Book News

I have book news to catch up on.
After working my way through the piles of emails and letters that were waiting for me after  we got back  from Wales, there were also several boxes of books  to open.    Some were foreign editions -  Indian, German, Dutch . . .

But the best moment is always when I open a new box of a brand-new title and get to see the books in  reality for the very first time.  Unfortunately I still haven't seen the UK's edition of my new (September)  Presents title - Indebted to Moreno.

There is also a new reprint edition of an older book that's out right now - and that's  the 2013 title  A Throne For The Taking  which is now reprinted in a 3 in 1 By Request collection in the UK. The title of the collection is Claiming His Princess.

Coming up is some extra news for Australian readers  who will get Indebted to Moreno in October - and a best seller collection of 3 of my older title - A Question of Honour (2014) , The Konstantos Marriage Demand (2010)   and Saturday's Bride (1999).   These will all be in a collection that (I think ) will be called Resisting All Temptation!   

No covers for those yet, but as soon as I see them I'll share them with you.

As you'll see,  Saturday's Bride is a long ago title - so if you're looking to add a missing title to your collection, this might be the one. There might be more older titles coming up soon - certainly there'll be some news about older titles in the UK  in ebook form as well.  I'll let you know about that as soon as it's all finalised

This weekend I'm off to Harrogate to have a short break  to treat the Babe Magnet for his birthday.  Afternoon tea at Bettys and a trip to the theatre - I'm  so happy  I get to share it with him.

Hopefully there won't be so many emails/letters/packages waiting for me when we get back!

Books on Offer - Translations

Some weeks can go by with no parcels of books arriving at the door. Then other weeks there are so many deliveries I can't keep up with them..  The last few weeks have been like this-  books in all sorts of languages arriving , boxes of them, and I'm not sure what to do with them.

Some will go to the libraries but first I thought I'd see if anyone  out there would like a translation into their own language while I have them to give away. I did this before and it was great to send them out to the countries they belonged in.
So - tomorrow I'm heading for the Isle of Man  to accompany the Babe Magnet of his  publicity 'tour' there - Douglas Library (Thursday evening) .  Port Erin Arts (Saturday morning)  Radio  interviews . .  if anyone's on the island and would like to meet up with 'Uncle Albert' .

And while I'm away I'm offering  copies of these translations to anyone who's interested in one.
This will be strictly on a first come first served basis - one book per person.  Please let me know which book you'd like in which language and give me your postal address so that I can get it in the mail to you.
email me kate  at kate-walker.com

Back on Sunday afternoon - after which the offer is closed and the books will go to the library

I have:

Italian editions of: 

His Miracle Baby

A Question of Honor

Dutch editions of:

A Question of Honor

The Proud Wife

Saturday’s Bride  (with books by Catherine George and Anne Mather)

A  Throne for the Taking  (with a book by Trish Morey)

Danish edition of

A Throne for the Taking

Her Secret Bridegroom

Russian edition of

A Question of Honor

Norwegian/Swedish/Finland editions of:

A Throne For the Taking (together with Michelle Condor Duty at What Cost)

German editions of:

Throne For The Taking

The Duke’s  Secret Wife

I've also had Japanese editions of  A Question of Honour and a  Manga edition of His Miracle Baby - together with the fabulous Manga comic in English of    Bedded By The Greek Billionaire  but I'm afraid I don't have spare copies of these.

First Friday - Pink Hearts

It's  January 3rd and so it's the first Friday of the month. And , as with 2013, the first Friday of each month is when I post over atThe Pink Heart Society so that's where you'll find me today.

The First Friday Date With Kate will stay the same this year, for the PHS, The other regular guest post I do will be at Tote Bags and Blogs as before - but instead of the first Sunday of each month, that pot will now be on the 12th of every month from now on. So I'll be posting over there on the 12th January - which, now I've checked the calendar, will actually be a Sunday this month. But from then on it will be just whichever day the 12th falls

If you go and read the Pink Heart Blog, you'll see that I'm admitting to not being as organised as I'd like. I deliberately took some time over the Christmas break to stay away from the computer and work-related things  so there's a bit  of catching up to do! (A bit - now there's an understatement!)

I have sent out prizes to everyone who has contacted me  so hopefully the books will reach you just as soon as the mail can manage it.

There is one last winner who hasn't been announced - and that was the winner of the Christmas Eve giveaway - Charlie was too busy playing with Ruby's toys and trying to follow her up the Christmas tree - to be interested in  picking a winner   but now that things have calmed down a but, he has picked

sleepysian
as the winner of a copy of A Throne For The Taking.   Sian please send me your postal address so |I can

send you your prize.

