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)

Now where was I . . .?

Sorry for the delay in updating this blog - one of the things about being a published author is that in order to keep that title you have  to write - and that takes time and focus. Life has been hectic anyway, and I've needed to carve out time to spend with a sexy Italian and his wife of convenience, to get their story told.  

So that's where I've been and what I've been doing  - on the writing front anyway.

On the teaching front, I've been thrilled by the response to the new Kindle edition of the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance  - and want to send many thanks to everyone who  bought a copy  at the special promo price |(and to the wonderful friends and fellow authors who spread the word that it was available.)  The ebook is now on sale at it's proper price - but as that is only $3.99 - or  £2.45 in the UK., I still reckon this is a bargain compared to the  price of the paperback. Plus,   the Kindle edition is easily available to more countries  - copies have sold in Germany, France, Australia and Canada - all with just one click! I love ebooks.

I'll admit I never thought I'd say that but I do love ebooks. I love the ease with which I can buy them, the way that I can store hundreds on my reader and not clutter up my room. I'm never without something to read, travelling is easy - just throw the reader in my bag and I  will never run out of  reading matter or if I should do, then  it's easy to get hold of something new.

Not that I'm ever likely to need to do that  . . . the problem is that my Kindle sits on my desk beside me as I

write this - and if during the day I spot an interesting title, then  the temptation is very strong . . . and I was never good at resisting temptation - at least not where books are concerned!

And as a writer, the great thing about ebooks is the way that old titles  get a  whole new lease of life as people discover them. When I was first published , Harlequin romances were in the shops for one month and that was it.  They sold, or they didn't and there was little chance of getting  a copy once the month was over. Sometimes, a book might be reprinted as a 'Bestseller'  - but that would be years later.  I often used to get letters/emails from readers looking for a replacement copy of an old book - or to catch up on one

they'd missed  and  it was difficult to help them.

Now I have old titles out in ebook  form - and it's great to see  - as I did this morning - that older titles like  Kept For Her Baby, At The Sheikh's Command,  The Italian's Forced Bride and Cordero's Forced Bride are out there in the list of bestseller for Modern Romances on Amazon UK.

Oh - and btw -  if you buy  your ebooks from the Mills & Boon web site - they've now introduced a brand new app  which is the best way to read Adobe® Content Server protected eBooks on your iOS device.

What else? Oh yes - courses - I need to update the info on the courses coming up   including one special

retreat style event called Focus on Writing Romantic Fiction - but there's an Italian calling to me so I'll post about that tomorrow.

If you're still looking for a basic course - check out the details  on the upcoming course at Weetwood Hall -   below -  it has filled up but if you're interested I can find another space for you.  Details are also on the Events page of  my web site and on the Relax and Write website here. 

More details on the other course(s) and the Focus retreat as soon as I get some more words added to my total for Dario and Alyse! 

Countdown to Christmas 8

Thank you all for your comments yesterday and for  the private messages too.  I know that it has been a difficult year for many people and  sharing  helps us feel  that bit warmer and more connected. It's one of the reasons why I decided to run the Countdown to Christmas  again this year - and ask you to tell me about yourselves,  even though I've just done the Big Blog Tour as well.

My book stock cupboard is looking much barer than before as a result but it's lovely to know that my stories are going around the world and hopefully brightening that day for someone who needs it.  That is one of the great hnours of being a writer - the way of being able to touch someone's life when they need it without even knowing it.

Yesterday's winner of a copy of The Italian's Forced Bride is  Debby -  so please let me know your postal address Debby

Oh and to answer Kaelee - yes, there is Cordero's Forced Bride as well as The Italian's Forced Bride  but that;s it for the Forced Brides! Personally it's not a title I've ever liked - it's one of those that come from the 'buzzword'  type of titles - that now thankfully seem to be behind us. Incidentally,  do you like the new titles? Just wondering.

Anyway today's give away is a replay of Day 3 - This is At The Sheikh's Command. You may remember that  Lois won  a copy of this back then, but then she realised that she already had the book  so  I swapped it for another backlist title - and At The Sheikh's Command is  still available for a giveaway 

So to remind you  about this 2006 book

Bought...
Abbie Cavanaugh's young brother is in jail. Abbie can obtain his freedom - but only if she marries the Sheikh of Barakhara.
And bedded...

The explosive passion between Prince Malik and Abbie could turn a marriage of convenience into one of Eastern promise.
By The Sheikh!
But neither Abbie nor Malik knows the other's real identity. Can their relationship survive once the truth is revealed?


And the question is -
Who in your family  is the most difficult person for you to buy a present for - and who is the easiest?

My answer to  that - to both questions would have to be my  DH the Babe Magnet - he's easy to buy for because all he ever asks for are books - books - and more books.  But that in my mind makes him the most difficult - because  there is never any variety in what  he wants!
Oh well, they are always easy to wrap !

