Friends, Furries, Expeditions and English Ebooks

i

By the time you read this I will be heading for Manchester Airport to meet Anne McAllister who is coming to visit. She wants to spend quality time with Sid of course and to help celebrate Madame Flora's first birthday.

But first we will be heading for Michelle Reid's lovely home in Cumbria to spend a night there. I'm so looking forward to that. One of the delights of being in London last week was meeting up with Michelle and her husband and I expect that we will spend the day talking about books, writing, heroes, writing, books and more books.

Then on Saturday we will head home, bringing Anne with us, and organise the important birthday party. I can't quite believe that Flora is a year old. It's a poignant anniversary because she was born just as my dear old friend the ginger alpha Robert Redford (Bob to his friends of whom Anne was one) died. But the Floozie has helped to fill the hole that he left. So we will celebrate and I know that Anne will have packed special treats just for the occasion (and plenty for Sid and Dylan of course). I hope that The Heck family of hedgehogs will put in a nocturnal appearence - but it is getting close to hibernation time now that the evenings are growing colder.

Talking about pets - over on Publisher's Weekly Beyond Her Book, Barbara Vey is running a special Saturday post where authors/publishers/agents/editors are sending in pictures of their pets and a separate picture of themselves. Readers will then try to match the pet and the owner. I've sent over a pic of A Cat of Superior Breeding - so regular readers of this blog will have an advantage with one set of pics anyway!

On Saturday I'm taking part in the Harlequin September Blog Bash where 30 authors have been asked to blog about their favourite Harlequin Moments. So although I probably won't be blogging here on Saturday as I'll be driving across the country from west to east, my Harlequin Moments post will be up at eHarlequin for you to read.

And ebooks - one of the things I learned at the AMBA lunch last week is that Mills & Boon books will now be available as ebooks. The books can be bought from Waterstones right now and there are plans for them to be sold on the Mills & Boon site soon. They are only just beginning to put the monthly books out in this format but I was delighted to see that The Alcolar Family Trilogy is one of the first to be made available this way. So this means that it will always be available in this format in the future. like the ebook bundle for sale on eHarlequin.

Other good news there is that the M&B site will be keeping books in stock for longer than the basic 3 months they've had them on sale up to now. So if they have copies in stock you will be able to buy from an auhtor's backlist until they sell out.

And if you buy a Sony ebook reader, then 3 M&B books come preloaded - including Fiona Harper's book. English Lord, Ordinary Lady . There were several Sony readers on show at the lunch and the size and compactness did seem tempting - but I so love real books!

What do you think?

Oh - and talking of ebooks - when I was checking on The Alcolar Family on eHarlequin just now, I discovered that Bedded By The Greek Billionaire is already on sale in its ebook form - and in the Top Ten Bestsellers even thought it's not out in book form until November.

Another plus for ebooks.

The Alcolar Trilogy Mystery Part 2

On Wednesday I blogged about the mystery book that had appeared in the ebook bundle of The Alcolar Family Trilogy instead of my on-line story Wife For Real which is the story of Alex Alcolar and his heroine Louise.

I have no idea what has happened here. I'm just glad that I found out about this mistake before the bundle had been on sale for too long. I made some enquiries about the problem in the hope of finding out what's going on, and with the help of eHarlequin's great team I've managed to get things sorted out.


Yesterday I heard from the Digital Content Manager that they had checked the book bundle collection published as Kate Walker's Alcolar Family Trilogy and found that
somehow the wrong file was included in the bundle during pre-production and the error has been replicated in all eBook formats. So they are are taking swift steps to have it corrected, including contacting via email all those who purchased the bundle to notify them of the problem. A corrected version of the bundle is in the process of being converted and proof-read, and the new version should be posted on all sites by Monday.

So if you did get the wrong version, with the mystery book in with it, you should be contacted by Harlequin so that you can get hold of the proper version. My thanks go to Harlequin for acting so quickly on this.


Next month will see the publication of the print version of The Alcolar Family in the UK in the By Request series. (Though it's already available over on the Mills and Boon website). This edition has the three main stories in it. And if you want to read Alex's story then just a reminder that it's included in the on-line read library on the M&B site - or you can buy it as an ebook (for just $0.99) on eHarlequin

And my very special thanks go to Deb for buying, reading and reviewing The Alcolar Family Trilogy as part of the 100,000 Book Challenge and so bringing this problem to light so it could be sorted out before many other people bought the wrong version and didn't get a copy of Wife For Real.

