Great Big Blog Party #52 and #53 Winners - and of course Sid

I'm late posting today - that's because I've been doing my accounts (yeuch!) so I'm staggering in her with a frazzled brain and a blank mind - but the accounts are done!! And they've left the building so that my accountant has them all to play with - and I'm sure he'll enjoy the experience much more than I did.

It just made me think of that question - the one that people always ask me - 'How long does it take to write a book?'

The honest answer is 'I write 3 a year so that's one every four months - unless one of those months has an accounting date in it.'Then the darned accounts take up most of my time.

But they're done - I'm up to date even for part of next year! So I can relax a while. And I can celebrate by announcing some Great Big Blog Party winners.

Firstly, prizes from Samantha Storm and/or Chaoscat

She (they?) said:

I had a grand time hanging out at your blog. Loved reading all posts! Thanks for having me! And can't wait for your 100th book celebration!

Okay dokey I picked two winners:

Peggy - won a package with a four reads from the RJ book vault.

Sabrina - won a print copy of Eye of the Storm.

The winners can email me at chaoscat @ romance junkies .com with their snail mail addies

Peggy and Sabrina can you cc me in on your notes to Cat so that I know the prizes are sorted.
Thanks! And I hope everyone checked out Romance Junkies - it's a great site to visit and their Writing Contest always attracts a huge amount of interest.

And a second prize announcement from Anna Campbell (ably assisted by Sid the Cat)

Sid says he totally understands the way that creatures turn up at Samantha Storm's house - after all, that's the way he came to live here - I just opened the door and he walked in.

But when it comes to eating crunchies off a piece of paper with a name on it then the name was brownone and her turtle.

brownone will you email me with your postal address as Anna is at the Romance Writers of Australia Conference right now - so I'll collect your details and send them on to her.

Sid says he's never seen a turtle but of course all creatures listen when you talk to them! They just don't think you're talking very much sense unless you're saying how handsome and wonderful they are or announcing that very important moment of TEATIME!

Finally, on the post about Sid yesterday a sharp-eyed Rachel spotted something on my desk that had clearly been entertaining Sid and so in the Comments section she said:

Dear Kate,I think Sid is telling porkies. looking closely he's been up all night reading a very good book-just what is that intriguing pink book under his right paw?Rach

Well, Rach that book is a copy of Call Up The Storm by the late and great Jane Donnelly. I found 3 copies of her books when I visited Hay on Wye when I was in Wales. (More on that later) And as my friend Anne McAllister collects Jane's work, I picked them up in case she didn't already have copies of them.

But I was also going to post a scan of that cover on a blog that would follow on from our discussion of covers after lee's Guest Blog on that subject yesterday.

This is an example of that terrible moment When Covers Go Bad!

To me, the intense, passionate, Alpha hero looks like nothing so much as camp comedian Julian Clary right down to the head cocked slightly to one side - and I'm saying nothing about that yellow-brown suit!

Great Big Blog Party 52 Samantha Storm - or maybe Chaoscat!

I've never actually met Samantha Storm - or even Chaoscat - but in her (their?) alter ego as Cat Brown the owner and manager of the highly successful romance web site Romance Junkies, I have worked with her for several years. Ever since her email dropped into my inbox telling me that she was establishing RJs and asking if I would like to join her and the site in any contests, publicity etc.

Since then we've worked together in many ways. I've sent her my books to review, she set up an Author Spotlight on me when The Alcolar Family Trilogy came out, and I've joined in on many of the contests she runs. And when Chaoscat turns her hand to a RJ contest, it's a big, colourful - and hugely popular event. The graphics just for the multi-author contests are always great fun, marking Christmas or Halloween, or Summer - what ever reason there is for her to be running it. She's efficient, fun and so easy to work with - and she's always coming up with great ideas for the site and those contests.

But Chaoscat is only one side of Cat's talents - as Samantha Storm, she is also a writer, with her spicy, often paranormal stories published by New Concepts epublishing. Her love of mysteries and everything paranormal keeps her at the keyboard, combining the two in her own stories. Fallen Angel Reviews described her title 'Eye of the Storm' - which is the prize she (as Samantha Storm) is giving away as:

" . . .absorbing. Ms. Storm has constructed a plot filled with action, packed with the supernatural, heavy with sexual chemistry, and supplemented with a few surprises that will keep readers on their toes. As such, readers will be hard-pressed to avoid being quickly pulled into this conspiracy right along with Katlin and Ryker. "

So here's both Chaoscat and Samantha Storm

Kate asked me to if I would be a part of her 50th book blog celebration and I was thrilled to be included. But honestly I am not sure who she invited since I have dual personalities-- some days I am Chaoscat owner/operator of Romance Junkies and other days I am Samantha Storm, author with New Concepts.

I guess I should just assume she invited both of us ;-) As Chaoscat I deal with a lot of authors, but I have to tell you Kate Walker is on my top ten list. She is always gracious with her time, engaging in her emails and she is forever ready and willing to jump in and participate in whatever we have going on. She is honestly a dream author to work with.

As a writer I am in awe of her recent accomplishment. Fifty books. The sheer number just amazes me and gives me something to aspire towards. Okay, this moment really needs a toast of some sort. So, Ms. Walker, I am raising a cyber glass of champagne your way. "Kate, congratulations on such a mind blowing accomplishment!"


GIVEAWAY QUESTION: On those bad days, when everything seems to go wrong, what do you do to get yourself out of the 'dark cloud over my head funk'?

GIVEAWAY PRIZE - Chaoscat is giving away a package with a four reads from the RJ book vault.

Samantha Storm is giving away a print copy of Eye of the Storm.

WEBSITE www.romancejunkies.com and www.samanthastorm.com