PS - I'm adding an apology that I don't manage to answer all your comments  everyday. I do read them - obviously because I have to get the names to allow Charlie to pick the winners - but with so much to do and the prizes to send out etc I just don't have the time to respond to every single one. I'm so glad to see everyone joining in, 'old faces' and new   frieds turning up - you are so welcome.  And I'm so happy that you've come to visit.

Countdown to Christmas 7

I'm late today because it's been rather a difficult day -  a time when news from several sources has brought me up against the reminder that, although so much of the world  seems to be celebrating, buying and wrapping presents, enjoying parties, planning get-togethers,  selecting lots of lovely food and drink, there are others who are struggling with sadness and pain, illness and the shock of loss.


So I want to take a moment to think of   those of you who for whom this holiday time is not the joy and happiness it is for others - those of you whose Christmnas is touched with sadness and loss that has taken the sparkle from it.  Having lost my dear Mother in law earlier in the year, it's hard to have this first Christmas when I haven't selected a special gift for her or been able to make up the stocking that she always said she was  too olde for - but that her enjoyment proved you're never too old for a Christmas stocking!

To all of you who are dealing with something like this, perhaps the illness of a loved one, or a more recent loss - my heart goes out to you, and I send my sympathy and thoughts in the hope that they might help just a little.

So I think it's appropriate that the winner of today's prize giveaway - the copy of  Blind-Date Brides - is Alison, whose best 'gift' touched me so much.  And I also related so much to the  pencils with your name on them Alison - I had some of those once and I loved them too. Charlie pounced right on the cat treat on your name so he must have agreed.  Please send your postal address to me - as alway,  use the email at the bottom of the page.

Today's giveaway is a copy of another earlier title of mine - The Italian's Forced Bride.  (2006)

"As long as I want you, you stay — and you only leave when I give you permission to go."
Alice Howard spent six passionate months as Domenico Parrisi's mistress. But she knew he would never love her back and would soon discard her — so she left him.
But now Domenico wants her back in his bed, and his terms of possession are the same as before—until he makes a discovery that changes everything: Alice is carrying his child.

And the question? Well.seeign as I was talking about stockings - tell me - do you still have one - for yourself,  for the children? And if you do, what is it like - do you have a commercially made one or is it like the one I made for my son years ago  - a plain white pillowcase that I decorated with pictures and his name done in fabric paints?
And what sor of  things do you put into the stocking (sorry - perhaps I should say  - what does Santa put in the stocking?)

As you see, even dear old Sid the Cat always had a big stocking that he hoped Santa would fill with treats.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 20

I'm still dashing around like a mad thing - but I suppose that's to be expected at this time of year! A migraine hasn't helped so that's why I'm late posting today.

So again I'll just have a post of a book and a question

Oh - and of course - Sid's Winners!

So the winner of Spanish Billionaire;Innocent Wife is Lois

and the winner of The Italian's Baby Bargain is Gaelikka

Please email me your postal addresses and I'll get these prizes in the mail to you.

Today's book is Cordero's Forced Bride (2009)

Taken in payment into his bed!
Alexa Montague is mortified. She's had to call off her sister's wedding, and now the ruthless, arrogant groom, Santos Cordero, is demanding that shy, ugly duckling Alexa, takes Natalie's place!
The Montagues have stolen his money and his convenient bride, so Santos will enjoy taking Alexa instead. For Santos does not - cannot - love. But his body burns for Alexa as it has for no other woman before. He'll keep her captive in his bed until she's begging to be his . .

And the question - one of my favourite things about preparing for Christmas is putting together a stocking for each member of my family. Even though my son is grown up - and so is his partner - I still like to collect silly gifts for this tradition. And the sillier the better.

So do you make up a stocking for anyone or have you given up on that tradition if your famiy is grown up?What sort of things do you think make good stocking stuffers? (I always think that romances make good choice - for the women anyway! And do you wrap the stocking gifts or just bundle them into a stocking?

You know what to do - answers in the comments please.

Lots of my friends are getting caught up in the travel chaos with the ice and snow. If you're struyggling in the freezing weather or the snow (we're supposed to be getting more of that tonight) keep safe and warm and I hope you get to wherever you're going.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 19

Just the book info and a question today .

When I get back from Frozen Yorkshire I will get Sid on the job of picking out a winner for Saturday (Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife) and Sunday.

And today's book is the latest 3 in 1 collection that my novels have been in - The Italian's Baby Bargain.

The book that's reprinted in here is The Italian's Forced Bride which has been a giveaway (back on Day 7 ) so Alicia who won then won't want to try for this.

But Alicia I don't have your postal address so your copy of the book is still sitting on my desk! Would all winners please make sure they let me know where to send your prize or you will miss out.
Anyway - The Italian's Forced Bride

"As long as I want you, you stay — and you only leave when I give you permission to go."
Alice Howard spent six passionate months as Domenico Parrisi's mistress. But she knew he would never love her back and would soon discard her — so she left him.

But now Domenico wants her back in his bed, and his terms of possession are the same as before—until he makes a discovery that changes everything: Alice is carrying his child.

