Back from London - and off again

Quick catch up after the trip to London - It was a great couple of days (if a bit crowded) The highlight of th

e Wednesday night was a trip to The Globe and a performance of Love's Labours Lost in the Sam Wanamaker theatre - a smaller, indoor theatre, built on the same lines as the actual Globe - and all lit by candlelight. Very atmospheric and a really fun production.

Thursday was a guided tour of the Globe itself including a chance to watch a rehearsal of 'EYAM' - a play about the plague of 1665. We were warned to expect rotting 'corpses' and possible nudity - but neither appeared! My long-ago Amateur Dramatics experience at university surfaced as I watched.

Thursday afternoon was a visit to the Harlequin offices, meeting with my editor and Flo Nicholls (Senior editor Modern/Presents) - then dinner with my editor. I don't think we stopped talking for hours. Also took away with me a great booty bag of books for future reading - you have to love working with a company where you're asked 'would you like some books?' (silly question ) then taken to a room lined with bookshelves and told to help yourself! I had to force myself to remember that I had to carry a suitcase as well as the books - and I was 

going on to Kent to visit my sister for the weekend.

The AMBA lunch was so much fun - great to meet up with so many friends - Katherine Garbera, Kate Hardy, Michelle Styles, Liz Fielding, Heidi Rice (with special thanks to Heidi for the photo of the Presents cover of A Proposal to Secure His Vengeance - after a l-o-n-g wait for it to come round in the cycle of covers on display) Abby Green, Trish Morey . . . . too many others to mention.

The weekend was spent in wonderfully sunny Kent meeting up with my sister and her husband - and getting to know my gorgeous great-nephew for the very first time. We spent a fabulous evening at the Gulbenkian Theatre to see a stunning dance production of Medusa choreographed by Jasmin Vardimon 

More food - wine - conversation - family memories - visiting Folkestone . . . until we had to tear ourselves way and head home. Ruby has just about forgiven us for abandoning her . . .I daren't tell her that tomorrow we're heading off again - but only for 2 nights this time. More of that later.

Where was I?

I can’t quite believe how long it is since I blogged. But then when I look back I realised that I did cram quite a bit into  those  14 days!

What have I been up to?

Well, I went to the Crime Writers’ Association (Northern Chapter) lunch  in Boroughbridge.  I was there as  the Babe Magnet’s plus one because he’s the crime writer in this family. It was fascinating meeting a bunch of writers who all write popular fiction but in a very different  way from the romance writers I know. I ended up having an interesting discussion with  my friend Lesley Horton who wanted  to introduce a romantic relationship into her latest  book. We have very different styles and subjects – but that romance element  needs something of the same approach, no matter which sort of fiction you’re writing.

Barely back from the CWA, we were on the move again – to York  to meet with friend and fellow Presents Author Trish Morey. You’ll remember her from the 40 for 40 celebrations – but this time we got

to celebrate in person. We also got to talk and talk – and talk . . .  Books, heroes, settings, roma

nce . . .  When writers get together there’s no stopping the conversation.

What else?  Ah, yes  there was that vital thing that makes me a romance writer. Writing! It’s been a difficult year for getting words on the page so I was really thankful when I finally typed the last few words on a new book ( working title A Question of Honour)  and  sent it off to my editor with a huge sigh of relief .

I had an even huger sigh   -  of delight – when she got back to me within just  a couple of days and told me that she loved the book! ‘A truly fantastic read’ she said. And there were no revisions, just some small ‘tweaks’  - small additions just to deepen a few areas. So that was  where the rest of the week went . . . tweaking.

And the tweaking worked because  this week I heard from my editor that the book was accepted, bought  and scheduled – we were just waiting for a title. Debates followed – and the title we ended up with was my original working title. So I’m delighted to be able to say that

A Question  of  Honour will be published in Mills & Boon Modern Romance and Harlequin Presents  in June 2014.

