Advent Calendar giveaway day 16

Another quick dash in here today. I have to tweak the latest book - I should have had it tweaked and back to her by now but my editor's comments letter went missing in cyberspace so I've only just got to know about it! And we are on a tight dreadline with this so - only a brief post today.

Yesterday's winner of a copy of The Antonakos Marriage is Mary Reinert.

Mary please email me your postal address and I'll send the book on its way.

Today's book is much more up to date and very special to me because it's the novel that is short-losted for Best Presents Extra on the Romantic Times RT Book Reviews web site.

And that book is of course The Konstantos Marriage Demand.

The Greek's ruthless reunion.

Sadie Carteret and Nikos Konstantos were once blissfully in love. They planned the wedding of the year, and their union would create a powerful dynasty.
But business and pleasure should never be mixed. Nikos was accused of scheming for Sadie's money and title, and was systematically destroyed by her family. The wedding was cancelled, the relationship in tatters.

Now the ruthless billionaire has built himself back up from scratch. He will clear his name and demand what was rightfully his...

Sadie must love, honour and...obey...

Today's question is a little different - because December 16th marks a special day in the history of romantic fiction and writing.

Because December 16th 1775 is the birthdate of Jane Austen,

So to mark Jane's 235th birthday - my question today is do you read the 'classics' of romance/literature? Which Jane Austen is your favourite? Or do you have another classic author you prefer? Tell me your favourite classic read. Or say if you don't read them at all.

I have a special reason for asking - more later when I finish tweaking!

And just to say - again I'm so sorry I don't have time to comment on each individual comment but there are a lot of you entering - and I love it! But I do read every post you make. And to prove it - Valerie - eleven kids!! - you can have a real party all together - never mind the boyfriends/girlfriends! I hope you find time to sit down and read your prize book which will be in the mail to you today.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 15

I'm so busy today so this is a real dash in and out. Phone call with my editor - Kate's Corner over on We Write Romance (need to think of something to blog about!) and the annual big, Open House over on eHarlequin.

And a bit (lot of ) work too. But at least the great thing about going to all these 'events' is that I don't have to worry about getting dressed up and I can wear the same thing to all of them and no one will notice!

As always, ask a question about books and there's a lot of response. Milly - I have to agree, I love a good ghost story. One of my TV highlights over christmas will be a remaking of Whistle and I'll Come to You. I'm looking forward to that.

Today's winner is Valerie!

Valerie, I'm sure you know the drill but just in case you need a reminder - email me here and send me your postal address.
Oh and this is a point to say that I've had some email problems this past nweek so if you have emailed me with your address and aren't sure if you got through then please try again. Ros,your book went out in the mail yesterday - Dena and Alicia. I still need somewhere to send your prizes.

Today's book giveaway is The Antomakos Marriage (2006)

The wedding ultimatum!
An ageing tycoon is blackmailing Skye Marston into marriage. But she’ll have one night of freedom first. One night of passion, with a man she’ll never meet again – even if he’s the man she could have loved…

Theo Antonakos, darkly irresistible and a tycoon in his own right, isn’t used to rejection. He’s furious when his passionate partner slips away without a word. And he’s still furious when he arrives on his father’s private Greek island to meet his stepmother-to-be – only to find that they already know each other, in the most intimate way…

Theo wants Skye back in his bed…as his wife!

Voted Best M&B Modern Romance of 2005 by CataRomance.

And today's question - seeing as so much is going on today - is - parties - do you love them or hate them? Do you have a family party or a work 'do' or would you prefer to stay at home and - read? We used to have a big party every Christmas with lots of friends - including the Offspring's friends - but now he has a home of his own we've had rather quieter Christmases and this year has been so hectic I'll be glad to curl up in a chair with a book and a kitten. Though we are meeting up with friends on Christmas Day itself - snow permitting!

But what about you?

And don't forget - over on eHarlequin it's Open House all day with lots of authors and readers waiting to chat and maybe some prizes too - and soon I'll be posting a blog over on Kate's Corner. Just need to think of a topic!