Waldenbooks #1 bestseller
This book won Best Mills & Boon Modern Romance in Cata Romance's Reviewers' Choice Awards!

The other authors with books in this collection are: Trish Morey and Kim Lawrence

And today's question - let's look at books again (always a good subject)

When you buy your romances, what influences you most? Do you buy because of the author? The line? Which lines are your favourites that you buy from most often? Does the cover influence you? Or the title?

As always - post an answer in the comments section . And yes, you can post for both Saturday and Sunday until Sid The Cat has chosen. Which he will do on Monday

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 7

Four winners I promised you from yesterday's giveaway - so here are four names that Sid has picked out (and now you all know just why I use Sid to do the chosing!)

Judy T

Chrissy (and I hope you find the candy canes!)

Kirsten - I love the way you decorate your tree and the 'do you remember' game that goes with it

Kelly

Just to make one thing clear - I was asked if I posted prizes overseas . One of my earlier winners lives in Finland and was concerned that I might not be prepared to send her prize to her. She needn't have worried! - Yes I do send out prizes overseas - anywhere I have readers I will send a prize. So don't let the fact that you live thousands of miles away hold you back from entering - my readers are my friends and distance is no problem for friends.

I found out today that the USA cover of my next book - The Proud Wife - is already up on Amazon.com. The new-style UK one hasn't appeared but I'll post it when I find it. Anyway, the Presents Extra cover looks like this ------>

I like it a lot - though the clothing for my heroine in that particular scene isn't quite right. (You'll have to wait till March to see why) But the passion and the intensity is just perfect!

Anway, this cover reminded me of one of my personal favourite covers ever - the cover on The Italian's Forced Bride . In fact, with a change of hair colouring for the heroine and a slightlydifferent dress they could almost have been posed at the same time.

So that made me decide that today's Advent Calendar Giveaway title would be The Italian's Forced Bride. (2006/7)

"As long as I want you, you stay — and you only leave when I give you permission to go."

Alice Howard spent six passionate months as Domenico Parrisi's mistress. But she knew he would never love her back and would soon discard her — so she left him.

But now Domenico wants her back in his bed, and his terms of possession are the same as before—until he makes a discovery that changes everything: Alice is carrying his child.

This book won Best Mills & Boon Modern Romance in Cata Romance's Reviewers' Choice Awards and was a Waldenbooks #1 bestseller

Today's question is - What do you plan to eat for Christmas Day? Are you a traditionalist and just must have turkey and all the trimmings ? Or do you go for something different? What about thbose of you who don't live in the UK or America - Nas? Eva?

Here in this family we're veggie - except for my son's partner - so I make a special nut roast that tastes great. The only trouble is, you can't have it cold in sandwiches on Boxing Day!

You know the routine - answers in the comments please.
And yesterday's winners- Chrissy, Kelly, Judy and Kirsten please send me your postal addresses - email kate AT kate-walker.com

My First/Favourite Kate Walker Books - Readers' Stories

I'm still collecting lists of Top 5 Favourite Kate Walker reads - or the first Kate Walker I ever read and today here are some more of the stories/lists my readers have sent in:

Mary from Kentucky says:

I have enjoyed all of your books that I have read. I didn't start reading Harlequins until the early '70s, so I cannot say that I have read all your books. Here is my list of 5:

The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife
The Antonakis Marriage
The Italian's Forced Bride
Bedded by the Greek Billionaire
Kept for her Baby

The lovely Marilyn who lives in Seattle and wrote so many wonderful reviews of my books gives her list of the top five- and she was very very definite about which one was her favourite. I know she told me that when she read it, she 'cried and cried' - I'm mean you see, I love making my readers cry! (Sorry Marilyn!)

Here's her list:

The Italians Forced Bride (if you want to read Marilyn's review of her favourite book you'll find it here)
The Twelve-Month Mistress

The Spaniard's Inconvenient Wife

Bound By Blackmail
The Sicilian’s Wife

And here's a story that really made me smile. It's a perfect example of the way that romance reading (and writing) brings people together and, as Jean, the writer of this email says, creates 'friends across the age divide'.

Jean is from Colorado and she says that her first ever Kate Walker was:

The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife. The first book was given to me, a woman in my seventies by a young college girl and since then we have exchanged books, friends across the age divide.

Finally, Debra from Connecticut also chose The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife as her top favourite - that's 3 votes for that book today - here's what she says:

I am new to your books and started with The Alcolar Family Trilogy and the Cordero books. I have been hooked ever since.

Her 'Top Five' are:

The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife
Cordero's Forced Bride
The Alcolar Trilogy (That's The 12 Month Mistress, The Spaniard's Inconvenient Wife and Boumd By Blackmail.

Thank you all for your stories and your votes. I have contacted all the winners about thier prizes.

My First Kate Walker - Michelle Styles

Today I have another writer friend who's talking about the first time she read a Kate Walker novel.