And if you were going to buy this ebook bundle - just wait until Monday and then you'll get the correct version.

Oh - and I should justmention that the wonderful Heather from We Write Romance has just updated my web site for me in record time so if you want to take a look and see what's new, it's all ready for you.

Heaher's own site at We write Romance has also had a great revamp so why not take a look there too - there's always lots of interesting interviews and reviews read.
Thanks Heather!

Good News 2

It seems it could be good news week - lots of nice things happening.

So first - it's a very special day for my dear friend - one of the ones I'm 'Cyber Mum' to - And that's Anna Louise Lucia.

Today is the official publication day for her very first book Run Among Thorns. Congratulations Anna!

I'm lucky enough to have my hands on a copy of the book. I've started it and I'm hooked. I just don't want to put it down and it kept me from sleeping for a l-0-n-g time last night. Great stuff. (and it got a 4 1/2 star review from Romantic Times). Anna's having a blog party to celebrate - so why not go over there and congratulate her?

Second - my own good news. The official announcement isn't up on I Heart Presents yet, but as June 1st was the official launch date, I can announce it here now -

Here's the Press Release for this - a very special link between Harlequin and Daily Lit - a company that sends books out in instalments - by email.

DailyLit Offers Free Harlequin Novel

Innovative Publisher Sends Complimentary Popular Romance Novel via E-Mail Instalments for Summer Promotion

Mamaroneck, New York – June 1, 2008 – DailyLit (http://www.dailylit.com/), the leading digital publisher and service that allows entire books to be read via short email/RSS instalments, has released a front list Harlequin title that is part of one of their most popular series, at no charge, for a limited time only.

Newly released SPANISH BILLIONAIRE, INNOCENT WIFE, part of the successful Harlequin Presents series, is now available for free via DailyLit and was written by popular Harlequin author, Kate Walker. In this summer promotion, the book will be free until August 31, 2008. Over 200 Harlequin titles are currently available for purchase from DailyLit.com.

“Our readers are having a love affair with digital, and DailyLit is an excellent alternative format for our books to reach the public” said Brent Lewis, V.P. Digital & Internet at Harlequin Enterprises. “Reading Harlequin books in installments on any device is easy and accessible to busy readers everywhere. This is a great opportunity for promotion of a popular title and DailyLit itself.”

“We have had a wonderful response from Harlequin fans using DailyLit to receive these novels, and we wanted to give them something back in return,” said Susan Danziger, President and Publisher of DailyLit. “We thought what better way than to offer them a brand new title by one of their most popular authors.”

-more-

ABOUT HARLEQUIN
Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the global leader in series romance and one of the world’s leading publishers of women’s fiction, with titles issued worldwide in 29 languages and sold in 107 international markets. The company produces 120 titles monthly and publishes more than 1,200 authors from around the world. Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation, a broadly based media company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TS.B). Harlequin’s Web site is located at www.eHarlequin.com. Harlequin has offices in 18 countries, including offices in Toronto, New York and London. For more information please visit http://www.eharlequin/ or press.eHarlequin.com.

ABOUT DAILYLIT
DailyLit (http://www.dailylit.com/) is the leading publisher of serialized books in digital form. DailyLit currently features over 900 classic and contemporary books available for free or on a Pay-Per-Read basis. Short book installments are sent via e-mail/RSS feeds and arrive in a reader’s Inbox—which can be read on an iPhone, Blackberry or other Smartphone—according to the schedule set by each reader (e.g. 7:00am every weekday). Installments can be read in less than 5 minutes, and additional installments are available on demand. DailyLit’s titles include bestselling and award winning titles, from literary fiction and romance to language learning and science fiction. Co-founded by a team of publishing professionals and technology experts, DailyLit is headquartered in Mamaroneck, New York.

On a personal level, I'm so excited to be part of this new initiative and for my book to be headlining this innovative approach to delivering romance to readers. And I'm honoured that Harlequin and Daily Lit chose my book to headline this special enterprise. I hope it's a brilliant success.

Finally - for today - as it's now June, the ebook Bundle of Kate Walker's Alcolar Family is now published and on sale here on eHarlequin. It's already the top-selling bundle download for this month.

I'm just happy that it's the full collection of Alcolar stories - with all 3 books and

the on-line read as well.