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 14

Eeeek! Is it really Day 14? It's getting awfully close to the 25th - and I'm not in the least bit organised. I have akitten fascinated by a small tree I have in my hall - I'd still have to plough through some snow to get to the big one. He's going to love that! And we're promised (threatened?) there will be more of the white stuff coming down on Thursday/Friday - but the old stuff hasn't disappeared yet.

So I'm in a bit of a dash today as I'm heading into town for what I hope will be some last bits and pieces. I'm making a list and I'm checking it twice . .

So quickly on to yesterday's winner - and the name Sid picked out is Debby. (Debby 236)

Debby - I loved the idea of your special Christmas jumper. I hope that there will one of your kids home to see you wearing it. If not, then perhaps the prize of The Spaniard's Inconvenient Wife will give you something to enjoy at Christmas.

Email me please and let me know your postal address

Today's prize is a two in one with one of the most glorious covers of any collection my books have been in. It's an Australian reprint and the book of mine that's in it is the same that was in Mistresses Shackled with Rubies which was won over on Tote Bags 'N' Blogs so here's another chance to win Her Secret Bridegroom (2000) in today's Latin Lovers.

It's in this lovely collection with Claiming His Wife by Diana Hamilton.

Bride by deception!

After a whirlwind wedding in Venice, Amy discovered that her brand-new husband had only married her to gain a priceless old ring. Fleeing Italy, Amy never told anyone of her marriage to ruthless billionaire Vincenzo Ravenelli.
Four years later, while Amy knew she'd never really love another man as she loved Vincenzo, she needed to be free of the past. The time had come to return to Venice and confront her secret bridegroom . . .

And today's question is inspired by the fact that I've just had some Italian and Portugese reprints arrive - both for the same book. - a very appropriate one for this time of year. It's a book from 2002 called The Christmas Baby's Gift

So today's question is - do you love special Christmas stories at this time of year, or are do you have too much festive holly and tinsel around already so you don't want any more?

Tell me about your favourite Christmas story books - romance or not - in the comments to be in with a chance to win.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 13

So we're over halfway with the Advent Calendar giveaway. It's been fun checking through my book stock and finding different titles to use as prizes. So far I haven't repeated any books, but I'm not sure how long I can continue with that. We'll see - but there will be giveaway books right up until Christmas Day.

The winner for yesterday's copy of The Good Greek Wife is - well, the winners are because once again Sid snaffled two treats in one mouthful - so the winners are

Aine and

Desere

And I need to remind winners that you need to email me with your postal address or I can't get the prize to you. I'm still waiting to hear from
Dena

Alicia

Ros
I can't send books out when I don't know where they're going!

Today's giveaway book is The Spaniard's Inconvenient Wife and this is another book (the second) in The Alcolar Family trilogy. (Unfortunately I don't have any copies of the first title in this mini-series The Twelve Month Mistress in stock - they all went out as prizes etc long ago. It was a very popular title. But it is still available in ebook form as are all the other titles, or the full trilogy as a 'bundle'.)

Anyway - The Spaniard's Inconvenient Wife - Ramon's story.

The convenient solution is to marry her!

Ramon Dario desperately wants the Medrano company. But the deal has a shocking condition - marriage to the notorious Estrella Medrano. Ramon won't be forced into anything, least of all into wedding a scarlet woman!

But Estrella is not what he imagined. Ramon can't get her gorgeous body out of his mind. He even starts to believe she may not deserve her reputation.

A marriage of convenience - and desire - might be a good deal after all...

The Spaniard's Inconvenient Wife has a great cover. The red dress is actually very important in the story - though it doesn't really look like the one in the picture. Why? Well, you'll have to read the book to find out. I remember that the inspiration for the scene in which the heroine is wearing this dress came to me one day when I was at lunch with my editor and she told me about a wedding she'd just attended . . . I can still remember going home on the train and pulling out my notebook and scribbling frantically, determined not to let the idea vanish.

If you haven't read the book, you'll have to try to win it to find out why!

And to do that you'll need to answer today's question which is all about clothes -

What will you be wearing on Christmas Day? Do you plan to dress up, really go for glamour, or do you prefer to keep things casual? Do you wear the same thing all day or change for dinner - or a get-together in the evening?: Tell me about your planned outfit - or the one for the best party you're going to. Or the cosy sweater and jeans you plan to curl up and read in!