Michelle Styles, who writes for Mills and Boon and Harlequin Historicals is an American who now lives in the UK after marrying her husband. I think Michelle's comments pretty much summarise some of the many reasons why people read romances so I've left them in with her list asI think they are so great.

I am fairly positive the first book of yours I read was Leap in the Dark (1989) and I think I read it on the train going to Sheffield when I had a job interview with a bank's graduate training programme. And I can remember the train journey going far too quickly. I am certain I read others of yours then as I was homesick and reading a lot of M&B because I had read Harlequin in the US.

My top five of yours:
1. The Italian's Forced Bride as it made me cry
2. The Antonakos Marriage as our discussion inspired me to write Sold and Seduced (one of Michelle's Roman romances) and it got me through my first cataract operation.
3. Constantine's Revenge because it is excellent
4. Cordero's Forced Bride because it helped me when I was stressed and needed to escape.
5.Sicilan Husband. Blackmailed Bride because I could not put it down.

Thank you Michelle!

Michelle's latest Harlequin Historical The Viking's Captive Princess was a December USA release and is still available on Amazon, eHarlequin etc - and her next UK book Compromising Miss Milton will be out in May,

Take a look at Michelle's web site where you can read more about her great historical romances and find her blog.

Foreign Editions

Some weeks there are no books in the post - copies of my books that is. And then sometimes the doorbell just keeps ringing and there is a flurry of packages arriving with author copies from all over the place.This week, most of them have been mine but there was one Grim and Gruesome title of the Magnet's. (Must stop calling them that - people will think that the series really is titled that way!)

So, I have Danish, Norwegian, Swedish editions of a collection which includes Miranda Lee, Carole Mortimer, and Lee Wilkinson. The book of mine in this collection is The Hired Husband which was originally published in 1999. I do love the way that older books come round again and get another airing. It's like seeing old friends.

Then there were two Japanese editions - a touch of that revisiting 'old friends' here as well. The first one is a Japanese translation of Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride - the other, the 'Classic' is reprint of an even older book - Something Missing which was originally published in 1993!

That was way back when I had the only male M&B editor. I remember we had one editorial lunch together - that was the infamous lunch where, with his back to the crowded restaurant, he told me that his only criticism of my latest submission was that 'I want more sex . . .'

Stunned silence in posh London restaurant.

He also told me that I was - quote 'very original' - surely I realised that? Er - no. Funny, isn't it, that sometimes we don't really see - or don't see - what other people see in our work. One of the toughest things is to be objective in our assessments of our own writing. That's something I always think of when I work with unpublished authors- how easy it is to get too close and not see what we've actually written but what we think we've written. Long ago, when I had more time between dreadlines I used to put the book away for as long as I could and 'grow away' from it , then hope to read it more objectively. No time for that now.

Anyway - more foreign editions. There's the Czech edition of The Italian's Forced Bride. I love the way the Czech edition changes my name to Kate Walkerova. This always makes me smile. Some names lend themselves to this Czech version - but none, I think, as well as Historical Novelist Elizabeth Rolls who becomes Elizabeth Rollsova.

As well as these I've had more Danish, Swedish and Norwegian editions, French, German, Spanish, Greek . . .

All of which reminds me how huge and international this company I write for has become since it first started out in 1908 in the UK. Something that perhaps gets forgotten in the celebration of Mills & Boon's 100th Birthday. So many people think that Harlequin Mills & Boon is still just that 'home-grown' company, and the books on the shelves in WH Smith, the only ones published and sol nowhere but here in the UK. My latest royalty statement ame this week and it had sales in 31 different countries listed on it - including those posted above and others ranging from Russia to Brazil, Holland to Indonesia. And I only have to look at the flags of all the countries where the visitors to my blog live to see just how international romance writing and reading really is.

And of course the Centenary is in my mind because tomorrow (today when this is posted) I'll be heading for Manchester and the opening of the Mills & Boon Centenary Exhibition. I'm so looking forward to seeing that. But while celebrating the past 100 years, I hope we'll also be looking forward to the future and all that holds.

Oh yes - and to come back to those book parcels that have been arriving in the post. The Babe Magnet's contribution to all this has an international flavour as well. The Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths series has moved across the Irish Sea and Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Dublin is the result of the research trip we made to Dublin last year.

But after that he's coming back closer to home with Heroes , Villains and Victims of Bradford.

Writers' Q&A

The first question this time comes from Rachel who asks:

As an aspiring writer, how would you suggest 'getting into' the character traits of particular nationalities? I know that Greeks, Spaniards and Italians are regarded as strong, passionate and proud men and that's what adds to their appeal but I have also read comments from readers on eharlequin that are critical when a writer maybe hasn't got it quite right and they state this as fact because they are/ are married to a Greek/Spaniard/Italian. Comments such as ' an italian man would never do this or say that etc'.

Should I be using my time and brain cells to consider this problem as I only have first hand experience of English, French, Antipodean and Welsh men? Or should I throw up my hands (in a mediterranean way obviously) and hope that the majority of readers are, like myself, happy to revel in the alpha male fantasy as presented?

