Come and Join the Party

If you've visited the wonderful Spotlight that Lee has set up for me over on Leena's Goodie Room then you'll know that right now I'm celebrating something special. This month in the UK and in July in America and Australia, I have a book out that marks a real milestone in my career.

The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge is a special title for me because this bok marks my 50th title published by Harlequin Mills &Boon. Since my very first title, The Chalk Line was published in 1984, there have been all these other titles through the years - so many stories, so many heroes, so many heroines - and now I've published my 50th title.

So I'm celebrating. And when I celebrate I love to share with everyone else - with all the wonderful readers who have bought and enjoyed my books over the years - because without you there wouldn't have been a career and all those titles to celebrate.

So I'm hoping you'll join me at my Great Big Blog Party over on my blog. Every day there is a new guest blogger and every guest is giving away something special as a prize. Already joining the party has been Holly Jacobs, Abby Green, Trish Morey, Michelle Styles and many more. And they've given away signed books, banners and souvenirs of the countries they live in.

But don't worry that if you're a latecomer to the party then there will be nothing left - this party is going to run all through June and probably into July before all the guests have arrived and all the prizes been given out. Still to come will be Michelle Reid, Anne McAllister, Liz Fielding, Trish Wylie . . . and many more. And everyone will have their own giveaway that you can have a chance to win. All you have to do is answer the question, leave your reply in the comments section and you're in with a chance. Right now I have a static banner for your web site, a signed copy of Sold & Seduced by Michelle Styles (together with my own The Antonakos Marriage) and signed copies of my 'baby' books - His Miracle Baby and Their Secret Baby in a special post for UK Father's Day. So why not come along to my blog and join in the fun?

And this isn't all I'm giving away - check out that Spotlight and answer Lee's questions and you could be in the running to win a special gold heart necklace to mark the publication of this golden title.

Oh and I should remind you that The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge is part two of The Sicilian Brothers duo. This is Vito's story. Vito's brother, Guido had his own story in Sicilian Husband; Blackmailed Bride that came out in April and is still aound on Amazon or eHarlequin if you want to make sure you have the set.

Want another way to win? Well how about voting for your Top 5 Kate Walker titles? Everyone who vots has a chance of winning a signed copy of a book from my backlist together with a Kate Walker bookmark and pen. All you have to do is to list your Top 5 Favourite Kate Walker books and send them to me with Favourite Book (yes - the English spelling ;-) ) in the subject line.

If you need any help deciding which are your favourites, then check out that spotlight Less has worked so hard on - and take a look at the Backlist pages over on my web site to remind you of some you might have enjoyed. And if you'd like to know how the voting is going - then here's the current Top FIVE

1.A Sicilian Husband

2. The Sicilian's Wife

3. The Italian's Forced Bride

4. Desert Affair

5. The Spaniard's Inconvenient Wife

jointly with

5. The Antonakos Marriage.

Would you choose these ones? Or perhaps somethig totally different? I'd love to have your vote.

And I'd love to see you over at the Great Big Blog Party - and maybe send you a prize.

Good luck!

And thank you all for buying and enjoying my books over the years

Kate

Writing Linked Books by Kate Walker

Some readers love linked books, others are not so keen on them, so for me the important thing about writing books in my own self-contained mini-series, the important thing is to make sure that each book stands on its own and tells one separate story. Then any reader who picks up one story doesn’t have to buy and read all the other books in the series to make sense of the whole story.


I was reminded of this only this week when a reader wrote to me, asking about the books in The Alcolar Family trilogy. Well, it’s a trilogy of books and an on line short story that appeared on eHarlequin and the Mills & Boon site. This reader had found the middle book of the Trilogy - The Spaniard’s Inconvenient Wife and wanted to know the titles of the other two books so that she could read them all. That was tricky, coming to it so long after the original trilogy has been published (The Alcolars came out in 2005) but at least I could help her find the short story – Wife For Real – that started it all off. That’s now published as an ebook and is also to be found on the Mills & Boon web site to read on line.

And all that reminded me that I had meant to come on here and talk about my latest pair of linked books – the ones I’ve called the Sicilian Brothers duo – the first of which Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride is out now in Presents. The second The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge will be published in June (UK) and July (USA and Australia). And I wanted to make sure that everyone knew they are linked – there’s nothing worse than reading a book and then wishing you’d got your hands on the first one.


The Sicilian Brothers duo came to me when a lovely reader and a friend I met at the RWA Conference a couple of years ago told me her brothers’ names and I said that Guido and Vito Corsentino were just perfect names for Presents heroes. Lori told me that I could ‘borrow her brothers’ names – they didn’t mind either! – and I’ve written these two books with each brother as the hero in one. The stories, as I said, are totally separate, but each book has connecting points – the first one (Guido’s story) takes place in the middle of the second one (Vito’s story). That meant that I had to know what had already happened to Vito before I even started writing Guido’s story. If you read the book then in the opening scene you’ll find that there is already a clue to what has happened – when even Guido doesn’t know what has been going on in his brother’s life.

Writing a new hero is always a fascinating process – I’ve just finished a book with a sexy Spanish hero and getting to know him took some time – even then he had one last little secret that I didn’t know until the very last scene. So working with two devastating Sicilians was even more fun. I had to make sure that they were each heroes in their own right – tall dark, handsome and stunning – and yet make them separate and totally individual. I think I succeeded. I hope you do too.And don’t forget that as the first of these books is out now, the contest Lee is running to celebrate that is still open over on the Contests page. Of course The Sicilian’s Red-Hot Revenge will be appearing soon and as that will be a very special book for me – my 50th published title - then look out for some very special celebrations too. I’ll be working with Lee on those and we’ll have lots of prizes to give away – so watch this space.


What about you? Do you love books that link to each other and perhaps bring back characters you've met before? Or do you prefer stand-alone stories?