A Sky Blue Anniversary! with Kate Walker (and giveaway)

I  have a song that keeps going round in my head  this month – it’s that Beatles'  classic

‘Will you still need me,

Will you still feed me

When I’m  64’.

But in my case, I have a personal version which goes:

Will you still need me,
Will you still READ me

When I’m 65!

That’s because my latest novel – which is out on the shelves right now, Indebted to Moreno is my 65^th published title!   

No I can ‘t quite believe it either. People keep asking me how I got to this  milestone and the only answer I can come up with is ‘one word at a time.’ Oh – and to say that – obviously – I started writing very young.  

The 65^th anniversary is a bit of a strange one – almost a non event, in wedding anniversary terms. It doesn’t really have a real symbolic name – apparently it’s called the ‘sky-blue anniversary.’ That could cause problems when trying to choose a gift! And when it comes to marking publishing milestones, it’s  not really noted either.  I got a silver pin for my 25 th book, (Wife For a Day) a gold one for my 50 ^th (The Sicilian’s Red-Hot Revenge)  and now I need to wait – and write – until I hit the magical #75 before the next official award.  I’ve already started on that – I sent in what I hope will be my 66^th title last week and I’m started on the potential 67^th.

But 75 does seem a long way away! So I’m going to celebrate this 65^th title   anyway – and  when(if) I get to that 75^th  we’ll have a really big celebration!

So I’ve been looking at the stocks of my backlist books I still have available and I’m going to share these with my readers to mark the publication of Indebted to Moreno. Some of them have already been given out – but I’m also offering a small giveaway here to mark this important book. Well, it’s important to me!

So here’s a little puzzle for you – if the 65th is the ‘sky-blue anniversary’  - what would you think would be a suitable gift for someone who was celebrating that big event?  I have  a choice of these books to giveaway  for the best suggestions  - well, the ones that Charlie the Maine Coon and Ruby his little black and white sister cat  - pick out from the names in the comments. So put your suggestion in the comments  - and add the title of the book you’d choose if you win – and see if Charlie and Ruby can help you celebrate along with me.

You can choose from:

The Devil and Miss Jones

Destined for the Desert King

Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride

Konstantos Marriage Demand

A Question of Honour

Olivero’s Outrageous Proposal

The Greek Tycoon’s Unwilling Bride

Cordero’s Forced Bride

Bedded By The Greek Billionaire

Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife

Kept for Her  Baby

A  Throne for the Taking

You can find further details on all of these books over on my web site.

Meanwhile the 65^th title Indebted to Moreno is in the shops now. Sorry, but this one is not included in the special giveaway – not this time. But perhaps when I reach that magical 75^th!!

In the meantime, any other celebrations will be posted on my blog or my Facebook page. 


EDITED TO ADD WINNERS:


I'm in a happy mood with celebrating  - and I just had a bit more good news this morning too  so Charlie and Ruby are happy  to pick winner(s)  - and they've picked -   ALL 4  OF YOU  who commented!!  

So  Debby -  A copy of The Devil and Miss Jones
Laney - The Konstantos Marriage Demand
Denise . . .????  Can you let me know your choice of book.

and Mary  - I'll replace that copy of Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride!

Pleae email me katewalker @ ntlworld.com with your postal address 

Old Favourites by Kate Walker

When I first started writing romance all that time ago – December 2014 marks 30 years since I was first published – the books were only available in  bookshops – no internet, no Amazon, definitely no  ebook readers.  They were also only available for that one month they were on sale – and no more.   And not even that if, as the very first book I ever wrote was only available in the hardback version that was known as a ‘library edition.’

So that first book,  The Chalk Line, appeared in my hands – arriving in a parcel  just before Christmas – but I couldn’t see it on the bookshop shelves. And as not every book ever went to America either, it didn’t have a paperback edition until some years later.  Seven years later to be precise, when it was decided to publish the paperback edition in 1991!

And of course on those days, once a book was published  and went on sale for a month, then that was it.  There was no way of getting hold of a copy later. And the only reprints were rare -  they were labelled ‘Bestsellers’  and possibly   reprinted a few years later – if the original book sold well enough to merit it. But when you were up against the greats like  Charlotte Lamb, Anne Mather, Penny Jordan,  you often didn’t get a chance at that.

I was thinking about this when  I realise that Harlequin have released a whole bundle of my earlier books in new ebook formats  since the start of this year.  It’s a thrill to see older books -  Wife For A Day (originally published 1998) or The Married Mistress (2003) coming ‘back to life’ so to speak in new Kindle editions so that new readers  - or readers who have been looking for these titles for some time – can now get copies of them at  the click of a mouse.  These books were only

in  Reader Service when they were first released so they were on general distribution for anyone to get hold of them

It’s been a thrill to see these ‘resurrected’ books selling too – I discovered The Married Mistress  in the top 20 bestsellers on Amazon – not bad for a book that is over 10 years old! But perhaps the best thing has been that  the covers are been renewed as well, where they were needed.   I always liked to cover of The Married Mistress  -  but the original artwork for Wife For A Day was -  well,  strange. . . I mean – look at the heroine’s hair. The new edition is much better, much more like the characters I had in mind.

It’s an amazing feeling, after 30 years writing and being published to find that my older  books are now getting this new lease of life – and coming back revitalised and revived.  It’s something I could never have imagined all those years ago when The Chalk Line first came out – just goes to show that nothing stands still – particularly not in publishing.  

What about you: Do you like the way the older books are being re-issued – are you glad to have a chance to grab at books you never read before – or revisit old

favourites? Are there any romances you’re particularly looking forward to seeing – or would like to see republished in this way?

Titles coming up  for me  are  the reprinting of  The Good Greek Wife in a 3 in 1 special collection titles Eligible Greeks: Sizzling Affairs.

My next full length novel will be  A Question of Honour (or Honor!) published in M&B Modern and Harlequin  Presents in  June.  The idea  for that came from my own family history - but I'll tell you more about that   nearer to publication time.

You can find out more about me and my books one my website  or on my blog where all the latest and most up to date news can be found.