I've read tons of M&B moderns with these fiery men (because I adore them) but I'm not sure I could tell an Italian from a Greek if all the obvious clues were taken away-perhaps I should be able to.

How did you learn to do this? Is this a justifiable case for a bit of overseas (tax deductible) research? (not that I'd be allowed!)


If you look at the comments by Executive Editor Tessa Shapcott some time ago on the I Heart Presents blog, you'll see that she says:

Every month in Presents guarantees a delicious new crop of heroes who hail from the Mediterranean. And whether they’re Greek, Spanish, Italian, French, or from a fictitious island, these Mediterranean men never fail to wow readers.

Mediterranean men in Harlequin Presents are a particular bunch; always passionate and proud, they ooze power, wealth, dark good looks and sensuality. In fact, often they are a touch more ruthless and quite a bit more vengeful than their British, North American or Australian counterparts (who possess other irresistible qualities – see Jenny Hutton’s blog about British billionaires)! Why is it that we’re all suckers for a Mediterranean hero?

I have a friend who is an academic – an historian. She believes that it’s in women’s DNA, a primeval thing, to feel excitement and anticipation about the dark invader, harking back to when alpha males arrived to pillage and conquer, bringing fresh genes to add to the pool and beef up the existing stock.

Or is it that our Mediterranean heroes are archetypes that give us licence to experience and enjoy the basic strong feelings which lie at the heart of all human relationships, but which perhaps have been ironed out of our emotional landscape by social necessity? What could be more sexy for a woman than to feel that her man wants her passionately and that he will go to the edge of reason to possess her?

Plus, we tend to hold on to the belief that traditional family structures and rituals remain solid in southern Europe – the fantasy is complete because the Presents Mediterranean man invariably offers marriage as a way of keeping the heroine close. And despite the fact that we may settle for less formal ties and arrangements in our real lives, ultimately many women still dream of becoming brides…

First and foremost the Mediterranean hero in a M&B Modern/Presnets novel, is not meant to be an deeply realistic creation. Just to take on example, so many of these heroes are of the 'tall dark and handsome' model, where the facts are that many of them are not particularly tall at all. I once received a lett of strong criticism from someone who berated me for creating talk and handsome Sicilian heroes when 'everyone knew' that they were small, swarthy and wore gold medallions on theirn hairy chests!

The Mediterranean (or Sheikh) hero comes from a warm country - in the past they would have seemed much more 'exotic' before easy and frequent travel abroad brough Spain, Italy, Greece etc into our holiday plans so frequently. Warm countries, so the belief is , create hot-blooded men, men who are passionate, sensual, more 'alpha', less inhibited, less 'stiff upper lip' than the average British male. They are also it is believed more likely to woo the heroine, to indulge in romantic gestures. I don't neccessarily think this is true - I think it maligns the poor British male - but it is in a way a sort of shorthand for the exotic passionate stranger who sweeps the heroine off her feet.

So a romance novelist isn't trying to create an absolutely perfectly realistic Spaniard or Greek or whatever. But neither do you want to create someone who is so much a stereotype that he appears almost a caricatures.

The thing I always remember above and beyond anything else is that my hero, whatever nationality he is, is a man. This sounds so obvious but it's important that he's a man first and then his nationality affects him second. There are certain characteristics that fit more strongly with certain nationalities than others - thinnk of Italy and you think of style, sophistication, families. But Sicily has more of an edge, a sense of dnager - you think of vendettas etc. Greece always bring with it the idea, for me, of that Greek word 'hubris' - that overweening excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance. And the many Greek islands all have a character of their own, some busy, sophisticated, some rural, even wild in atmosphere. And that can give the hero a raw edge, a primitive streak that underlies his sophisticated veneer.

So when you create your Mediterranean hero you need to look at the places he would live - read up about them on the internet or in guide books etc. Thinking of my own books, my two Sicilian brothers who came from Syracusa on Sicily are very different from Domenico, in The Italian's Forced Bride who had a villa outside Pavia in Northern Italy. Be aware of national customs, of traditions in the area, the industries and jobs that are prevalent there.

Obviously, going to one of the places you want to set your book and seeing the people there, 'peoplewatching' is a great way to learn so very much - but we can;t always do that. It's not possible to visit a new place for every single book.

What else can you do? Watch films, see interviews with international stars, sportsmen - even politicians -see how subtly different they are from another nationality. Listen to how they speak. I once spent a concentrated time listening to an interview with the then Greek Prime Minister, not listening to what he was saying but how he was saying it. The word order can be very different for different nationalities. I often make my hero's speech slightly more formal - I cannot instead of I can't - because English is his second language .

Reading can help you. Books like Manwatching or People Watching by Desmond Morris will give you clues as to gestures used - or equally ones that are considered rude. And books that detail the adjustments UK people make when going to live abroad will give insight into the way of life - books like Driving over Lemons (Andalcuia) or its sequel A Parrot in the Pepper Tree by Chris Stewart. Two books the Babe Magnet introduced me to that have helped hugely with writing Italian heroes are Italian Neighbours: An Englishman in Verona by Tim Parks and his other book An Italian Education. I'm lucky in that I have friends who live in Spain, for eample, and they are invaluable sources of information.

