything is possible. And it’s perhaps what makes a romance the perfect reading for the start of spring when everything is new and starting over again. The trees are growing new leaves, the flowers are starting to push through little green shoots, ready to burst into bloom in a very short space of time. That’s why I always say that the endings of my books aren’t really endings – they are new beginnings.

I wrote this book at about this time last year when Spring was just around the corner. And now it’s being published at the beginning of Spring this year. I think that’s extra special. I love Spring and its promise of renewal and brighter days to come. And after a particularly hard winter with heavy snow, freezing winds and just lately far too much cold, pouring rain. And that’s why I love writing and reading romances too.

Do you agree? Is that why you choose romance to read? Or is it something else? I’d love to know.

PS To celebrate the publication of The Konstantos Marriage Demand I’m running a special contest with Lee’s help over on My Tote Bag. Why not check that out and see if you can win a copy of one of my books to help brighten your month and remind you that Spring is just around the corner?

And when I've written the happy ending/new beginning for my current hero and heroine and I get this book off my desk and on to my editor's then I'll be really ready for a whole new beginning all over again with another pair of characters.

Kate Walker's latest Presents release is The Konstantos Marriage Demand which will be out in Presents EXTRA on March 16th and is already available for pre-sale on eHarlequin.com.

Romantic Times called this a ‘ terrifically well-paced and fiery romance’ with a ‘very rewarding conclusion,’ and chose it as one of their series romance Top Picks for March.

And We Write Romance's reviewer says that:

There are many books released from Presents each month, but by far this is one you must pick up. It's a twist from the meet, fall in lust, fall in love type stories out there. This one is most definitely more intense. And while each character is flawed, they are perfectly written to make you want to see them succeed and come together.

You can find out more about Kate and her books by visiting her web site or get the really up to date news on her blog.

Looking Forward by Kate Walker

Last time I was here on Tote Bags 'N' Blogs, I was writing about the past - about the 25th anniversary of my very first published book and all the memories that evoked. (I was also asking you ifyou recalled your very first Kate Walker novel - or which were your favourite Top 5 of my romance. That contest is still open if you'd like to enter. Just take a look at the contest page on my web site - but ignore the closing date details. I'v e moved them to the 31st January 2010 instead)

Anyway, looking back was a good theme for December - but it really doesn't fit with January - does it? The new year has just begun with whole twelve months (less a couple of days) stretching out before us, just waiting to be filled with interesting and maybe exciting things. It's rather like the layer of fresh, crisp, perfect snow that covered the ground when I opened the door on New Year's Day. There it was, immaculate and untouched . . . just waiting . . .

So what is waiting for you this year? I know I have plenty to look forward to. It's one of the things about being a writer, that the books are always scheduled for publication months, sometimes even years ahead, and so there are always the publication dates to note in my diary and to anticipate with excitement. Yes, even after 25 years and 50 something books, I still find the release of a new title an exciting project, still get that special thrill to see my new title on the bookshop shelves. So that's definitely something I'm looking forward too.

And looking at the schedule I have that special thrill coming up at least three times on the next 6 months or so - starting with my next title, The Konstantos Marriage Demand which is out in just two weeks here in the Uk, then a little later - March 16th in Presents EXTRA in America. the next one up is A Good Greek Wife? (did I tell you that the Presents series titles are going through a change this year? That's something else to look forward to) This book is published in July in the UK and is in a special mini series of four books based on the Greek Myths.

And coming up in April in the UK is a special 3 in 1 volume that I'm really looking forward to. Normally the Mills & Boon By Request 3 in 1s are reprints of books by 3 different authors but this one - Claimed by the Sicilian - has three reprints of my books with Sicilian heroes.

So what else am I looking forward to? One of the great things about the success of my 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance is the fact that so many places ask me to run workshops or teach writing weeknds and this means I get to travel all over. In 2010 I will be travelling almost the length of the UK from Southampton in the South to Inverness and Ullapool in the wery north of Scotland. That's something, particularly the Scottish trip that I'm really excited about.

And then of course there are the books that I'm going towrite this year. I've already started the one that will come out after A Good Greek Wife? and I'm enjying getting to know my new Sicilian hero and his heroine and starting them out on their journey towards a happy ending. After that is another special project that I've been asked to write by my editor and I'll tell you more about that when I get closer to having it appear. Because of course the books I'm writing now will not appear until later in 2010 - and maybe not even until another new year!

So there's lots to plan ahead for, lots to anticipate - and that's without the Romantic Novelists' Assocation Conference, the other teaching I'll be doing in Wales (twice) later in the year. And of course there's lots of family stuff, and non-work events that will be coming up. And probably things I don't even know are just round the corner.

Whatever happens, 2010 is goingto be an exciting and busy year for me.

I hope it will be very special for you too. I wish you a truly happy year in 2010, with lots of happiness, fun, success and the best sort of joys life can bring. So that by the time it comes round to looking back again in Decmeber 2010 you will have lots of wonderful memories to treasure of the 12 months of this year.