So that's my 62nd title with Harlequin.  I don’t have a cover or anything else yet, but as soon as I know more, I’ll share with you.

Since then I’ve been offered an new contract and I am already planning the next new book – and hoping life will give me a bit more  of a peaceful time and space in which to write it.

So I have time to relax and ‘refill the well’ with reading – and next week the Babe Magnet and I are off to  enjoy another of our 40 special events for our Ruby Wedding celebrations. This one will be a trip to Oxford where we are going to the stage revival tour  of West Side Story. Why that? Well it's a really romantic story  - if tragic - but also because we had been to see the film version of West Side Story  on the day we finally decided on the date for our wedding – so naturally it has  very special memories.

 

And before  I go - I have to send Congratulations to the top 50 entrants to the SYTYCW   contest who have had their first chapters selected to go into the next round -  Good luck with the next stage of the contest!

 

And those who didn't get selected? The only way  forward is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off -  and start again.  I understand  - and I sympathise - but  it really is the only way.

40 for 40 - Trish Morey

Writing romance has brought me an unexpected benefit in that it has introduced me to a lot of wonderful writers  - people I would never have met if I didn't  do this job - many of whom have become friends for life. You've met so many of them over the past  weeks. 

The problem is though that I have met people I would want to see so much more of - but  the fact that they live  thousands of miles away , on the other side of the world, has meant that I never see anything like enough of them.   One of those friends is  today's guest - the lovely Trish Morey.

I met Trish at her very first RWA National conference in New York when she had just had her very first book accepted. I remember being introduced to her  during the literacy signing  and then later enjoying her company at a fabulous  author dinner where the fact that  several glasses of red wine were spilled over the immaculate white linen table cloths (not by either Trish or myself, I hasten to add!)  was just another moment that made our first meeting memorable.  Since then we've shared as much time as we can at RWA conferences - Romance Writers of Australia / RW New Zealand conferences  and of course AMBA. It's never enough.  Email helps but  there's nothing to compare with chatting face to face.  

But until the  next time we meet, I'll make do with enjoying seeing Trish here on my blog.

Welcome Trish -




First off, I have to say how happy I am for Kate and Steve - 40 years! - how awesome is that? So super congratulations to them both.

 

I’ve been loving the stories of how couples got together on this blog. I didn’t meet my husband scuba diving and him without a clue, like CC Coburn so funnily related a couple of blogs ago. We didn’t get married in Manhattan, as Heidi Rice and her hubby so fabulously did, and it’s we’re certainly nowhere near that fantastical achievement that is the golden wedding anniversary of Lesley and Brian Horton (we’re not even close to Kate and Steve’s awesome number).

 

But what we are is close on our heels to our 25th wedding anniversary and the 30th anniversary of when we first met.

 

And how we first met? I was living in a horrible impersonal hostel in Canberra, Australia,  after moving there and knowing absolutely nobody. I wanted out. So I answered an ad in the paper - “Girl wanted.”  It was an ad for a room in a share house of 4 and I applied. And the first thing that struck me about this one guy when I got there who would one day be my hubby? He made me laugh. It was no overnight romance. It was a few months before that magic spark between us ignited, and went whoosh. It was a few years being sensible about that whoosh before we realised that whoosh was here to stay and that maybe we were meant to be together.

 

We’ve certainly had our ups and downs along the way (we’ve had four kids, so naturally we’ve had our ups and downs) but we’re still together and now the kids are growing up, it’s better than ever.

 

And I think that’s why I love writing romance. Because it might be fiction, but it’s not make believe. Because it’s fiction based on the best kind of life’s experiences - and that’s love, and love and all its iterations has to be the best life experience there can possibly be

 

I love what I do for my work. I am incredibly blessed doing it. I love that it’s made me the best friends in the world (and I certainly count Kate amongst them) and I love that my hubby is still making me laugh.

How fabulous is romance?

How great is love?