Finally consider language. If you want to sprinkle words in your hero's native language through his dialogue, then that can give an added flavour - but please always make sure that you have the language right. If you're not sure, leave it out. After all, the sophisticated Presents hero usually speaks perfect or near perfect English!

But always remember, that as with the setting of your book, the nationality of you hero need to be sketched in with a light hand. Don't have him constantly referring to how things are in his home country, or lecturing the heroine on the artists or the politics of that place. To go back to where I started, the hero is always a man first and it is the problems that he faces as a man, the male/female conflict between him and his heroine that matters most. Just as you don't want to turn your book into a travelogue by describing the settings in far too much detail, you don't want to turn it into a lecture on the culture or history of Spain, or an Italian language primer.

London Book Fair and the real launch

You're an impatient lot!

I said that I had some good news, but I had a party to orgainse and revisions to do on Santos's story. I've been busy. But you can't wait - I've been getting emails wanting to know what's happening, when I'm going to post the news . . . and what happened in London. . . .?

Well, one bit of news I still can't tell you. I'm waiting for the official announcement on that, but there's one bit of exciting news I can let you have this week.So watch this space.

And what happened in London - I can definitely do that . . .

I've never been to London Book Fair before but I knew it was big. It's held in Earls Court so that gave me some idea of what it would be like. But just driving up to the front of the venue, while impressive, doesn't give the full idea of what it was like inside.

Behind those doors it's a bit like a Tardis, opening out bigger and bigger. And what I didn't know at first was that there's Earls Court 1 and Earls Court 2 so there was even more of it! It's huge. Even the official guide to who's exhibiting and what they do was inches thick. I was glad that the Magnet and I had been sent tickets by the publisher of 12PGTWR2 - some people had to pay £35 to get in!

We didn't have a lot of time to wander round as we'd travelled down from Lincolnshire that day so we didn't get to the BookFair until the afternoon. But there was one exhibitor that I was determined to see, and that of course was the Harlequin Mills and Boon stand.

It was a particular thrill to see it this time because of course the displays were celebrating the wonderful 100th birthday that Mills and Boon are having and the centenary year logo was very much on display - as were hundreds of books from all the different lines. And there were a lot of visitors - this photo was taken at the end of the day, when everyone was on their way home so that you can see the stand more clearly.

At the HMB stand I was lucky enough to meet the lovely Anne Coquet, the Editorial Director of éditionsHarlequin - Harlequin France - who was over for the Book Festival.

We were able to have a chat and Anne tells me that there are four of my books coming out in France in 2008.

I already knew about the French edition of Their Secret Baby (Une rencontre troublante) as a copy came through the post only last month, but I didn't know that The Italian's Forced Bride (Un mariage en Toscane ) will be out in May - and there will be two more - I've no idea yet which titles those will be.

Harlequin France is also celebrating this year - they are 30 years old in 2008.

Congratulations Harlequin!

After talking to Anne, and to our own Editorial Director Karin Stoecker, I realised that I had better make my way to the launch party or I would be late. Studymates is only a small publisher and they are based in Wales, so this meant that we had to work out how to get into Earls Court 2 and then find the Welsh publishers stands. We managed it, with some help from one of the official guides, just in time to have a glass of wine and toast the new edition which was on display for the first time.

And I finally got my hands on the revised and expanded second edition. It looks just great - the reduction in size, from a trade paperback to a normal paperback edition means that it is more compat that the first edition, but it's also a lot thicker. It's a solid book, very nicely produced and with clear print inside. Excellent.

I was able to meet both the printer and the typesetter who had worked on the book and thank them for their work in getting it out on time after it had been delayed in editorial so that I hadn't been sure it was going to be out on the publication date of April 8th. The typesetter, Sandhar

had come all the way from India so I was happy to sign a copy of the book for him to take back and show his team there. You can see him in this picture with me, Graham Lawler the Director of Studymates and his wife and HMB's Editorial Director Karin Stoecker who was kind enough to come to the launch - as did M&B editors Suzanne Clarke and Jenny Hutton.

I met a lot of people - names and faces blurred at times but I know I talked with other Welsh publishers, with wholesalers, booksellers, distributors. There were familiar faces too - Hazel Cushion from Accent Press who I've met at Caerleon and even Johanna who was on my Writing Romance course in Fishguard in 2006 turned up. Congratulations on the MA Johanna!

I was given all sorts of snippets of news about the 2nd edition - let's see - Graham told me that they'd sold the Indian rights to the book just that morning. This will probably be as a result of M&B's expansion into India where The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife was one of the launch books and Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife was also on sale last month. I understand too that M&B will be actively looking for an Indian writer so that may connect well with my book.