Now I'm going back to my 'To Do' list - maybe by the end of the weekend I'll be a bit more organised - or I'll just have a while new set of To Do Lists to work on.

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year - and that 2014 will give you lots of happy days, joyful times and  love to leave you with truly happy memories.
#And everyone in the UK who is afflicted by the torrential rain, high winds and flooding  - keep safe - and, hopefully - dry!

Stocking Filler winners and one last chance to win

Charlie has been busy picking winners for the advent calendar here and on my Newsletter list. It was a hard time fitting in time for him to do this job as there has been so very much to do, and he was a bit harassed by a small black and white kitten who kept wanting to join in - obviously I'm going to have to train her up so that she can pick some winners next year!

Anyway, there are some winners  names to announce  so here we go -

The winners of stocking filler books are:
Carol  - who wins Kept for Her Baby
Maria - who has to decide whether to pick Kept for Her Baby or The Greek Tycoon's  Unwilling Wife!

And Lidia - who hasn't  named a book, but she can let me know about that.

Charlie also picked some winners from my newsletter list -
Andrea  K
Jane K
Sheila F
So tomorrow is Christmas Eve - can you believe it?  How did it get here that fast?
What do you do on Christmas Eve? Is it all bustle and organizing - baking  - wrapping ? Or do you get together with family?  Do you eat a special meal on Christmas Eve ? Or do you end up working on preparations right to the last minute?  I'll be out at 6am making sure I get fresh bread for the holidays.

I have a friend whose family opens their presents on Christmas Eve? Does anyone  else do that? I know the royal family do too - so you'd be in esteemed company!

The giveaway book this time is my most recent title - A Throne For The Taking . . .

A kingdom's safety...
Betrayed by those she loves, Honoria Escalona must now face the only man capable of bringing stability to the Mediterranean kingdom of Mecjoria. A cold, hard man who once called her his friend... Alexei Sarova-the true King of Mecjoria.
In exchange for her happiness
But Alexei's tortuous past has changed him into someone she hardly knows. He blames Ria's family for his bitterness, and his help-when he offers it-comes with a price: he'll take his rightful place as King with Ria as his wife, until she produces a true-blood heir...

Tell me about your Christmas Eve and you'll be in with a chance of winning a copy.

Oh - and  little Ruby says that she loves her new home . . . and  this Christmas stuff  is very exciting  - she's already climbed the Christmas Tree three times . . .
But it's also very very tiring . . .

40 for 40 - Lovecats or the one that got away!

Being at the wonderful - but HOT  - Romantic Novelists' Association  conference - involving,  long interesting and stimulating days, a gala dinner,  several late nights, lots of talking and a little wine taking  - then travelling home and  unpacking - has left me tired and a little brain scrambled - and we have a family celebration tonight.

So the timetable for the 40 for 40 has gone a little awry - today's post is not what I thought it would be and you'll find it over on LoveCats Downunder.

I was delighted  and honoured to be chosen as one of LoveCats' 'Legends' the series of blogs spotlighting authors of over 50 romances.  It was particularly thrilled to find that this  series puts me in the illustrious company of the wonderful; Helen Bianchin, Valerie Parv, and Robyn Donald, all of whom were authors I read and loved back before I was ever published. Authors I learned such a lot from too.

But I was expecting this post to appear on  Wednesday - so I'm a bit late in  letting you know it's there today. And today's post and (very) special guest has been  hastily moved to the slot on the 17th I thought was Lovecats' .  Luckily the writer of that post has easily agreed to the move.

So that's where today's post it - and there's a give away to - a signed copy of A Throne for The
Taking.

See you there.

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!

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!

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.

Here There and Everywhere!

I've been busy blogging - yes, I know I haven't been busy blogging here  but that's because I've been busy blogging elsewhere!

So here are  a couple more links for you to follow if you want to read these posts

First one is courtesy of the lovely Tawny Weber  who invited me along to guest on her blog - in her special Quick Six  section.

She asks  six questions - well, no - she asks 18 questions but I picked which 6 I wanted to answer and the results are posted today.    There's a giveaway too - a signed copy of A Throne For The Taking - but also, I promised that if I got a lot of responses I'd add another giveaway  for someone else - a copy of The Proud Wife. 