 

It’s the best.

 

So tell me, how did you meet your partner/spouse? Was it a whirlwind romance, or more of a slow burn or even a friends turned lovers story? I’d love to hear. And one lucky commenter will win a copy of my May Modern, A Price Worth Paying. Now there’s a prize worth winning:))

 

Can’t wait to hear your stories!

With love, always,

Trish

xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old books . . . New editions

One of the best things about writing for Harlequin Mills & Boon is the way that the books are published in so many different formats and countries all  over the world.  Every now and then a bundle of new foreign editions appears in the post and I have fun finding out which books they are and where they've been reprinted this time.

I've  had a flurry of these books lately and it's been interesting to see which 'old favourites' have turned up this time.

One is a reprint of a reprint  now appearing as a 'Select'  title in Japan. The Twelve Month Mistress always had one of my favourite covers and now I think it looks really powerful and  atmospheric in this new edition.

Another reprint of an older book appears in a French edition where I'm thrilled to be published together with my lovely friend Trish Morey - who just received her silver pin for her 25th title  -   In this edition  Trish's Secrets of Castillo Del Arco  has my  The Married Mistress included as a free promotional title - a great bargain. And Congratulations Trish on that 'silver' book!


In parcels of books arriving last week, I also  had an Italian edition of The Antonakos Marriage,   The Return of The Stranger in Greek, Spanish, Portugese, and  Hebrew. And The Devil and Miss Jones is out in France this month too.

It's been intriguing to see these foreign language editions appearing on Kindle - and so showing up on my listing on Amazon, where I can now spot German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portugese editons alongside the UK ones.  When I think back to how when I was first published, the books tended to appear on a shelf in a UK bookshop for one month and that was the only time I ever saw them on sale, this is such a great thrill to see  all these editions appearing now.

And then there are the older books, now being reproduced in the Kindle format -  after browsing on Amazon, I discovered that The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge has been brought out in this format last month -  sadly, without the gorgeous sexy cover  of the original. 

And it's great to see that in the top 100  Mills & Boon titles on sale on Amazon today, there  are four 'elderly' Kate Walker titles  listed there - The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife (in Mediterranean  Tycoons)  Kept For Her Baby, The Duke's Secret Wife  and, of course The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge. It's great to see them all enjoyuing a new lease of life  as Kindle books.

And who knows what today's post might bring!

What oldies but goldies romance books would you love to see reappearing on Kindle?

That Daily Mail Article Again, Again - With Trish Morey

Following on from yesterday's post. I just discovered a comment from my fellow Presents author the fabulous Trish Morey.   This was such a great response and one I so agreed with that I thought I'd move it from the Comments section to this main part of the blog because I think it should be read by everyone - I'd like to say 'including the Daily Mail and their Columnist Claudia Cullen' - but I doubt very  much that  they will trouble to follow up on the real Romantic Novelists  who were so insulted and wrongly reported in the original article.

So here's Trish  -

Kate, thanks for posting the letter. I'm still shaking my head at the unprofessional attitude of the so-called "journalist". Maybe they should have sent a grown up to the event, rather than an adolescent who equates romance with sex and can't see beyond that. Although adolescent might be pushing it. The DM level of reporting actually reminded me of schoolboys who have just discovered the word "fart" in the dictionary.


I do applaud the "this is what a romance author looks like" postings, although I would like to add one rider - I don't think it matters two hoots what romance authors look like and how old they might be. No, I've never seen one with a blue rinse and in support hose, but would it actually matter?


When we write romance, it's not just about the sex, as any one of us knows. We're writing about real people and real life changing events (well, we've made them up, sure, but out of real material). And the reason our books are successful is that they touch a chord with the readers.


Why?


