My First/Favourite Kate Walker book- A Reader's Story

Another reader's story about her favourite Kate Walker books.

A few weeks ago I told you about some of the writers I've worked with who had good responses from the Presents writing contest and today's reader is one of those.

Because of course the writers who succeed are usually voracious readers too.

I met Rachel at one of my Workshops - for the Guildford Festival - and I'm hoping to see her again when I run a Writing Romance weekend course in Southampton. (There are spaces left on this course - and all my courses so far if you want to book check out the Events page on my site.)

See you there Rachel!

Here's what Rachel has to say about discovering my books - and her Favourite Top 5

About six years ago a little miracle happened when the second grumpiest baby in the world actually fell asleep in his pram going round a charity shop (the first grumpiest had just started school). After years of sleep deprivation and the self neglect most new mums go through, I was beginning to feel desperate. Desperate for something different, desperate for something just for me, desperate for an escape from the hideous routine of it all and then I saw it. The little paperback wasn’t a Kate Walker but it had a photo of Santorini on it, the blurb promised romance, luxury and of course a gorgeous Greek—just about as far from reality as it was possible for me to get right then.

I’d never read a Mills and Boon before, I’d never read a romance per se (far too much of a literary snob!) but that day I sat down on a damp park bench and read something properly for what felt like the first time in five years. It was bliss. That little book fitted snugly into my handbag and the chapters were just short enough for me to treat myself whenever I could sneak the odd half an hour. Before I knew it, I was hooked and fed my new habit from charity shops over the next two years—I truly believe those books preserved my sanity!

Then we got our first computer. The first thing I did was book my grocery shopping on line, the second was to Google Natasha Oakley whose lovely book I was currently reading. My eyes were opened wide that day when I read her biography, writing her first book on the kitchen table with all those children around and highly recommending a certain person’s 12 point guide.

My youngest was just about to start preschool and I thought ‘well if she did it, I wonder if…?’ I used my newly acquired internet shopping skills to order Kate Walker’s amazing 12 Point Guide and promptly went out to see if I could find a book by this mysterious Kate Walker. Blow me if I couldn’t find a single book by her in any of the five charity shops in town. Now I know why: everybody keeps them! Fortunately W H Smiths saved the day and I greedily snatched up At The Sheikh’s Command…

The rest, as they say, is history and Kate Walker is now firmly on my ‘buy without hesitating’ list, but I think my most favourite so far is The Spaniard’s Inconvenient Wife. This is a truly memorable book for me in so many ways but I won’t spoil it for anyone who’s not read it by revealing the best bits!

If that’s my number one then the rest of my top five would be:

Rafael’s Love-child

The Italian’s Forced Bride

The Antonakas Marriage

A Sicilian Husband

And Kate Walker ‘does’ the BEST Italian men, believe me!

Thank you Rachel! And good luck with your own writing - I'd love to be able to announce your first book on here.