And the second is for tomorrow  over on  Romance Reader.  I'll be busy this weekend - we have a friend visiting from Iowa so  I'll be concentrating on enjoying her visit. But hopefully these blogs will keep you occupied until . ..

Well, until  Sunday when I'll be doing my usual blog on Tote Bags 'N' Blogs!   What will I be blogging about? No idea as yet - but I'll think of something! I hope.

And don't forget  - last chance  to bid for my lots in the Brenda Novak Auction tomorrow.

I Heart Presents . . .

Today's post is over on the  special Presents blog  - I Heart  Presents.

I'm talking about royal romances - because of A Throne For The Taking of course.  Is there a royal romance, modern or historical  that has grabbed your imagination? If so, tell me about it and you could be in with a chance to win a copy of A Throne For The Taking  to read this royal love story.

And another guest blog . . .

Today's post is over on the Romance Bandits' blog where I'm talking about - guess what - A Throne for The  Taking . But I'm also talking about  a very important book from my childnood.

Do you have any really memorable book that you read when you were young - and wish you could read again?   If so, perhaps you'd like to come along and join the chat to tell me about it.

More Guest Blogs -

It's a busy time for me out on various blogs right now - because of the publication of A Throne For The Taking  of course - so here's another couple of links to take you to more places to read about me or my books.

First of all, there's a great review of A Throne for The Taking over on The Good The Bad and The Unread.  It's always fascinating to read what another writer thinks of  your work  and novelist Lynne Connolly is an experienced and knowledgable critic  so her review makes interesting reading (and she liked the book too which is a relief!)

Following on  from that,  there is a longish interview with me that has just been posted -  you can find that here.

And soon  there should be a follow up post -with a giveaway of a copy of A Throne For The Taking - so if you've never visited The Good The Bad and The Unread, now's your chance to see what the site's like - and read  some of the reviews and posts.

PS If you want some more really great reviews of A Throne For The Taking then there are several over on  Romance Book Haven in the Contemporary Reviews - thank you so much ladies!

Revising and Editing

I was asked to write a craft post over on Revising and Editing -so that's where my main post is today -  it's about  Originality and Voice - I was asked to write a bit about plagiarism but I think we've done that topic recently!

It's publication day - in America anyway!  A Throne for the Taking is out in Harlequin Presents now  so thank you to everyone who has already been out to buy a copy.  

And perhaps it's time to remind you  that Author, Author! still has the very special offer on the Presents Edition of A Throne For The Taking -  the book normally sells at $4.99 but  Author, Author! has it on special discounted offer for just $3.25. Take a look.

Spotlight and giveaway

I've been so busy that I've neglected to blog for days.    I'm not quite sure where the time has gone but at least today I have a blog for you - if not quite here!

Because A Throne For The Taking is out very soon - tomorrow in fact, in  Harlequin Presents in America and   June 7th in  M&B Modern in  UK  - I'vebeen asked to do some blogs - and interviews here there and everywhere (well it seems that way!)

So today the first of those is published - with a special Spotlight Interview over on  Romance Book Paradise.  Lovely Nas Dean asked me a set of probing questions and now the interview is posted on the site.  There's also a giveaway of a signed copy of A Throne For The Taking for someone who posts a comment.

So maybe I'll see you there  - and there are other guest blogs and posts coming up in the next few weeks.  There will be more giveaways too.

Making me smile

Well that was a hectic week - celebrating my birthday seemed to go on for a couple of days.

Thank you so much to everyone who sent such lovely birthday messages and greetings. I appreciated every one of them - they all made me smile.

And here's another thing that's made me smile - I just discovered that over on the Mills and Boon site where A  Throne for the Taking is now on sale -   it's at #1 in their bestseller chart!  That has made my day.

Thank you to everyone who has bought a copy to put it in this special place.  Even the  rain that is bucketing down outside (Spring? What happened to spring?) can't dampen my spirits.

It's May. . .

Happy May Day!   It seems that May has got off to a good start - the sun is actually shining, now if we could just get rid of that sneaky cold wind  it  would be gorgeous.

Reasons  to like May - I have a birthday coming up. So does my sister. Sadly she's in Tasmania so we won't be getting together to celebrate .

The Brenda Novak Auction for The Cure of Diabetes is now officially open.  Why take a look at some of the amazing lots - and maybe place a bid?  As I said earlier, I have the Reader and Writers' Basket  and the  10 Signed Novels lots on offer - and I'm delighted to see that there are already some bid on these. Thank you to anyone who has put in a bid.