Answers in the comments as usual please.

Oh - and with reference to The Alcolar Family Trilogy, I've just had a couple of enquiries about the on-line short story that started off this mini series when it was published on eHarlequin. This story was called Wife For Real.

So there are three ways you can find this -

One is to go to the Mills and Boon site and find the link in the sidebar that says Free Onl Line Reads - it's just below the new M&B symbol - & - and above the list of all the series on sale and there's a row of books to indicate this, currently topped with snow! Click on the link which will take you to the Online Read page with the current onl ine read posted there

You'll see a pink heading to the Online Read Library where it says read past serials in our library

Click on this link and scroll down - serials are in alphabetical order of title so Wife For Real is close to the bottom of this page

The other way is to buy an ebook version - to download to your reader or even your computer - this is only $0.89 on eHarlequin - you go to the eHarlequin site or follow one of the links to ebooks on my web site and put Wife For Real in the search box there. Or you can go direct here

so you can get a copy of the story.

Finally, if you buy the ebook bundle of The Alcolar Family from eHarlequin then this bundle contains all three novels and the online short story in one pack.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 12

So today we get halfway through these Advent Calendar giveaways. And so perhaps we can now start singing 'The 12 Days of Christmas'? But I'm never really sure whether the 12 days are before or after Christmas. Does anyone know?

Anyway, the winner of yesterday's 'antique' Kate Walker is: KAELEE

Kaelee please let me have your postal address -email kate @ kate-walker.com (don't forget that - hyphen)

A bit of news - I have (with the help of the fabulous Heather from We Write Romance ) updated and 'tweaked' my web site in celebratory colours ready for the holiday season. It has some of the new books coming up and a special Christmas graphic as my 'card' to my readers. The new Presents Extra cover for my 2011 title The Proud Wife is now up - but I still don't have the UK cover of this one. Just as soon as I do have it, I'll post it to share with you all.

Today's Advent Calendar giveaway - well yesterday we went back in time with The Golden Thief, so today let's come right up to date with my latest novel - the one published most recently in October this year. And that's The Good Greek Wife.

The return of the proud Greek husband...

He was declared missing at sea – but now notorious Zarek Michaelis is back and ready to take control! First he’ll see to his business, and then to his wayward wife...

For two years Penny has struggled to come to terms with Zarek’s disappearance. But enough is enough. It’s time to move on… Her proud Greek husband is still as darkly handsome as ever, and the attraction between them is just as potent. But Penny can’t trust Zarek’s motives – does he just want her body and the fortune he left behind…or to try again?

If you're in the UK, and you didn't get a copy of this when it came out, you might want to try and grab this prize - The Good Greek Wife sold out on the Mills & Boon site so it's not easy to find now. It is still around in America on Amazon or eHarlequin.



So to be in with a chance, answer today's question - and as I've already mentioned The Twelve Days of Christmas, let's think about music and songs at this time of year. What sort of music do you like to listen to as you decorate the house or do the Christmas baking?

Are you a traditionalist who loves the purety of Silent Night? Or perhaps you like something more lively and fun - Jingle Bells? What about that old favourite - are you dreaming of a White Christmas?



Tell me your favourite Christmas music and you'll have your name put before Sid the Cat with a cat treat on top. And the one he eats first will win the copy of The Good Greek Wife.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 11

Oh dear, I really should think before I ask questions about books . . . All these wonderful titles you've listed - they are so tempting! And I had a long list already for myself . . .
Want to know what's on it?

Getting Away With It by Julie Cohen
The Drowning Girl - Margaret Leroy
The House at Midnight by Lucie Whitehouse
A Place of Secrets by Rachel Hore

Every Secret Thing by Susanna Kearsley

House Rules - Jodi Picoult

And of course the new M&B Modern romances

OK - the winner of a copy of Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride from yesterday is Anita B.

One book choice of yours particularly interested me Anita - you mentioned Dancing on Thorns by Rebecca Horsfall. I met Rebecca some years ago, when I chaired a panel she was on at the Lincoln Book Festival. Her book was just out then.

Anyway, Anita - and all other prize winners, you know the drill by now - send your name and address to me kate @ kate-walker.com - just close up the spaces.