Four fiery Latin lovers, with money and sex appeal galore...four sexy, spirited women who want marriage, but on their own terms. Put them together and you have a recipe for stormy conflict, tempestuous misunderstandings...and searing desire. Top selling Harlequin Presents author Kate Walker’s Alcolar Family series will stir your emotions and stoke your imagination with its breathtaking passion and heartstopping romance. Bundle includes Twelve-Month Mistress, The Spaniard’s Inconvenient Wife and Bound by Blackmail. And as a very special free bonus, also included in this bundle is Wife for Real, the original online read that inspired Kate Walker to create the Alcolar family trilogy, available now for the first time ever.

Oh - and I'm also blogging over with Lucy Monroe today to celebrate - and I'm talking about being Swamped by Spaniards.

Good News Part One

I wrote a lot of blogs this week - I have a new book out and I've been asked to help a special friend celebrate a special book (haven't written that one yet!) . I had my PHS Column to write and and I was asked to guest on a couple of blogs - I Heart Presents, and I'll be Blogging With Lucy Monroe just as soon as June dawns . . . and just about all of these seem to have something of a common theme - and that involved Spaniards.

For a start, the book I have out this month has a Spanish hero. With a title like Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife, that's sort of obvious. And I have good news to share on that book as and when . . Not being deliberately mean - the good news starts on June 1st and I'm waiting for the powers that be to announce if officially. But as I'm dropping hints over on I Heart Presents, I'll do the same here and mention the words Daily Lit .

Anyway, back to those Spaniards . . . there are lots of them around at the moment.

There's Raul in Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife. (And if you remember the answer from the Here Come the Grooms contest I ran with Anne McAllister and Liz Fielding, his real name is Don Raul Esteban Marquez Marcin - not Raul Esteban as the blurb on the back of the book has it.

And of course there's Santos - Santos Cordero in the book I've just finished. The one that's now titled Cordero's Forced Bride.

And then there's the Spaniard who appears in the Centenary Celebration Collection - in The Duke's Secret Wife. His name is Don Luis Alejandro de Silva

And then, if that wasn't enough - well . . remember this?

Back in February, I came home from the 100th Birthday party, really excited and happy because I'd learned that Mills & Boon were reprinting the three books in the Alcolar Family trilogy in one By Request volume in August. That was such a thrill.

But now I've had even more good news about the Alcolars - and that is that the whole trilogy - all four books of it - will be released as an ebook Bundle on June 1st.

Hey - hang on, I can hear you thinking. Four books? How can a trilogy have four books?

Well, yes - OK - four books is a quartet. But if you remember, the very first story about any of the Alcolars was Wife For Real. That was the one where Alex Alcolar appeared - and everyone discovered at the end of the story that Alex had two brothers and a sister. As a result, people wanted to know what happened to Joaquin, Ramon and Mercedes. And so, by popular demand, The Alcolar Family was written.

A lot or readers found it difficult to get hold of a copy of Wife For Real. The on-line read on eHarlequin was taken down and it was difficult to track it down. I think it may still be available in the On Line Read Library on the Mills & Boon Site - I'm telling you this because the By Request reprint of the trilogy doesn't have this title in it.

But the ebook Bundle does!

I'm so pleased about this because it means that for the first time all the Alcolar stories are together in one complete set. And that means that so many people who have written to me because they haven't been able to collect the set, or they've missed out on Alex's story, can now download the lot in one quick and easy bundle. And that 'bundle' is going to be part of my backlist over on eHarlequin so it will be available for a l-o-n-g time.

Here's what the ebook summary has to say about The Alcolar Trilogy Bundle

Four fiery Latin lovers, with money and sex appeal galore...four sexy, spirited women who want marriage, but on their own terms. Put them together and you have a recipe for stormy conflict, tempestuous misunderstandings...and searing desire. Top selling Harlequin Presents author Kate Walker’s Alcolar Family series will stir your emotions and stoke your imagination with its breathtaking passion and heartstopping romance. Bundle includes Twelve-Month Mistress, The Spaniard’s Inconvenient Wife and Bound by Blackmail. And as a very special free bonus, also included in this bundle is Wife for Real, the original online read that inspired Kate Walker to create the Alcolar family trilogy, available now for the first time ever.

You can find the Alcolar Family ebundle here on eHarlequin.

So that's part one - I'm hoping I can let you know part two . . .well, it starts of June 1st too so I should be able to tell you that