Because we authors have experiences these same things. We have gone through the joy of birth, the tragedy of death, the agony of a loved one fading away. We have suffered through cancers and miscarriages and road crashes and remember being told to sit down before we hear news because we will fall down if we don't. We remember the thunderclap of hearing that news, we remember the impact it had on our hearts and our minds and our lives. And heaven forbid, we've made love. Maybe still do! Shocking.


Bottom line, we've lived. We've experienced all life has to throw at us and we've survived to tell the story, in a million different ways, all with a happy ending.


And yet, because we've lived, because we got the experience of a lifetime, or a goodly portion of it, because we're on the wrong side of twenty years old, somehow that makes us less worthy to write about the things we know?


Bollocks to that, I say. We write real stories for real women because we are real women.


The feeble hearted need not apply

Thank you Trish and Here! Here!  (Or should it be Hear Hear! ? I never know)
Trish's latest - The Heir From Nowehere is out in Presents

And as  - I hope  - my last comment on that stupid article (unless they publish an apology and a whole revised report - bets anyone?)  I just need to add that another comment I wholeheartedly agree with from another great friend and fabulous Romantic Novelist - Liz Fielding:

If the DM were moved to cut off the comment thread they clearly realised they'd boobed and - hopefully - won't make the mistake of irritating several hundred literate ladies again in a hurry.
Liz's first RIVA  story - Tempted by Trouble is out in the UK right now.

Tote Bag of Books Presents Special - Trish Morey

And so here's the final Presents author to round off this list of fabulous contributors to the Tote Bag Presents Special.

Today;s author is Australian Trish Morey. In her blog, Tirsh talks about the day we first met, when she had just had her very first book accepted - back in 2003. That's one of my favourite memories of Trish - and of RWA. And the Presents authors dinner a day or so later, when Trish and I sat together and shared a few glasses of wine - and talked and talked - is another one.

So I'm delighted to welcome Trish to the blog today.

Celebrating Harlequin Presents

Many thanks, Kate, for welcoming me here on your blog! Not that being welcomed by Kate is any surprise. I'm sure I've mentioned it before (if not here) that when I turned up at the RWA Nationals literacy signing event in New York in 2003, one short month after selling to Harlequin Presents, that it was Kate Walker who wrapped me, a total stranger, in her arms and welcomed me into the Harlequin Presents author fold with a heartfelt, "welcome, to the best club in the world."

And truly it is! It's so special, being able to write for Presents. For where else do you get to meet writers warm and wonderful and of the calibre of Kate Walker? And where else do you get to create the fantasy characters that we, as Presents readers love to read? Where else do you get to explore conflict in all its many forms and in all its angsty detail, with a resolution at the end that is all the more satisfying for all that has gone before? And all with the perfect alpha male, impossibly sexy, arrogant and who thinks he knows exactly what he wants from the world. Until he meets his perfect heroine of course and his perfect world goes pear shaped:-))

Of course, Harlequin Presents stories are set in some of the most glamorous locations in the world, Paris, New York, London, Monaco, etc, but I think the fun sometimes starts when you are able to make up your own fantasy realm. This is Harlequin Presents after all, the line that offers the very best in contemporary fantasy romance.

Which is where the fictional Principality of Montvelatte came from. A ruggedly beautiful Mediterranean island with air scented of salt and thyme and a thousand wildflowers, an island rich in history and legend. Here one Prince has already found his match.

And it is here, on Montvelatte, that a Princess meets her match, in my latest release, The Ruthless Greek's Virgin Princess. I hope you enjoy revisiting the island of Montvelatte and reading Princess Marietta's story as much as I enjoyed writing it!


Your question, what book preceding The Ruthless Greek's Virgin Princess, introduced us to the Principality of Montvelatte?

You'll find the answer on my website

Trish's Book - The Ruthless Greek's Virgin Princess is out on August 11th in the Presents Extra line up.

Heading south

I'm off to London any minute. Tomorrow is the annual Association of Mills and Boon Authors' lunch so that's why I'm going. It's a wonderful opportunity to get together with friends.

