When You're Not Reading Romance

I've had a bit of an enforced break from writing,  working on  the keyboard, looking at the screen, just recently.  It wasn't what I wanted but it's been necessary and I hope  it will be doing me some good. A few health problems have  meant that I'm having to follow doctor's orders to 'pace myself' and one of  the  things I'm supposed to 'pace' - or in this case 'ration' is my time at the computer screen. A series of bad headaches that have a nasty tendency to turn into flashing migraines if I over do it means that I need to restricrt the time I spend at the computer and do other things.

It's slightly scary how much 'extra' time I have when I'm not  able to work or blog  - or even email. (If you've been expecting an email from  me then  please accept this as my excuse!)  I've done some gardening, cleared out a coiple of cupboards, planned a new kitchen . . . ready for work to begin next year.
And I've read. Reading doesn't give me migraines - the print doesn't flash in my eyes, and I can focus on the page for much longer than a screen.

But because I'm not supposed to work too much   then reading romance  hasn't been so enjoyable as usual - if I read romance, I immediately want to write it. I see how someone has dealt with a plot point in their story and it makes me want to work on a  similar problem in mine. Or a character fascinates me and I want to  go away and work on my hero or heroine and make them as interesting and give them added depth - but I'm not supposed to!

So I've been changing my reading habits around and grabbing books from my TBR pile that are not romance and so don't tempt me in this way -   and I've really been enjoying it.

It's sort of refreshing to read stories  that aren't romances and I've been gobbling up books at a surprising rate. I think it's because I'm deliberately reading something differernt and so it's refreshing and new.

So what's  movedfrom my TBR pile to the HBR (has been read) shelf?

A couple of great thrillers.  Last year my son and I discovered  Linwood Barclay at the same time and now we both read the new book as soon as we can. My son gave me Never  Look Away and last week I  started this   knowing what would happen. It grabbed me, as  Barclay's books always do, and I stayed up late at night to finish it.

Back in February I taught my usual Fsihguard Writing  Weekend  - where I teach the advanced course in Romance Writing - and one of my 'students' was a published novelist called Susan Moody -  she wanted to learn how to put more romance into her stories - though personally I'm not sure she needed to. She has a new book out this year Losing Nicola, a story about the way that finding out the truth about the past can affect the present - and solve the mystery of a long ago murder.  I lost myself in this one.

Or how about Second-Hand Heart? If you've seen the film Pay it Forward then you'll  know  the work of Catherine Ryan Hyde. I've been fascinated by stories  of  the way that heart transplant patients seem to take on some of the characteristics of their donors and this fascinating book deals with that - and then what happened wheh the heroine  who has received the heart meets up with the widower of the donor. . . .

I have  more non romance books on my TBR -  the story of  The Princes in the Tower - and whether one escaped - a biography of Billy Joel  . . . The story of the murder(?) of Amy Robsart in 1560 . . . all  very different from the romance I usually read and write.  And I'm having a great time - I feel refreshed, stimulated - keen to get back to what I'm reading. I think taking a break has renewed my interest in books and sparked off new ideas . .

The only trouble is that now I want to put those new ideas into writing my own books - and 'pacing' myself isn't easy!

What about you? If you're not reading romance - what do you read? Have you tried anything new,  discovered any great new authors recently? I don't really need anything now on my TBR pile - but I'm always open to suggestions.

And as Charlie the Maine Coon hasn't picked any winners lately, he'll be glad to know that I'm celebrating.  I just heard this week that my  Presents Extra title The Proud Wife has been nominated for Best Presents Extra Reviewer's Choice Award   2011 in Romantic Times.  You may remember that The Konstantos Marriage Demand won this  award in 2010. This was one really great email I read in the time I was allowed to look at the screen!

So I'm offering a copy of The Proud Wife as a giveaway to someone who comments today - or a copy of The Konstantos Marriage Demand if you've already got TPW. I love sharing celebrations with everyone.
This post is the latest stop in my Big Blog Tour that is still going on. (you can find the details here)   So I hope you’ll join me as I visit lots of different blogs all over the world. There are posts, writing advice – and lots of giveaways. 

Kate Walker’s The Return of the Stranger is out in Presents Extra in America or Sexy Romance in Australia. You can find out more details over on Kate's Web site – with all the most up to date news on her blog.