So what are you most looking forward to in 2010? Do you have a holiday planned? Or is there some exciting event coming up for you and your family? Maybe a wedding or the birth of a new family member? I'd love to know about the good things you're anticipating. Let me know in the comments and I'll get Sid the Cat on the job of picking a winner so that one of you can have a small prize to start your new year off well.

You can find out more about the books I have coming up on my web site. If you want to know about my teaching, appearences and othe events then that information is on my Events page, and all the latest, most up to date news is on my blog where you can find out exactly what I'm up to.

Happy New Year!

PLease forgive me for the delay - life has been hectic, I'm on a very very tight deadline and I've only just found a moment to get back here - but Sid the Cat has been busy and he's chosen a winner - and the winner ins HOST - host can you please email me - kate AT kate-walker.com and send me your postal address so that I can send you your prize. I see you live in Coatia - I haven't sent a prize to Croatia before. Thanks for being my first!

Do You Remember Your First by Kate Walker

Do you remember your first?

I’ve been thinking about some of my very favourite authors, and trying to remember how I first discovered them – and even, if I can, trying to recall the very first time I read one of their novels – the ones that got me hooked on reading everything they ever wrote.

Mary Stewart was one of the earliest ones. I remember I saw the (not very good) film version of her book The Moonspinners when I was in my teens. So when I spotted a book with the same title I just had to read it to find out if it was any better than that. It was - so so much better and I was hooked. I hunted down every Mary Stewart book I could find and devoured them all. I still love them.

I can’t recall the books that got me hooked on Georgette Heyer, but I know I found the second book in Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond series (Queen’s Play) in the library and , although I really enjoyed it, there were a lot of references I didn’t understand – that ws because I hadn’t read the first book, Game of Kings. So I hunted that down, and again I just had to read every word she had ever written. They are still on my favourite ever books list.



I found another favourite author because of my sister. I was staying with her in Tasmania and I had free range to raid her –extensive bookshelves. There was one author, Jodi Picoult, who I’d never heard of. My sister recommended her enthusiastically. ‘ Amazing – she writes like a dream,’ she said. ‘Try one.’ So I tried My Sister’s Keeper (well before the film came out) and I just couldn’t put ti down.



I’ve been thinking about this for a very special reason. December 2009 marks 25 years – 25! – since the very first time I ever saw one of my own books in print. December 1984 was the month that my first ever title, The Chalk Line was published by Mills & Boon in the UK. It didn’t come out in America until 1992 – my first USA title was Game of Hazard. But The Chalk Line was the book that started it all off – a career writing and publishing romance that has lasted 25 years!


So this month and throughout the coming year, I’m celebrating the fact that I’ve now reached my ‘silver’ anniversary – 25 years as a published author. And people who know me well know that when I’m celebrating I like other people – my readers – to join in too. And this time is no different. I’m running a special contest on my web site with 25 – that’s right, 25 prizes to give away. And those prizes go to readers who let me know their first – and/or their favourite ever – Kate Walker title.


Can you remember the first Kate Walker novel you ever read? Were you right there at the beginning with The Chalk Line? Or have you discovered my books much more recently?

Tell me about your first time – the first Kate Walker you read. What book was it and what was happening in your life when you found it? Did you pick it up in a shop, find it in the library – or perhaps a friend or member of your family suggested you try it?


Let me know about the first book you read and I will publish the most interesting ones on my blog. I will also give a prize to anyone whose story I publish. You can win a signed copy of one of the backlist books I have a available, together with another small gift to celebrate Christmas and this special anniversary.


Send your First Book stories to me – see the email below – with FIRST BOOK in the subject line. Closing date for all FIRST BOOK stories is December 31st 2009. But I’ll be posting some of the titles and stories before then.

Or maybe you’d like to vote for your favourites of my books – your Top % Kate Walker title? If so, check out my Contest Page for details how to do that.

And to get this celebration started, why not let me know your first ever Kate Walker right here? I have an extra prize of a signed copy of my latest book Kept For Her Baby (Harlequin Presents EXTRA) to give away to some one who posts that information in the comments section.


And I’m thrilled to be able to say that my writing career will be lasting even longer that 25 years as I already have two new title coming out in 2010 with The Konstantos Marriage Demand coming in Presents EXTRA in March and A Good Greek Wife? following that some time in the summer. (It’s out in the UK in July) So look out for those.

And I’d love to know which one was your ‘first’ – or your five favourites.

Sid took some finding to pick a winner this time - we've had visitors and he was hiding away from the active 3 years old! But I found him and the winner of a copy of Kept For Her Baby is Linda Henderson. Linda please email me kate AT kate-walker.com with your postal address and I'll send on your prize.

And everyone else - if you want a second chance at winning, don't forget to enter the contest and vote for your Top 5 - details on the Contest page on my web site