I'll be meeting up with Michelle Reid of course - so looking forward to that. And Trish Morey has come over from Australia. We didn't have enough time to talk in San Francisco so I'm hoping we'll get a little extra chance this time. And there will be so many others.

So I'll be back on Friday and I'll tell you all about it. But tomorrow, if my scheduling on the blog works, I'll be helping the Pink Heart Society celebrate their second birthday with a special gift for Little Pink - and a prize birthday pack for you all to have a chance to win. There's a copy of my latest Bedded By The Greek Billionaire - and other goodies.

So call back tomorrow and see what's on offer.

Oh - and talking of friends - Anne McAllister has a great post on friendship and the power of words over on her blog today. Well worth reading

And if the scheduling doesn't work, then I'll post it as soon as I get back on Friday!

What I did at the Conference - a San Francisco photo diary

So if a picture speaks a thousand words - here's a whole book full of what I got up to at the RWA Conference in San Francisco -


On our first morning there - very early on a grey morning! - we went to Alcatraz island so that the BM could do his research of the trip.

We shared the trip with the fabulous Sue Stephens and her beautiful daughters. Sue orgainsed the tickets for us so all we had to do was to turn up. Thanks so much Sue! Even if it did mean getting out of bed for a 7.30 start!

The next day official registration started and I started to meet up with more of my fellow authors. Here's Susan Stephens again and Irish Presents author, Abby Green

I also got to meet lovely Lee Hyat for the very first time - though we had known each other and have been in contact through emails for over 8 year! Lee runs the brilliant Author Sound Relations and has been so helpful to me with publicity and running my contests in America.

Later that day lovely Jane Porter hosted a special afternoon tea for her fellow Presents authors. Here's Sandra Marton with one of our newest published authors - Jennie Lucas

And here's a group photo of all the authors at the tea. This pic was taken by the waiter. Left to right - Sandra Marton, Susan Stephens, Carole Mortimer, Jacqueline Baird, Abby Green. Me

in front - Jane Porter, Jennie Lucas, Sharon Kendrick and Trish Morey.

That afternoon was the Literacy Signing in the ballroom - the pic on the left is just a tiny bit of the queue of readers ready to buy signed books and on the right I'm at the signing with fellow northern Brit, erotic romance author Saskia Walker who was sitting next to me. The whole event raised thousands of dollars for literacy charities.

After the signing Sandra Marton hosted her traditional authors' pizza party in her room where we all ate pizza, drank wine and talked and talked and talked.

Thursday started with a Focus Group to discuss Harlequin's marketing and new ideas after which we all grabbed taxis and headed out to Tal y Tara for tea with the Mills and Boon Editors.

Here are - left to right Jennie Lucas, Abby Green (behind) Trish Wylie Senior Editor Linda Fildew (standing) and seated editor Lucy Gilmour.

I spent the afternoon with two of my favourite Presents authors, brilliant Sandra Marton and fabulous Aussie Trish Morey. (One of the very best reasons for going to RWA is because I get a chance to meet up with friends from the other side of the world.) Here's a pic of Trish at the Lit Signing.

And one of Sandra enjoying the sunshie in Union Square - while we - you guessed it - talked and talked about writing and books and heroes . . . .
Sandra was given an award for her 75th book at this conference - congratulations again Sandra!

Thursday night is the traditional eHarlequin Pajama Party and here's the gang at the event.

At the party prizes are given for best PJs and I actually won Most Resplendent Pajamas (My thanks have to go to t

he Babe Magnet who bought the beautiful silk gown I'm wearing)

And here I am with two of my very favourite people - Danica aka Dream one of the hosts on eHarlequin and Anna Louise Lucia who was of course sporting her first sale ribbon at this conference.

Friday I managed to spend some time with my lovely friend Holly Jacobs while we discussed the differences of the English language as used in the UK and America and so Holly started the great 'knackered debate' that you can see here.