And Charlie has just picked the winner (s) He's greedy and he's picked two so
Brunette Librarian and
Di please email me with your postal addresses and I'll get the prizes in the mail to you!
Hope to see everyone else along the way on my blog tour - there will be more giveaways then

Kate Walker: Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother’s Day in the UK. I know it’s not the same date as it’s celebrated in America – I’ve never been quite sure why there is this difference – but in the UK we’ll be celebrating ‘Mothering Sunday’ on April 3rd. In the Roman religion the Hilaria festival was held in honour of the mother goddess Cybele and it took place during mid-March. As the Roman Empire and Europe converted to Christianity, this celebration became part of the liturgical calendar as Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent to honour the Virgin Mary and the "mother church".


During the sixteenth century, people returned to their mother church for a service to be held on Laetare Sunday. This was either a large local church, or more often the nearest Cathedral. Anyone who did this was commonly said to have gone "a-mothering". In later times, Mothering Sunday became a day when domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mothers and other family members. It was often the only time that whole families could gather together, since in other days they were prevented by conflicting working hours. This Mother’s Day is going to be sad as well as a celebration for us. I’ll be so happy to see my son and to celebrate with him, but sadly my dear Mother in Law died a couple of weeks ago and so, like my own mother, she will be missed today.

So even more than usual, I’ve thinking about Mothers and their influences on us, and because I’m a writer I’ve been thinking about the books that my mother brought into my life. I don’t know if I would ever have started writing romance if it hadn’t been for the fact that my mother had a great friend who used to write for Mills & Boon in the years I was growing up. Marguerite Lees was a writer of romance back in the 1960s and 70s and she was the first person I ever knew who wrote and was published for a living. My mother had a collection of her friend’s books and I used to sneak a read of them when she wasn’t looking. They weren’t very sexy or even racy, but she still didn’t think they were suitable for me when I was young!

It’s funny though - because she thought that reading the classics like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights was fine. And these books have such strong emotions, such powerful themes of love and passion that they are far more intense and high-voltage than anything I ever read in the early Mills & Boon romances I read. But perhaps the fact that I read these books meant that when I wanted to write then I wanted to create stories that contained such intense emotions and strong feelings as the books I’d grown up with. So perhaps that’s why I now write for the Presents line where this emotional intensity is part of the atmosphere of the stories.

It certainly is there in my newest release – The Proud Wife - which is out in Presents Extra on April 12th. In The Proud Wife, Marina and Pietro married in a rush, early in their relationship, because she was pregnant. They were still in that wildly passionate first stage of love, when you’re blind to everything else. And the baby just seemed like the icing on the cake. But when Marina miscarried, their relationship was tested cruelly. Grief does terrible things to people. Some couples can be drawn together by it, others are torn apart. And because Marina and Pietro didn’t know each other well enough to understand what each of them was going through, it opened up the cracks in their marriage and split them up.

When someone has once loved so very passionately, the loss of that love leaves a hole that is very hard to fill. Marina and Pietro believe that they would be better apart, that their marriage is dead. But when they have to come back together to discuss the divorce, they are forced to think again. I love to write about themes like this - reunion stories are some of my favourites to write. And luckily they seems to be very popular with the readers – and reviewers. Romantic Times has given The Proud Wife 4.5 stars and describes it as ‘an emotionally charged page-turner with plenty of tension and passion. ‘

Which brings me to my really good news – I’m thrilled to be able to announce that another reunion story – The Konstantos Marriage Demand has been awarded the Best Presents Extra (2010) title in the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Awards. It’s a real honour for me and one I know my mother would have been delighted by. Sadly she never saw my books published - though she knew that the first one had been accepted. My Mother in law read and enjoyed every one of the novels I gave her and she knew about this award when I still had to keep it a secret. I’m so glad I was able to let her know before the official announcement and I’m so sad that I won’t be able to share my books with her in the future.

What about you? Did you get any of your love of books from your mother – or mother in law? – Did she share her favourite authors with you? Or if you are a mother what books have you been able to pass on to your daughter - or your son? I’ve been able to share all sorts of reading with my son but the romances are the books I share with his lovely girlfriend.

I have a signed copy of the award winning Konstantos Marriage Demand to give away to one poster – I’ll get Sid the cat on the job of picking the winner

You can read more about The Proud Wife over on my web site and you can learn all about my news and get all the really up to date stuff on my blog.

And the winner is . . . .LENI!


Leni please email me kate AT kate-walker.com and I'll send your prize book on to you

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,

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

Happy New Year (just a little bit late)

I'm not a great one for making New Year resolutions. I always find that in the razmatazz leading up to the New Year everyone gets a little carried away and decides on dieting, not drinking, not smoking, detoxing etc etc just that bit too much and sets themselves a whole load of aims and achivements to reach for - most of which are way out of our reach so that the failure to reach them means that we just feel worse about ourselves rather than better.

