40 for 40

Coming very soon . . . .

40 for 40

July is the month . . . a very special month for me  - and the Babe Magnet.

And July starts tomorrow -  so 40 for 40 starts very soon after July dawns.

What's it all about.  Well you'll have to be here to find out. So don't miss it - come and visit the blog in July or you'll miss out on all the fun.

Coming soon . . .

40 for 40 . . .
Coming soon  . . . .

What's that?  Well I'm having a special celebration. . .  a really special one.
And you know that when I celebrate I like to share.   So this time I'm sharing  with lots of my wonderful  friends  - and, (I hope) with lots of my readers .

Want to know more? Then watch this space . . .

Want to learn to write romance?

I've had some enquiries about courses on writing romance that I'm teaching this year - and what is happening to Writers' Holiday after this year's event. So I thought I'd  give some details of what I have coming up.

I've rather cut back on the teaching this year so  really there are just the two main courses I'm doing - both in Wales. Well, that's currently the situation - things can always change and often do. But it depends on me being asked to teach or run a workshop. If I do  decide to do anything new, then I will  of course let everyone know. The details will be posted here and on my events page if anything crops up.

But for now, I will be heading for Wales and for Writers' Holiday at Caerleon in the last week of July.  The exact dates are July 28th - August 2nd  and as you'll see from the details on the Writers' Holiday site, this is the course I'll be teaching:

A  complete introduction to writing contemporary romance

 This course is intended to provide information and advice for anyone who wants to learn how to write  a popular  romance genre novel.  It gives an introduction to all the skills needed for success, from creating realistic characters, sustaining pace and conflict, packing emotional punch, writing sex scenes and crafting a satisfying ending.  While the focus may be on romance novels, the techniques – dialogue, characters, tension, pacing, settings,  hooks etc will also be relevant to all forms of  popular fiction.

 

At Writers' Holiday in  Caerleon  - as it's now run - the course is   made up of 5 lessons in the mornings. My course is in the second part of the week so it runs from the Wednesday to the Friday .

Students who sign up for this course, can also do one of the other courses from the beginning of the week - and of course go to all the main talks they're interested in - and attend the 'after tea sessions' if they want - Phew! You'd cram in a lot if you do it all.

Or you can just relax in the sun (if we get any!) or even settle down and write!

And then of course there is the Wednesday afternoon excursion to explore more of Wales - the 'Book Town' of Hay on Wye, Welsh capital, Cardiff,  St Fagan's National History Museum have all been included in the past.

And then of course there is the traditional last evening concert with the Cwmbach Male Voice Choir.

All this - plus 3 cooked meals a day (or free choice at the salad bar) - plentiful tea and coffee for the breaks - secure parking -  and all for  under £500. If I wasn't teaching, I'd be paying to attend myself. (The Babe Magnet and I have done just that in the past.)

As it says on the site, this is the last Writer's Holiday at Caerleon  - but it won't be the last Writer's Holiday.  WH is being reborn and it's relocating to a new site - one of my favourite places in Wales, Fishguard Bay.

 

Fishguard Bay Hotel is where my other course is based. That's where I teach at the  Writers' And Artists'  Workshop Weekend every February.

And by popular demand I’ll be back in Fishguard  again in 2014 to run the Advanced Romance Writing Course  again -

• Date:  Friday 28^th  February – Sunday 2^nd March  2014
• Location: Fishguard Bay Hotel, Fishguard Pembrokeshire
• Course: ADVANCED Contemporary Romance Workshop

A series of six advanced novel workshop sessions. This course is open to previous Fishguard workshop or Caerleon Romance course participants or those who have been on Kate’s basic Romance courses or Kate's workshops elsewhere. It is not for beginners. Designed especially for Fishguard to move you on, the whole weekend will be concentrated on this workshop - without other distractions. Guests are encouraged to complete work with Kate prior to the weekend commencement.

Strictly Limited to first 15 bookings

The Advanced  Course runs from Friday night to Sunday lunchtime. 6 workshop sessions, and one- to- one  discussions on the work you've submitted plus an open discussion and critique session. (and a little wine!)
Cost -  £229 all in
This course sells out very fast so please enquire about bookings as soon as possible. If the course is already booked up, we will run a waiting list on a first come first served basis.

Further details and booking forms can be found here: http://www.writersholiday.net/

 

  Unfortunately, even as I'm talking about this course, I suspect that it is already sold out. Or there may be just one available place still open on it. But all enquiries will be noted and if spaces become available, then people will be offered them on a first come first served basis.

But then from 2014 things will change anyway - as I said, Writers' Holiday will move to Fishguard and the Fishguard Bay Hotel - and the format will be rather different. The course will be longer, with classes on each day instead of half the week . I'm still planning that out, but as there is so much demand for the Advanced Course, I'm planning on putting in some extras so that this course has more scope than the current basic one can manage.

Details are still being worked out -  but here's the basic facts:

WRITERS’ HOLIDAY  AT FISHGUARD
Monday 21st-Saturday 26th JULY 2014
  
SIX COURSES, during mornings throughout the week,
each now EIGHT HOURS LONG,
a range of MAIN LECTURES,
After-Tea Sessions,
& final WELSH NIGHT CONCERT with
CWMBACH MALE VOICE CHOIR.