In the evening it was the big Harlequin Party and here I am at the event with two special friends from the Struggling Writers on eHarlequin - Christyne and Trish (Congratulations on that sale Christyne!)

And here's the wonderful Jayne who manages so much of what goes on on the eHarlequin Community message boards.

Finally, to round of a fantastic visit to San Francisco we spent a day in the lovely company of special friends Anne McAllister and her husband The Prof. Both the Prof and the Babe Magnet seem to save up all their talking until they get together so they talked and Anne and I talked - on cable cars, over lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, or - as pictured here - at the Top of the Mark where we could see all of the city spread out below us.

And if you want to know what else the Babe Magnet got up to in San Francisco . . . well - all I can say is watch out for the Pink Heart Society Blog next monday August 18th!

Writing Workshop - Lincoln

In the comments section, Alice asked:

What happens at one of your workshops, Kate? Will it be like a lecture or do we exchange ideas and do writing exercises?

Alice - the answer is a bit of all three.

The workshop at the Lincoln Book Festival is on Saturday May 17th. Here are the details :

The 12-Point Guide to Writing Romance

Start time: 2pm - 4pm

Join Kate Walker as she discusses how to write romance while launching the second expanded edition of The 12-Point Guide to Writing Romance.

Location: Lincoln Drill Hall

Admission cost: £6/£4
Tel: (01522) 873894

We have two hours as you see. So there will be some talks on writing (by me) some writing exercises, and I'm sure there will be some discussion as we talk about these and question and answers as needed. I will be covering the 12 Points to writing romancebut obviously I won;t be able to go into them all in detail in the time - so the new edition of the 12PGTWR2 will be on sale for anyone who wants to take things further.

Make sure you bring pen and paper for the exercises!

I hope I'll see you there.

Then in the evening you will be able to get more information about Mills & Boon and writing romance when we have our celebration of Mills & Boon in the evening

100 Years of Romancing Readers

Start time: 6pm - 7.30pm

Join in the festival's celebration of 100 years of Mills and Boon and meet romance authors

Kate Walker,

Trish Wylie,

Natasha Oakley and

Kate Hardy.

Location: Lincoln Drill Hall

Admission cost: £5/£3
Tel: (01522) 873894

We will all answer questions, talk about our writing careers, discuss the different lines, the history of the company . . . There will be drinks, books will be on sale and the authors will all sign them for you if you want.

Also - here's the big new announcement - we will then be drawing the raffle for the Biggest Box of Romance ever offered as a single prize.

How would you like to win 85 (yes that's right EIGHTY FIVE brand new romance novels, most of them signed by the authors? Books from every line and from authors all over the world.

For the whole of the Lincoln Festival period - May 9th -17th 2008, the Festival Bookshop will be selling raffle tickets to win this huge prize. So many wonderful authors I know have donated books to this fabulous prize.

Proceeds from the raffle will go to Breast Cancer Research a charity that Mills and Boon have been connected with for years now.

Just as soon as I get pictures of the piles of books we have on offer I'll post them here.

Sorry - but because of postage costs involved etc it will be impossible for us to open this to international readers.

And finally, I got thrill today when I finally got to see these new covers - both coming in August.

First of all there is my novella, The Duke's Secret Wife - this title is part of the Mills & Boon 100th birthday collection.

And in the same month, my trilogy The Alcolar Family will be published with all three titles in one By Request anthology. And I finally got to see the cover . So here it is

My friend and fellow Presents author, Trish Morey will recognise this cover - hmmm, Trish?? ; O )

12 Point Guide 2 - More winners!

I have more winners! Some of my wonderful guests have picked t names from the people who have commented and they have let me know who has won their prize - so - fanfare and trumpets - here are the lucky winners:

Trish Morey's winner is "Alissa who said in response to Natasha's q - "I like hearing about the trips author's have planned and how this influences their upcoming books". Will keep that in mind for my own website updates in light of upcoming trip later this year!"