But then I feel lazy and a real let-down when all around me everyone else is declaring their resolve to do better, try harder, become the 'New You'. So I was quite relieved to read that a psychologist had declared much the same idea.

So I’m not resolving anything. And I don’t really feel that I need a ‘New Me’. The ‘old’ one might need a bit of a shake up every now and then but I’ve managed OK so far. But I am looking forward to 2009 with a lot of anticipation and some excitement. It’s a special year for Harlequin, for one thing. Last year here in the UK we all celebrated Mills & Boon’s Centenary year and that involved a lot of excitement, a lot of interest in the press, and personally I travelled up and down the country to appear at Book Festivals and other events to give workshops on my 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance. It was hectic!

2009 will be a bit quieter for the UK - but an important year for Harlequin because this is the year that they are celebrating their Diamond anniversary – 60 years of publishing romances! So watch out for all the special events and offers that will be announced over on eHarlequin. I'm looking forward to celebrating with them too.

And for me 2009 is also a year to celebrate. In December this year, it will be 25 years since my very first ever book was published. That’s right ! 25 years ! A special silver anniversary for the day my dreams came true and I became a published author. I’m not quite sure how I will mark the date but I will be doing something special.

And before that I’m looking forward to the publication of some new books that I have coming up – the very first of which will be published at the end of this month. That’s when my next Harlequin Presents Cordero’s Forced Bride will be appearing on the shelves in the American bookshops.

With my last title Bedded By The Greek Billionaire shortlisted for the Romantic Times Best Presents of 2008 I’m looking forward to the announcement of the results of that. (Though considering the great books also nominated with me, I’m honestly going to be happy, no matter who wins.) There’s another new title coming in September too and I’m looking forward to that as well.

But sometimes it seems that when you work in publishing you’re always looking forward – always planning ahead. Right now, I’m busy with the plans for my next book, the deadline is already set for when I need to have this on my editor’s desk and I’m working towards that right now. The trouble is that I know that as soon as I get involved in the story and get my head down, then the time of writing it will just pass in a flash. It always does. I’ll look up and realise that it’s March or April and this ‘New Year’ is way behind me and already we’re partway through it. And if I’m not careful I’ll be too busy looking ahead to take the time and space to enjoy the present.

So that’s my resolve – not necessarily a ‘resolution’ but definitely a determination – for 2009. I’m going to take a couple of steps back and actually experience – and enjoy – everything that comes along in this new year that stretches ahead right now. I know from experience that if I don’t then I’ll get to this time in 2010 with a sort of ‘blink and you missed it’ feeling. Instead I want to actually live fully in this year, experiencing everything that happens in it so that I will remember it all as clearly as possible. After all, these past 24 years of being published seem to have passed in a lash already. I want to enjoy the 25th!

What are you looking forward to specially in 2009? What do you hope will bring you some really great memories to recall as 2010 dawns (or is that looking too far ahead again?) Let me know what you hope this new year will bring for you and I’ll get Sid the Cat to pick out one name to win a signed copy of that award nominated book Bedded By The Greek Billionaire.

Oh – and just to let you know that this will be my regular blogging spot on Tote Bags from now on – the first Sunday of the month, So I’ll be back on February 1st when I will be talking about Cordero’s Forced Bride. See you then!

My apologies - I posted, meant to come back and read all the comments and chat with you - and life caught up with me and I've only just managed to snatch a moment to breathe and come back here.

Sid the Cat has picked me a winner - he doesn't have so much to do and he was just sitting about by the fire so he got the job done straight away! And he has picked:

Michele L

Michele please email me kate AT kate-walker.com so that I can organise your prize for you.

Thanks to everyone else who posted.

Reviews? - Anna Campbell

by Anna Campbell

As regular readers of my blogs know, I have a book out at the end of this month (the 30th December, not that I'm counting! MUCH!).

After over a year since my last release, TEMPT THE DEVIL hits the shelves this month. I hope that brooding, sexy gaze is staring out at you in a local store soon.

I hope he's tempting you! He sure tempts me!

The month leading up to a book's release can be quite a nervous time because it's when you get hit by a lot of REVIEWS!

So far, and I blush to boast, all the reviews for TEMPT THE DEVIL have been of the kind that my mother would write. Romantic Times even went so far as to call it "unforgettable powerhouse romance."

Isn't that nice? It was also nice to be chosen as a January Top Pick and to see my gorgeous hero the Earl of Erith awarded a K.I.S.S. (Knight in Shining Silver) Award.