 

I'll let you know more about the course  as I get to know it!

Maybe I'll see you at one event or another.

 

PS If you live in Ireland - the Fishguard venue is right at the arrival point for the ferry from Rosslare  - literally just down the road (OK  - up the road, as  the hotel is above the ferry terminus!)

 

 

 

Great Review

Just received this from We Read Romance   a wonderful new review for A Throne for The Taking:

Masterfully crafted, Kate Walker’s A Throne For The Taking is the epitome of a royal romance. Thrown in are the usual elements of royalty—need for perfection, sacrifice for the greater good, etc.—but you also have two people who are emotionally scarred and in need of salvation in the form of love.

Set in the Mediterranean kingdom of Mecjoria, Honoria Escalona is about to lose everything she’s ever known because of her father. In an effort to save her kingdom, she turns to Alexei Sarova for help…only Alexei isn’t the same man Honoria knew. His past has taught him some hard lessons, but the attraction between the two flares hot and he makes an offer she can’t refuse. In exchange for his help, Ria will become his wife and produce a true heir. What choice does she have, really?

Ms. Walker is a talent to behold. She has a way of throwing you into the thick of things and giving you a look at the heart and soul of her characters while making sure the story flows without any lag. Her gift and insight into the many facets of royal life and the sensual draw between a man and a woman is phenomenal. I honestly haven’t ever been able to put down a single on of her books once I started it and A Throne For the Taking is no exception!


Thanks so much Larissa - you've really made my day!

Pink Heart Saturday

Meet Charlie over at the Pink Heart Society today  in  Pets and Their Authors

June Weddings

It's June - the month for  beautiful weddings. Well, it would be if there wasn't a huge thunderstorm crashing and flashing outside and a torrential downpour flooding the garden,

But June is the month when people's thoughts turn to weddings  - at least they do over on Romantic Friday Writers where the theme for this month - and their writing challenge is all about weddings -  writing a story, romantic or dark, which fits the wedding theme.  -

Denise, who organises things  over on that site,  has also asked me to join in. She asked me to write a post about the  books I've written that have led to weddings via very different routes.  And I was happy to do so. In fact it was fascinating to look back and see some of the ways I've played around with the whoel wedding theme. After all, everyone knows  a romance novel ends with a happy ever after - but that wedding can come before or after the story opens. It can be a wonderfully happy or a desperate, blackmailed event. It can be a marriage of convenience - or a  marriage of revenge.  Just shows you once again that even with some thing as obvious as a wedding in a romance, it all depends how you write it.

What about you? Do you love to see  the actual wedding in a book - or do you prefer the  fuss and fanfare to happen  'off stage' ?
  
Recently over on I Heart Presents, there was a survey to find 'What is your Favourite  Marriage  Trope?'    The winners were forced marriage or marriage of convenience. Do you agree?

Tomorrow my blog will be back on the  Pink Heart Society  site again. Yes, I know I've written my Date With Kate post for June - this one is the second part of The Lady and The Tramp - featuring this handsome hunk 

Kate Kate Kate

It's fascinating what  web sites there are out there in internet world  and just recently  I learned of one that  I didn't know existed- but now that I do,  it has  an extra  sort of appeal for me.

Why?

Because the site is kate-book.com   a web site that is - to quote their headline - For Kates By  Kates and About Kates.  The sort of place I'd just fit right in  to.
So when  writer and editor Kate Stephenson  approached me to know if I'd  like to do a Q&A with them to talk about A Throne For The Taking,  my writing  and my life, how could I refuse?

This was a while ago and I'd almost forgotten about it - so it was lucky that Kate(whose name I'm not likely to forget!)  just sent me an email to remind me.

The web site's Kate's Book Club has selected  A Throne for The Taking as their reading choice for the begining of June - I'm honoured.  And so I needed to answer the Q&A they sent along to me.

That Q&A is posted at the site right now so if you're interested in having a read.

Specially if your name's Kate - there's a lot of us about!

Pink Heart Day

Today is the first Friday of June so of course that means it's the day I post my regular blog  for the Pink Heart Society. 

So that's where you'll find me today, talking about what I did yesterday - and such.

More here and there . . .

 

I am SO busy this week -  I can't believe where the days have gone.  So it's a good thing that I can offer you 'Here's one I made earlier . . .'

Well, there's more than  one I made earlier!

So - first of all there is an interview I was asked to do over on Manga Maniac Café. This was actually posted yesterday  - my apologies for being late,  but I was out most of the day.  You can find the interview here.

And then today there is a feature on me - and of course A Throne for the Taking - at Romance Book Haven. You can find that here.

And both posts have a giveaway of a signed copy of A Throne for The Taking to give to commenters.

See you there!

Tote Bags 'N' Blogs

Well that was a fun weekend.  It was lovely to see my friend again, to go out and about and show her some lovely places - York city,  Gainsborough Old Hall . . .  And the sun even shone warmly and brightly all the time.  And I had the thrill of seeing that my new book, A Throne For The Taking, is out there in the bookshops for this month. That's one ting that never gets boring!
So I was rather late getting back to write my monthly post for the Tote Bags 'N' Blogs  as I do every first Sunday of the month.

But I've managed it now - and it's up over on the Tote Bags 'N' Blogs site.

I hope you had a great weekend too.