Natasha Oakley herself chose Mulberry for her helpful comment " Thinking about author's websites, most of what I would say has already been covered, but I feel for me the main thing is to get a sense of the person behind the books. It needs to offer a lot more than the covers and blurbs (we can get these from the M&B or Harlequin sites), more personal information and snippets about writing the book."

Michelle Reid chose Robynl as her winner.

Joanna Maitland chose Maureen

And India Grey chose Jennybrat (actually, she didn't chose - it was India's daughhter who did the picking, so you have her to thank, Jenny!)

Finally - Trish Wylie chose Virginia

And if you entered Susan Stephens contest - she'll be announcing the winner on her web site later today.

So - winners please email me with your postal addresses and I'll send your details on to the wonderful author who has donated your prize. Congratulations all!

And the special news that I had to hold back on yesterday until the authors themselves had announced it comes from the Romantic Time Awards , announced at their Convention in Pittsburgh:

Liz Fielding was awarded a Career Achievement Award for Love & Laughter in romantic fiction.This award is self-explanatory. It’s not for just one book, but for a body of work.

Trish Wylie won Best Harlequin Romance with Rescued, Mother-To-Be

Natasha Oakley won Best Harlequin Presents with The Tycoon's Princess Bride

and Holly Jacobs won Best Everlasting Love with The House on Briar Hill Road

Once again congratulations, ladies - I have such talented friends. (and generous ones too as they've all offered prizes)

And tomorrow I have some of that news I've been promising do come back for that.

12 Point Guide 2 Launch Party 5

Well, the party is starting to wind down now, but there's still a few bottles of champagne left and some tasty nibbles if you're hungry. And I have a final set of guests to introduce to you let them chat - and offer prizes.

There are an extra few guests today because the party eneds this weekend - and I will be busy tomorrow so these wonderful authors will keep you entertained till Monday - and you'll have plenty of time to comment because there are plenty of prizes on offer.

The great thing about the guests who have joined us at the party, and the writers who have contributed the From the Writers' Desks section of the 12PGTWR2 are from so many of the successful lines published by Harlequin and Mills & Boon. And today's authors are no exception.

First, here's one of the great Historical Romance authors - Joanna Maitland :

Joanna says:
Kate Walker has written a really accessible guide to the craft of writing romantic fiction which I always recommend. Can't wait to see the new, improved version. I'm sure it will do exactly what it says on the tin.

Joanna's next book out is published in September and it's part of The Aikenhead Honours trilogy. Three gentlemen spies: bound by duty, undone by women!Book 1 is His Cavalry Lady

Joanna's Prize -She can't offer His Cavalry Lady as there are no copies available yet. But she is offering a copy of one of her other books - like Bride of the Solway that I've shown here.

Joanna blogs on the Regency Authors' blog that you can find here

My next guest needs no introduction . She's the brilliant Presents author, Michelle Reid.

Michelle was so keen to join us that she posted her quote in the comments section a few days ago, but I've rescued it and now I can post it here:

Huge congrats on the 2nd Edition Kate! Yet another must-have to join my well used first edition. So - so useful even for an oldy like me!

Michelle's next book out is coming in May in both UK and USA - the title is The Markonos Bride. She's offering a signed copy of this book to her winner, chosen from the comments over the weekend.

She's having her web site revamped so watch out for the new look coming soon - you can find it here


Next is another of the talented new Presents authors - India Grey.

India says:

Hurrah for the launch of the fantastic all-new 12 Point Guide! For me, discovering this book was like being on a really arduous, lonely journey and suddenly finding not only a road map, but an excessively knowledgeable, infinitely kind and sympathetic guide who was willing to hold my hand along the way. Anyone setting off on the road to publication-- don't even think of leaving home without it!

India's next book is out in August and it's so new that I don't even have a cover for it yet. The title is: Mistress: Hired for the Billionaire's Pleasure .