If you'd like to read more reviews, I've put excerpts from a couple up on my website in the Latest News for December.

While you're there, why not check out the contest where you can win one of three signed copies of TEMPT THE DEVIL? Just tell me what tempts you! Oh, and if you want to read the blurb and an excerpt from the book, visit the books page. Perhaps that might tempt you too!

Something else to tempt you is a trivia contest All About Romance After Hours are running. They've got three copies of my second Avon historical romance UNTOUCHED up for grabs. The contest closes at midnight on 11th December so you've got plenty of time to enter!

Something else to tempt you in December is the 12 Bandita Days of Christmas over on the group blog I share with 19 other fantastic writers. We're giving away rooster-themed prizes from December 12-24, culminating in a major prize on the 24th. Why roosters? Aha, become a regular on the Romance Bandits and you'll discover all!

Then on Christmas Day, we're giving away a humungous hamper of Bandita goodies to someone who manages to wrench themselves away from their presents long enough to comment. Seriously, this is a prize worth winning so if you have a chance on 25th December, pop by and wish us the compliments of the Season!

http://romancebandits.blogspot.com

And while I'm talking about goodies, my good friend Annie West has an amazing contest going on her website right now (closes at the end of December). You can win signed copies of EIGHT latest releases from Aussie authors Anna Campbell (um, that would be me!), Annie West, Robyn Grady, Christine Wells, Carol Marinelli (two books), Melissa James and Nicola Marsh.

As this is my last post for the year, I'd like to thank everyone at Tote Bags for the lovely warm reception I always get here. It's such a nice, friendly blog to be a part of and I'm in awe of my sisters in crime (well, romance!) who blog here. I'd like to say a special thanks to Leena who wrangles us all and makes sure the blog is there. I'd also like to say thanks to everyone who comments on my blog each month. I always thoroughly enjoy the conversations!

Happy Holidays to everyone, however you celebrate the Season. See you back here for a rocking New Year in January 2009! Whoo-hoo!

Now, my question for you is - how much attention do you pay to reviews? Can a review convince you to buy a book?

Celebrating

As you probably know, this year is a very important year for Mills & Boon. 2008 marks the centenary of the date when Gerald Mills & Charles Boon established their publishing company in 1908, with a capital of just £1000. All through the year there have been events and parties, exhibitions and celebrations to mark this special event. And on a personal note I've been travelling here there and everywhere in the UK to take part in as many of these special events as I could.

Last week I was in Guildford, as part of the Guildford Book Festival, to mark the 100th Birthday yet again. In the afternoon I ran a workshop on writing romance - to mark the second edition of the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance - and then in the evening I was on a panel to talk about writing romance and Mills & Boon's 100th birthday all ove again. I shared the evening with fellow M&B author Gill Sanderson who writes Medicals, romantic novelist Katie Fforde and romantic comedy writer Matt Dunn. We had a wonderful time talking about writing, sharing our enjoyment of romantic fiction, and asking 'what's wrong with a happy ending anyway?' )Answer from the audience- nothing!)

But the event was also very special for me because I was celebrating something rather lovely of my own. For the past week or so, I've been doing the Snoopy dance of joy and smiling a lot.
Because I discovered on the Romantic Times web site that not only have they give my new novel, Bedded By The Greek Billionaire 4.5 stars but they have also made it one of their Top Picks for November.

I am so thrilled by this. In fact I've achieved a long-held ambition. A l-o-n-g held ambition.
I've had some good reviews from RT, generally pretty respectable. And The Twelve Month Mistress was short-listed for Best Presents in 2005 but I've never achieved that elusive Top Pick for the month.

Now I've finally manged it and Bedded By The Greek Billionaire had a wonderful review as well. The reviews aren't up on the RT site yet, but my lovely friend Holly Jacobs (who got 4.5 stars herself with her fabulous Same Time Next Summer in August ) subscribes to the magazine and she was able to find the review and send it on to me so I can share it with you. (Thanks Hall!)

Seven years after he left in disgrace, Angelos Rousakis is back in London. He'd been attracted to Jessica Marshall but knew she was too young. But she wouldn't leave him alone and when her stepfather found them in what seemed to be a compromising position, Jessica placed the blame on him. Now Jessica's stepfather has died and she learns Angelos is now the owner of the estate. When Angelos sees Jessica he expects to feel triumphant but now wonders if his hate isn't masking something else. Kate Walker's Bedded by the Greek Billionaire (4.5) is a delicious melodrama full of dizzying emotions as the reader goes along with the highs and lows as this couple finds each other again. —Sandra Garcia-Myers

Great isn't it? Thank you RT - and Sandra Garcia Myers.