Other reasons to like May -  A Throne for The Taking is now available on the UK's Mills and  Boon web site  and the Harlequin Presents edition will be released  on May 21st in USA.

Oh yes - and  A Throne For The Taking has  these great reviews over on  Romance Book Paradise.


The author lets her characters truly speak , as reader I was very glad to see that the author let me in


on just what each one of the characters were thinking, as I often find that I want to know what she or he is thinking and not knowing drives me insane, and in the case of Ria and Alexei it would have infuriated me, so thank you Kate!

I particularly liked the message this read gave me, not all secrets are as deadly as one may think, sometimes revealing the truth can save you, opening up the road to recovery.

I highly recommend this read for lovers of royal romances with intense secrets and all Kate Walker fans!   
Desere


A THRONE FOR THE TAKING is a very different, intriguing and thrilling story. It is full of conspiracy, scheming and plotting against the kingdom amidst the mesmerizing romance between Ria and Alexei. Author Kate Walker has yet again stunned her readers with a unique twist to her romance. She skillfully penned another gripping and compelling tale that would hook a reader in until the very last page.
Nas

Thank you both Desere and Nas

You can read the full reviews here.

So May has got off to a great start. Let's hope it continues that way.

PS Just discovered that A Throne For The Taking is already at #3  in the Harlequin ebook Bestsellers list today - another reason to like May!

A box full of heroes

The Babe Magnet and I have been away, visiting York. The sun actually shone, afternoon tea at Bettys was wonderful as always, and I managed a little shopping while he browsed the second hand bookshops.  His carrier bags were much heavier than mine - but my  contents were much  prettier!

Came home to find there had been a delivery - a box full of  heroes!  The UK editions  of A Throne For the Taking - library editions and paperback ones -

had arrived.  This is always a fantastic moment - to hold the copies of my latest in my hands. It's something ebooks will never replace.

But I'm still not sure about that waistcoat!

Incidentally, coming in August, there will be some changes to the Presents covers in America - about time I think - they needed a refresh. Some of the new covers are already appearing on Amazon so look out for those and see what you think.

Review and Offer

Thanks to Michelle Styles, I have been able to see the Romantic Times  review for  A Throne For The Taking   and I'm  thrilled to find that  they have given my new book  4 1/2 stars.  That's great news.

Here's the review:

10 years ago, Ria Escalona had her friend Alexei exiled from Mecjoria. But now she knows the truth, and she needs him back to save their country from tyranny and civil unrest. Can she do it without revealing her true feelings?

Alexei Sarova has spent the past decade forgetting Ria, building a successful but lonely life. Now she’s back and needs his help to claim the throne of their homeland. Will she agree to his unscrupulous terms?  

The majesty of Walker’s fictional principality shines, and her frenemies-to-love story is  perfectly passionate.

Thank you RT - and thank you Michelle

I don't know if you remember but last year sometime I asked blog readers to suggest a name for this

ficitional country and Caroline was the one who suggested  Mecjoria.  I promised a copy of the book to the person whose name I chose - so Caroline, the book is on its way to you, if you haven't received it already.

And the offer?
Well, if you're in America, and  want to get your hands on a copy of A Throne for The Taking - the bookshop  Author, Author!  is running a special offer on this brand new title.   As they say on the offer page:

This book is regularly $4.99 but we've discounted it to $3.25 for this very special offer. This book should ship on or around May 21.

$3.25 is selling this book at cost with just a reasonable shipping fee, so it's a really great offer.
My special thanks to Author, Author! for organising this.

Oh - I just checked - Author, Author!  staff are at a conference this weekend - but they're back onn April 23rd.

Updated

New book - new look!

Heather of HR Web Concepts has updated my web site with news, covers of the new book - and a brand new colour scheme . We'd had the red white and bronze colour scheme for  ?? years (can't actually remember how long!) so it was definitely time for a chage. 

So we've tweaked it as well as updating it - and added a new 'shout' line -  Emotionally  rich and passionately intense! (Many thanks to Virginia from Booked Solid with Virginia C who gave me this line as her description of my books  and who uses it for  the page where she reviews my books too.)

We had a strange moment - well, I did , where the changes didn't quite take and I was left with a half and half effect  with the new colour scheme at the top of the page and the old red and bronze colouring  on the rest of it, but I think that has all settled down again now and everywhere is refreshed and 'tweaked'! And there's a brand new banner for A Throne For the Taking as well.

So  - this is the new look now. I hope you like it.