You'll soon be able to read more about this book on India's website which is here

India's prize:

I'm expecting the pink hardbacks of my August release in the next few weeks, so I can offer one of those (as soon as they arrive!) to a randomly picked commenter

The Presents authors are coming in in droves today - here's another, the lovely lady I had lunch with only last week - and that's Susan Stephens

Susan says:

Wishing one of my favourite authors and favourite people all the richly deserved success in the world. Susanxxx

Susan's next book is Desert King, Pregnant Mistress (UK June) (US August)

Susan's Prize:

A signed copy of one of her books

Susan's question:
What is the name of my heroine in Desert King, Pregnant Mistress, and the sheikh she meets in the desert kingdom?

The answer can be found on Susan's website

IMPORTANT:
Send your answer for this question to lee@susanstephens.net

Now here's an author who writes for a couple of lines - and the advice she gives in 12PGTWR2 is for both of them - she's Irish author, Trish Wylie

Trish says:

I can't tell you how proud I was to be a small part of Kate Walker's second edition of the 12 Point Guide, the book that has launched so many writing careers. When we started our Writer's Wednesday at The Pink Heart Society and new authors would tell us their road to publication story - the 12 Point Guide appeared again and again and again. So bravo Kate and here's to the second edition

Trish writes for the Romance line and Modern Heat and her next book is out in the Modern Heat Line in May with the title

Claimed By The Billionaire Bad Boy. For those of you who read Trish's blog, you'll know this as Gabe's book.

Trish is offering a signed copy of one of her books to someone picked from the comments today or tomorrow.

Another guest who writes for another line is Romance author and RITA nominee Natasha Oakley

Here's what Natasha has to say:

When I began writing romance I joined the Romantic Novelists' Association and submitted a manuscript to their 'New Writers' Scheme'. I didn't know it then but my 'mystery reader' was Kate Walker. What I received back was a five page detailed report. More important than that were the ticks throughout my 'book' where I'd written something she liked and the frequent 'cut for pace' note she'd written in the margin where I'd gone off on a tangent. It was a masterclass - and I knew it. Kate also sent me the first edition of the 12-Point Guide to Writing Romance. If writing a Harlequin Mills & Boon is your aim you truly do not need another 'How To' book. I found there were sections which confirmed what I was doing and built my confidence, other sections which saved me years of writing 'near-misses'. Buy it!

Natasha's next book out is Wanted: White Wedding- Harlequin Romance out in May in the UK and NA.

Natasha's Prize:
As a prize I offer The Tycoon's Princess Bride - that's the book she has shortlisted for the RITA

Natasha's question:
I'm currently revamping my website after a year of ignoring it. What features do you particularly like to see? The answer that surprises me most wins the book!'

And the final guest, last maybe but definitely not least is another Trish - this time it's Trish Morey who's come all the way from Australia to help with the celebrations

And Trish says:

Kate, I was never able to recommend a writing how-to with so much assurance it would be valuable, if not a godsend, to writers than the first edition of your 12 Point Guide. I have no doubt the second edition is going to be even more valuable. Thanks for updating such a useful text!

Trish's next book out will be The Italian Boss's Mistress of Revenge - out in August in America, September in UK . Another book that's too new for me to have copy of the cover, so I'm using the cover of the book that Trish is giving away as a prize - The Boss's Christmas Baby, another one you can win just by commenting.

You can find out more about this book and the one Trish has coming up over on her web site.

And that's it - lots of wonderful authors, many of whom have donated great prizes - and all of whom have contributed great advice to that From The Authors' Desks chapter in 12PGTWR2.

A great big THANK YOU to them all for their generosity in both ways.

Now if you want to win one of these prizes you know what you have to do - you just need to drop by the comments section and leave a note.
Except for Susan Stephens question which you answer through the email given

So - get commenting! And you never know your luck!