Today's giveaway is a bit different -its sort of an antique! I found a copy of a long-ago Kate Walker novel - The Golden Thief goes right back to 1997 - and actually sold as a Harlequin Romance!

His cynicism appalled Jassy

And she had given the famous actor Leigh Benedict a piece of her mind.

"The acting world is a jungle," he'd said. "And the ones who start out with stars in their eyes sell their souls soon enough." But Jassy vowed she'd never resort to the type of tactics he seemed to expect.
Now, three years later, Jassy needed a job and Leigh needed a temporary secretary. Would they be able to put aside their personal feelings, Jassy wondered, or would the sparks fly once again . . .

Here's another book where the cover isn't exactly what I'd imagined. The hero, Leigh Benedict, is meant to be a Robert Redford lookalike . . .well that was the idea then! The hero on the cover is not really Redford, is he?

Film stars and actors aren't quite so popular any more either. But if you want to get your hands on a very early Kate Walker - now's your chance.

And today's question? The hero of The Golden Thief is a film star - so what films are you looking forward to seeing over the holiday period? In the cinema, on TV or perhaps a aDVD or two under the tree? Let me know - answers in the comments again, and I'll get Sid to pick a name tomorrow.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 10

Well, I did warn you! I said that yesterday nothing went as I had planned it and that continued until late into the evevening. I was waiting for the Babe Magnet to get home from a book event in Hull, and I thought I'd use the time profitably and prepare some blogs ahead of time. The only thing I couldn't plan ahead for would be the prize winners - Sid's good but he can't predict the future!

So I did Friday/Saturday and Sunday's blogs and felt quite pleased with myself - and then I found that I'd written them all on the My Tote Bags Blog and not my own!

Let's hope today goes that bit better . At least there is some sign of the snow melting. All I can hear is a constant drip . . drip . . of the softening icicles outside my window turning into water so there's hope.

Thank you all for your book choices yesterday. I found them really interesting - and have noted down several for my own To Be Bought pile - not that I need any more books with a TBR the size of Mount Everest and a list for whoever is going to be my book buying Santa.

So let's see who has won a book for their Christmas gift this time.

Sid was quite happy to pick three winners and the names he's chosen are:

Summer
Ros

and Teresa Morgan (Teresa I cannot believe that you have only just read Jane Eyre for the first time!)

You all should know the drill by now - email me with your postal addresses. kate AT kate-walker.com

OK today's book giveaway is a companion to The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge, These two books together made up The Sicilian Brothers duo in 2007. The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge was Vito's story and Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride is the story of his brother Guido.

Possessed by his passion!

Dark, proud and sinfully gorgeous, Guido Corsentino is determined to reclaim his wife. Outwardly, Amber is perfect and untouchable - but Guido knows the passionate woman inside. One kiss, and he's certain she'll give him whatever he demands . . .

But Guido is also certain of something else: Amber ran away from him once—so she won't be given the opportunity to do so again. He'll protect her from the consequences of her actions . . . in his bed!

I'll openly admit that this is not one of my favourite covers - but, well as the saying goes, you can tell a book by its cover. I did love the cover of the reprint when both Guido and Vito's stories - and another Sicilian hero for good measure - appeared in Claimed by The Sicilian in a 3 in 1 this year.

And today's question?

Well, yesterday you told me all about the books you've enjoyed this year. So now - what are you looking forward to reading over Christmas ? What's on your list of books you most want to find in your stocking in two weeks' time?

Answers in Comments as usual. And I'll bet everyone will be taking note and looking for great things to read.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 9

It's been one of those mornings today - nothing has quite gone the way I planned it. Perhaps that's because the sun is actually shining and I'm really not used to that. We might even find that some of the snow goes away as a result!

Right so Sid has done his duty of picking a name and yesterday's winner of the Her Greek Tycoon trilogy is Michelle Handyside. Michelle says she loves Greek heroes, so this book should please her.

Michelle please send me your postal address - Kate AT kate-walker.com.