What else? Amazon.com will be listing it - they will also hopefully be stocking it directly in America which will mean it's easier for USA writers to get hold of it and you'll get it quicker - so if you wrote to Amazon to ask about it, then thank you! Also Barnes & Noble will be stocking it on their site and - hopefully - in their shop. But they want to take a look at the new edition first - so keep asking for it in B&N shops! The more word of mouth interest there is, the more likely it will be that it will be on general sale in America and so hopefully more writers will be able to find it more easily.

The launch was only supposed to be from 5pm till 5.45 but it was after 6.30 before I was able to get away, feet aching, mind spinning and jaw aching from smiling! It had been a great afternoon - and there was one more little thrill in store for me. It was

as we walked past the now empty Mills & Boon stand that I suddenly realised that there, right at the front of the shelf displaying the special 100th Birthday Collection was my very first sight of the cover of my own The Duke's Secret Wife which is on sale in August. So naturally I had to take a photo of that - it's the middle book here, the one with the blue top to the retro-style cover.

And that was my first day in London - more details - and some exciting news coming soon.

In the meantime, the cyber launch party is still going on for a little while. Until I hear from the authors who have donated prizes for the posting over the weekend, you can still post a comment there and be in with a chance to win - so don't miss out - visit Saturday's blog and be in with a chance of winning!

PS - Talking of good news - I can't actually announce it until they have done, but some of my lovely guests from the Laucnh Party have great news of their own to anounce - so keep a look out on Liz Fielding, Natasha Oakley, Trish Wylie and Holly Jacobs' blogs and be ready to give them special congratulations.

I'll just hug the secret to myself until they let you know - and say CONGRATULATIONS ladies!

Coming soon . . .

I'm deeply involved with a certain brooding Spanish hero - Santos Cordero - who has finally (finally!) decided to stop brooding and start taking action. So now I'd better let him have his head while he's in this mood.

But I thought I'd give you an couple of updates on books coming out later this year. One I knew about and hoped would happen soon - the other is totally unexpected.

So the first of these, the one I knew was coming up because I'd been working hard on it, is the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance. The one that was sold out. Totally sold out now as far as I can see. Amazon.com/co.uk/Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository . . . all have no copies left - so, as I said, the publisher and I have been working to bring you a 2nd edition of this book so as to get it back in stock just as soon as we can.

And not just a 2nd edtion but a revised, updated and expanded second edtion with even more information and help for those of you who want to write romance for publication. And the good news is that I've just heard from the publishers (Studymates Limited) that it has finally been sent to the printers ready to get it on the shelves. It will also have a new, slightly different cover which you can see on the right, and it will be in a slightly smaller format from the first edition.

All this is aimed at getting the book out to more people who were looking for it before but couldn't find it in shops, only on the internet, It seems that bookshops prefer this slightly smaler edition so hopefully that means more of them will stock it. And - most importantly - for everyone in America who has written to me to say they can't get hold of it - it should mean that you can order it more easily and maybe even that it could appear on the bookshop shelves just to pick up if there's enough interest. Barnes & Noble are considering taking some to stock in their shops which would be great for everyone who has had such a problem getting hold of it before now.

At the moment you can preorder it on Amazon.co.uk but I haven't spotted it on Amazon.com yet. Later, I'm hoping that The Book Depository will stock it because they have great deals and free delivery worldwide on books they stock. I'll keep you up to date on this.

But I've come up with an idea that might help make ordering it in America easier for anyone who's interested - and if there's enough interest by word of mouth then that might persuade B&N or other bookshops to stock it. Thanks to lovely Lee Hyat at Author Sound Relations, I've had some bookmarks made which have all the details you'll need - the ISBN, and the USA distributors so that any bookshop should be able to order it for you.

If you're in the USA and you'd like one of these bookmarks - and a free Kate Walker pen - then

send an SASE (USA postage naturally) to:

Lee Hyat

Kate Walker Goodies

4411, 76th Ave. West # 2

University Place,

WA 98466

If the envelopes are addressed as above, then Lee will know what you're interested in.

And as I get more news about this second edition, I'll let you know. At the moment, the publication date is officially 8th April - though Amazon has April 30th - but as soon as I know more I'll pass the news on to you.

And as I've already said, I'll be running a special launch party for this 2nd edition with more details about the book and that special Writers' Q&A when I have the actual launch date confirmed. So keep sending in those questions. And thank you to Jacqueline, Lorraine and Johanna who've already sent in their queries.

The other news I have is that I just learned that another of my older titles is being republished in the By Request collections here in the UK. At the moment, I only have the title of this collection and the date it's published (July 2008) I don't even know for sure which of my books is in this collection, but as the title is Her Passionate Italian , I suspect that it will be my 2001 book Her Secret Bridegroom as that's the oldest of my Italian books - of course it could be The Italian's Forced Bride being reprinted already, but I think Vincenzo's story is more likely. Unless of course, one of the earlier Sicilian books is the Italian they mean. I'll let you know as soon as I find out!

