Cover changes

I'm always intrigued by new covers.   I always look forward to seeing the brand new  coves for each new book. (I don;t have any cover yet for Olivero's Outrageous Proposal but I'll share just as soon as I do)  But perhaps the most interesting  look at covers is when an older book is reprinted and reissued  - perhaps in  a 3 in 1 collection and then it gets a brand new cover which is totally unlike the previous one.

I have two reissues at the moment - one out now and one coming up and so I thought I'd share the covers with you - and the original covers these books had.

So the first one is out now  The book of mine that is in this reprint  is Kept For Her Baby  which was originally published in   2009.

Then the cover looked like this  -


So now it's reprinted in a  3 in 1  - Secret Love-Child  (with other books by Catherine Spencer and Tina Duncan)   It's  on  the shelves now.  And  this new edition looks like this.

Incidentally, Kept For Her Baby isn't really a 'secret love-child' story - both the hero and the heroine know exactly who the baby is  - but that's the name of the collection.

 The second reprint coming up is a republication of The Konstantos  Marriage Demand That's a book from  2010 - and it won the Romantic Times Best Presents Extra in that year.

When this book was originally published it had a cover that looked like this:
And now that it's reprinted it has a brand new cover that you can see at the top of this post - for the 3 in 1  Collection His Revenge Seduction  (with other titles by Melanie Milburne and Elizabeth Power.)

The two covers (for each book) are very different - just shows how things have changed in  a round  4 or 5 five years.

What do you think? Do you prefer the original covers ?  (You can see the Mills & Boon editions on the books' pages on my web site if you want to.)

Do you like the 3 in 1 collections that come out regularly\- the ones that are  called 'By Request' ?
Do you find it a good way to catch up on books you've missed - or get a copy of an old favorite?

Spooky stories

The Babe Magnet and I just spent a special  two days in York. I love this city with its ancient walls, the minster and the river.  We did some Christmas shopping  - how did it get to November? - and  on Thursday night we went to a production of The Woman in  Black  at the Theatre Royal.

Have you read  The Woman in Black? Or seen the film?  I've done both - and I couldn't begin to think of how someone could produce a stage performance of the book - like the film - but with only 2 actors!   I also didn't think that, having read the book and seen the film, it could scare me any more.

I was wrong. What a production. And it was all the more fascinating because it showed  the real power of the imagination in a way that  all the special effects/horror films can never create.  A bleak, almost bare stage, occasional light effects or sounds. . . .   2 men who changed costumes/characters with a different accent or a change of jacket. We were there on the night that a party of school children came to the theater. They must regularly see real horror films or video games - but  when the play worked on their imaginations they were more scared by what they couldn't see  than  what they could.

It was a real way of showing how powerful our imaginations are - which made me think of when people read my books and what are really just words on the page build up pictures in their thoughts and they grow stronger and clearer so that the story really takes off.  And probably no one quite see exactly the same thing whoever reads those words.  Isn't the imagination amazing?

It was also a great way of showing that there is no one way to tell a story - those 3 versions  of the original book have been so varied, different. But each one tells the story their way  - bringing it to life in their own special way.

We had a great night - and the walk back  through the dark, winding, cobbled streets of York had an extra thrill  as we looked at any dark figure of shadowy corner with a new and rather nervous  attitude.

Courses for 2015

I've been getting enquiries about possible courses I have coming  up  for 2015. I haven't been able to get round to updating my Events page on my web site yet as all the dates haven't been finalised but  I thought  I'd post what I do know and then if you're interested you can start to plan ahead - maybe save up. Or perhaps you can ask Father Christmas for the cost of a course  as a present?

Also - courses are booking up fast so  I'd better let you know what's still available and what isn't.

OK -

With Writers' Holiday.

Writers' and Artists Winter Workshop Weekend
13th - 15th February 2015

My Advanced Romance Writing Course is FULLY BOOKED
You can ask to be put on a waiting list in case anyone backs out.