Everyone who has sent me their addresses for their prizes has had the books sent out so I hope it won't be too long before the prizes arrive. The snow will slow things down but you should have it soon. A couple of people haven't written to me with addresses so do make sur you're not missing out on a prize by just not sending me the information. Those who haven't won anything yet, do keep coming back - and posting a comment - because you never know how Sid might feel about your name in the future.

Today's book has a Greek theme as well. So many of you said that you liked Greek heroes that I thought I'd offer a great Greek hero as today's giveaway. (Sadly, not the hero himself, but his story!)

So today's book is Bedded By The Greek Billionaire (2008)and just because the sun is shining, I'm giving away 3 copies of this title today.

Taken for passion. . . or ruthless retribution?

As a naïve teenager, Jessica Marshall fell achingly in love with a gorgeous Greek – Angelos Rousakis.
But her clumsy attempt at attracting his attention cost Angelos everything.
Seven years later, Angelos Rousakis is back. Hard and powerful, he intends to claim what is his – and that includes Jessica. However the once innocent girl now pretends that she feels nothing for him. . . which only inflames his passion for her further. . .
As Jessica falls for the sexy billionaire all over again, she cannot be sure - Is he back for passion . . . or retribution?

This book was a Romantic Times Top Pick when it came out in America in November 2008

Today's question is quite simple - just tell me one romance you've read a really enjoyed this year. You can name more than one, and go into details about why you loved it if you like - that'll really make for an interesting post.

And no, you don't have to pick one of my books! And it won't give you a better chance of winning if you do - it'll make me smile but it won't affect Sid! He doesn't care whose books you read. He's only interested in the cat treats!

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 8

Oh I'm so glad I asked that question about food yesterday - the answers made for such great reading. My mouth was watering by the time I'd read through them all. I wished I had more than one book to give away because there were so many great responses. But I am running low on copies of The Italian's Forced Bride so I've left it up to Sid again.

But I have to say that along with all the traditional foods, Nas's Fijian 'lovo', Alicia's Caribbean food - is 'Black Christmas Cake' like the UK fruit cake or something else? - Oh and Valerie's Bunte Teller all stood out.

So I'm going to see whose entry Sid is most interested in . . .

And the answer is - Alicia - so obviously Sid fancies Trinidadian food too!

Alicia please email me kate AT kate-walker.com with your postal address

I'll just add an apology here if I don't get to actually answer each and ever comment posted for this contest - there's a lot of you (and I'm very glad to see you all) but it is the run-up to Christmas and as Kaelee commented I am very very busy. So I don't always get time to answer everything.

But I know I need to answer a question Nicolette asked about introducing my new kitten to all the other cats.

She said:My oldie, Tamsin, (13) and Magic (4) are getting fed-up of new boy, Joey (2). As a boy, even though he's been neutered, he keeps trying to dominate them and attacking them. They're not friends and live in separate areas of the house. I so wanted them all to get on and i don't want to get rid of Joey just so I can have a harmonious kitty home again. Any ideas?

I have to say, Nicolette that the hardest job I had was introducing Sid into the family - he was an 18 month old stray and a full male when he arrived so the other cats (all males but now neutered) weren't happy at all. It took time and patience and a lot of hissing and spitting but eventually they did settle down.

It's a little late now perhaps but one of the things I always do when introducing a new cat (I did it with Charlie) is what they call cross-stroking. You get a cloth - an old piece of towelling or a duster or something and you stroke one cat with it, then another, then another, always using the same cloth. Do this a few times and each time somehting of each cat's scent is transferred to the other cats' fur. Then when they meet up they can scent themselves on each other. It works specially if you can get strokes on their 'cheeks' by their mouths and noses - the bits they rub upagainst things when the are happy - marking with happy pheremones. That means that each cat then smells of other cats' happiness!

You could try this. And they will settle down - but you'll have to wait and be patient and just let them get on with hissing and spitting at each other. Cats soon work out an order about who's boss. There is also a spray/diffuser called Feliway that contains those phermones and can help in adjustments like this.
Good luck! But please don't get rid of Joey - they'll all settle in time. How long have you had him?

OK - on to today's giveaway. It's another 3 in 1 - and this time it's a golden oldie!