I'm thrilled to discover that one of the other authors in this collection with me is Michelle Reid who is one of my favourite authors and favourite people in the world. We're shelf mates in November too, so I can look forward to seeing our names side by side several times this year.

Catching Up and Looking Forward

I made it back at last.

Thank you so much to everyone who left me Happy New Year messages- Nicolette, Nature Nut (Nancy) Madeline, Jenny and the Nooligan (though I think Flora is a Nooliganess) Cryna, Anna, Anne McA, T'Other Kate, Jan, Nell, Rachael, Sandra, Tammy, MammaDuck, Lee and Lidia - thank you all and Happy Happy New year wishes right back (only a little late).

And Rachael a very special thank you to you - the Christmas Cake was wonderful and delicious and was much admired and enjoyed by many visitors to our house at Christmas. And I did admit that I hadn't baked it but you had. Thank you!

I'm not quite sure what happened to last week, except that I seemed to blink and found it had gone past. There was a lot going on in there - New Year rituals, kittens - well, just one kitten but she's as crazy as a bunch of small furries. Nicolette asked me if Flora had had a mad half hour yet? A mad half hour? This girl had mad half days. She treats the house like a race circuit - out of my office, along the corridor, through the kitchen, along the hall, up the stairs, round the bedroom, over the bed, back down the stairs . . .. The Gentlemen Cats would like a little peace and quiet please and they are most happy when she finally fall asleep.

Oh yes, and as you're all watching with fascination the growing 'romance' between Sir Sidney and Flora the Flirt - they have finally started sleeping together - but only in separate beds.

What else happened in this week?

Well in this family, the final Christmas/New Year celebrations don't stop until 12th Night - because the feast of The Epiphany on January 6th is the day we celebrate the birth of The Offspring quite a few years ago. It does mean that when everyone else is starting to settle down and think of getting back to work and Resolutions and things like that, we are still planning parcels and parties and such. Having a baby on January 6th was not exactly the best planning - but then I didn't plan it. In fact, he wasn't due for another 2-3 weeks. He was supposed to be a last week in January baby . But then a combination of a major thunderstorm, a panicked elderly neighbour, a visit from my Mama all combined to bring the event forward - one or other or all of them created a huge spike in my blood pressure. I suspect it was my Mother's influence - she wanted to see her new grandchild and if he didn't arrive during her visit, she would be back at work and miles away when the actual event occured. So she probably muttered some sort of incantation behind my back and The Offspring was induced on January 6th in time for Granny to celebrate the feast of the 3 Kings with a brand new grandson.

But I did also have to get back to work - my Christmas post from my new editor was the proofs of the just-finished book now glorying in the title of Bedded By The Greek Billionaire but known to me and to my blog readers as The Black Angel,. So I had to correct Angelos's proofs and get them back on my editor's desk. Which I have done.

Also on the work front, I was delighted to receive a card from everyone at eHarlequin and specially thrilled when I found this message inside:

Kate, ebook readers love their Presents, and in 2007 you had two of our most popular titles! . . . .

Of course then I was intrigued and wanting to know which titles had been so successful. Thanks to my Editor, I've been able to find out that those two of the most popular titles were The Italian's Forced Bride (which I suspected as that sold at #1 in Waldenbooks) and my 50th title The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge. What a great result for that special book.

So a great big Thank You to every one of my readers who contributed to this success. I couldn't have done it without you.

In the email, my Editor also said that she'd also been told that my Mini Round Robin title Stolen by the Sheikh is a consistent top download on eHarlequin.com. I had such fun with that Writing Round Robin on the eHarlequin site and that;s when I got to meet a wonderful group of people who call themselves The Hoods. Nancy/Nature Nut - if you're reading this and you're still in touch with The Hoods please say Hi to them from me and let them know of the great success of our story together. And thank you too to the Hoods who contributed to that success.

The rest of the week was filled with reading - The Offspring gave me The Thirteenth Tale as part of my Christmas present I'm on the last section now and it has held me riveted for some nights. Unfortunately I couldn't say the same about one of the films he also gave me - Scoop - with Woody Allen and Scarlett Johansson - and some guy called Hugh Jackman. Let's just say this film did not hold me riveted - even with Mr Jackman in a swimming pool scene.

Oh yes and one thing that gave me a lot of pleasure was being able to buy the Essential Medicines from Oxfam Unwrapped as your Christmas Card from me. Thank you again for all the books you bought and the votes you posted so that I could do this for the second year running.

The Christmas Stocking prizes went out and I've heard from Julie in Scotland that her parcel of books has arrived - I envy her the chance to dive into all those books and I hope that Dawn's prize has reached her safely too. And all the 12 Days of Christmas prizes, together with the specials from my Newsletter list, have gone in the mail too. So that's the contests for 2007 - but there will be more coming up in 2008.

The rest of the time I have been planning and organising things - a new book, a series of guest blogs, celebrating special books with some author friends, new contests, new teaching plans, some events . . . and of course a very special year for Mills & Boon.

But this blog is already long enough so I'll come back later with Part Two - the Looking Forward bit.