There are other courses running  that weekend
Poetry
Short Stories
Novel Writing
Painting and Drawing

The Writers' Holiday site says there are just ten places for the whole weekend still available  at a price of £299


For the Summer Writers' Holiday
There are also only 10 places left  - but you can still get on my Complete Contemporary  Romance course
Dates: July 27th - 1st August 2015
Cost: £499  all inclusive  (accommodation/tuition/meals)
For details of all the courses and events, check out the Writers' Holiday web site.

With Relax and Write

13-15 March at Weetwood Hall Leeds all inclusive fee £249
This is my Focus on Writing Romantic Fiction Retreat 

'Write Romantic Fiction' Retreat with Kate Walker
An ideal course to get your writing moving ahead. This course will help you edit and polish your synopsis and first three chapters.  For those of you who have been working on your novel, your work in hand will receive constructive feedback. There are a limited number of places on this Retreat, so it is essential you book early, in order to send Kate your work in advance for comment and arrange a one-to-one.
Places on this retreat are already limited - with  half the places booked already  so let Relax and Write know if you are interested.  You need to be able to provide three chapters and a synopsis for me to read and discuss with you.,
 Other courses available that weekend:
 'Self-Publishing' with Malcolm Chisholm

'Create a Mini-Memoir' with Alison Chisholm

'Writing the Past' with Stephen Wade

We are still at the stage of planning and organising further courses with Relax and Write - and need to finalise dates and venues but plan to have coming up :
Beginning, Middle and End - Planning Your Novel
and
Writing Romantic Fiction.

More news when I have it myself.
. 
You can find details of courses and other events on my Events page on my web site  and you will also find comments and reviews from students who have been on my courses  in the past here .

Maybe I'll see you somewhere in 2015.

Pink Hearts Day

Today's my day for posting over on the Pink Heart Society blog - so that's where you'll find me now.

I'm thinking back over the fun conversations  being a writer has brought me.

Some of the international editions of my books are still up for grabs  - so check out the list below in case one of them might be fore you.

Busy.. . busy





 I've been  so busy, I haven't had time to post or even think of something to write for an age -  but some of you might benefit as a result.  You see, I've been sorting things out - collating and filing all my teaching notes    so now they're ail filed  correctly and I should be able to find anything at any time - for any course.  The next one starts in  so it's in good time . . .
And as result of tidying, sorting, filing and organising,  I've also found that I have a small deluge of  foreign editions that haver arrived in the past weeks -  and this is where my international readers get a  chance to share in a giveaway.

I've done quite a lot of giveaways, but most of the time it's English language copies that I send out - so this time is different - I want to share some of the foreign language editions with some  readers to whom these languages aren't foreign. Usually these go to libraries for foreign language sections, but they're getting the large print copies  so I can share these books with you - if you speak/read the language.

So here's the details   - I have 12 books to giveaway and if you would like one then email me  kate at kate-walker.com to let me know which book you'd like and what language it's in.

The giveaway is only on a first come, first served basis - one book only  per person.  Or you can apply for a friend in their language if you prefer. Once they're gone - that's it - till the next time!
 

What I have on offer are these books:

JAPAN:

               The 12 Month Mistress

               Shattered Mirror

FRANCE:
              Bound By Blackmail
             Their Secret Baby |(in a 3 in 1 with books by Anne McAllister and Linda Conrad
             The Italian's Forced Bride  (With another novel by Michelle Condor.

BRAZIL:
                The Konstantos Marriage Demand (+  book by Michelle Reid)
                 A Question of Honor (+ book by Kimberly Lang)

ITALY:
              Bedded By The Greek Billionaire  ( 4 in 1)
              With books by Chantelle Shaw, Kate Hewitt, Michelle Reid)
              The Devil and Miss Jones

CZECH:
               The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife  ( + novel by Metsy Hingle)

SWEDEN:
                  Rafael's Love Child (+ Caitlin Crews)
                  Her Secret Bridegroom  (+ Lynne Graham)