And then to cap it all, I found that over on We Write Romance they loved this book too. On that site too they've chosen this book as the Spotlighted Review - and given it 4 stars out of a possible 4.

And another review to lift my heart and make me smile all over again:

Looking for that book that can make your heart bump up to your throat with emotion...and stay there throughout the entire book? Well, then look no farther. Kate Walker's Bedded by the Greek Billionaire is just that emotional thrill ride you've been looking for in your next read. . . .

Jessica and Angelos' story is one full of emotional twists and turns. And though Jessica is not as emotionally mature as I would have liked, Angelos more than makes up for it. The two together are wonderful. This book was truly inspiring. It shows that as a teen we often make mistakes that can hurt others, but there are second chances in life that make it possible to make up for those mistakes. I would definitely recommend this book, but I would warn you not to start it unless you can stay up all night finishing it!

Times like this, when you realise that a book you've written has really succeeded and you;ve touched the hearts of readers and reviewers are what an author lives for. It means that the long hours spent on your own, creating imaginary worlds, imaginary characters, have all been worthwhile. And achieving a long held ambtion like getting a Top Pick just makes it all the more special.

So that's why I'm celebrating this week - and when I celebrate I like to share with my readers. At the workshop, I had some special Mills & Boon Centenary goodies to give out and I still have a few of them left. So I have two sets of special Centenary Goody giveaways to share. All you have to do is to tell me what you're celebrating - let's make this Good News week - and I'll get Sid the Cat to pick two names out of the comments and they'll win the special prizes.

I'll add in a copy of my own special Centenary publication, The Duke's Secret Wife which is part of the Centenary Collection this year.

Because good news is worth celebrating.

Romantic Times

I live in Erie, PA and when I found out that RT's annual convention was in Pittsburgh, I knew I was making the two hour trip south to go. I planned to go for the whole convention, but due to deadlines, only went for two days, but I planned to make them count!

So, I loaded up Floyd (for those who don't know, I name things....Floyd's my little orange Vibe), plugged in my iPod (who doesn't have a name) and due to my directional inabilities, my GPS (which is actually a function of my PDA, Minerva) and hit the road very early on Friday.

With Minerva's help, I made it into Pittsburgh and arrived at the hotel. I was in the overflow hotel, the Omni, and they were great. My room was ready at seven-thirty am. So after I stowed my luggage, I headed to the Hilton.

At ten, I had a panel workshop on series romance. It was fantastic (Anna DeStefano was the captain and did a great job putting it together)! One question threw me. Did we write category as a first choice, or was it a fallback. It was nicely asked. When I talked to the woman afterwards, she said she'd never really considered writing category romance until our panel, and after listening to us, she was quite enthusiastic about the idea! Anyway, to answer the question...writing series romance was my first choice! I originally wanted Duets, and have been fortunate to continue writing for Harlequin since that line closed!

Right after the two-hour panel, it was the awards lunch! I sat with two award winners...Molly O'Keefe who won the Reviewers Choice for best Superromance of '07, and Hannah Howell, who was honored as a romance pioneer! And my book, The House on Briar Hill Road won the Reviewers Choice Award for best Harlequin Everlasting of '07!! This was truly a book of my heart, and my first non-humor/comedy, so the honor was so very appreciated.

The rest of the day was a blur. I met a bunch of friends. I ended up at Heather Graham's Vampire Ball, sitting with Kerrilyn Sparks. I didn't get a pic. Here's the thing, I ALWAYS take my camera, and so very rarely forget to pull it out and take the pics! SIGH. But trust me, she looked lovely!

The next day, I bummed around with more friends until the booksigning. It was a blast! So many old friends (old in terms of length of time I've known them, not that they're old!) and new friends stopped by!

Afterwards, I went out to lunch with friends...well, two lunches with two friends! LOL I really wanted to stay for the Dorchester party (I heard wonderful things afterwards) but Floyd, Minerva and I were beat. So we headed back to Erie! But as always, Romantic Times was a blast! Next year it's in Florida. Sounds good to me, though Floyd and Minerva will be depressed that I don't need them to come, too! LOL

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I've got five books coming out, starting in August, so this is a busy travel season for me! I was in New York in March, now RT in April. I'll be at Cleveland RWA's conference in May, then a family vacation to DC and Williamsburg, VA in June, and finally RWA's National Conference in San Francisco in July and August.

So, how about you? Any travel plans for the summer season??

Holly

PS I added the "**" because the formatting kept skewing and I couldn't make paragraphs stick. Just wanted to break up the read!