Her Greek Tycoon came out in 2003 but the novel of mine that is included in this collection is even older than that. Constantine's Revenge came out in 2000 - and it's a book I still get emails about ten years later. So may readers seem to have loved this one and it keeps getting reprinted over and over again.

So if you want a chance to win this classic Kate Walker, today's your chance.

His plan was to make her his mistress. . .

When Constantine Kiriazis reappeared after two years, Grace thought that he'd finally forgiven her for her lack of trust in him - and for cancelling their wedding. Certainly, Constantine's desire for had not waned. But neither had his desire for revenge . . .

He fully intended to seduce Grace, but vowed she'd only ever be his mistress - never his wife. It was only when she melted in his arms that Constantine began to wonder just who was exacting the revenge and who was paying the price?

Today's question? Let's leave Christmas alone for a while and think about books and romance.

Constantine's Revenge features my very first ever Greek hero. Maybe that's why it's so successful. So what about you - do you love Greek heroes? Or maybe you prefer Spaniard, Italian's like the hero of yesterday's giveaway? Or a fine, stiff-lipped English man? A charming Irishman?

Tell me about the heroes you love - and the ones you've never seen and would love to see featuring in a romance. You never know, you may inspire me!

And don't forget that 2 chances to win a copy of the new edition of 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance close this Friday 10th December

So if you're interested in being in with a chance then check out Simon Whaley's blog and Sally Quilford's. (Note - Sorry, but I think these are probably only able to post their prizes out in the UK. But I hope there will be some chances to win in America/Canada soon)

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

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 6

The winner of the copy of Mistresses Shackled by Rubies was EV over at Tote Bags . So Ev Please email me with your postal address and I'll get your prize in the post to you.


Denise asked - I always meant to ask, why is it Sid who gets to pick winners, and not the other cats? Lucky Sid! =)




To be honest, Denise (and I can be honest because Sid is fast asleep in the other room!) - the answer is because Sid is greedy. He is guaranteed to be interested in the cat crunchies and when we let him go at all the names, has the enthusiasm to pick several winners without stopping! Which is useful when there is more than one winner.

And more than useful when there is a lot of winners - like the 25 winners of the Anniversary Contest I ran last month. (This means I'll have given away over 50 books in the last few weeks! It's a good thing I'm not celebrating 25 years of publication every year!)

Flora is usually difficult to find as she's out roaming in the garden, or woold be too miffed if we disturbed her sleep. And Dylan is getting so elderly that he sleeps most of the time and is never really that interested enough to bother!



So, Sid is more than happy to help - but we might start training up Charlie who is turning into a real trencherman and so I'm sure will be happy to become the prize pickers' assistant and learn how to follow in A Cat of Superior Breeding's pawprints. He's already trying to fill Sid's bed!




Today's book giveaway is slightly different - because there will be four giveaways! Two of these will be special prizes for my newsletter members.

And the book is the special M&B's 100th Birthday Collection novella - The Duke's Secret Wife.



Isabelle's secret marriage to Don Luis de Silva seems to be over. But the heir to the dukedom of Madriagalo demands that she return to Spain with him and pretend to be his fiancée - and then his wife!

What does Luis have to gain from this reunion - except Isabelle?



The Duke's Secret Wife was published in Society Weddings together with Promised to the Sheikh by Sharon Kendrick


And today's question is: Have you bought or put up your Christmas tree yet or do you prefer to wait until it gets closer to the actual day?

Now here's some news of another chance to win some of my books - there's a lot of giveaways around - it must be Christmas! Lovely Heather from We Write Romance is running a contest to give a chance to win one of five of my titles over on the We Write Romance web site blog.

Here's what Heather sent to me about this contest:We are running an end of year Kate Walker 25th Anniversary Celebration contest where we will be giving away 5 of your books! The contest started today through the 15th and is super simple to enter. The link is to the page is here So why not head over the We Write Romance and maybe you can win there too.

Over at Quiller's Place - Sally Quilford has started her special contest to win a copy of the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance so if you'd like to win a copy of that, make sure you enter her contest this week.

And don't forget to keep coming back here every day between now and Christmas because every day there will be a different book on offer.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 5

The winners of yesterday's giveaway are

(yes, winnerS It was wonderful to see that so many of you had something special to celebrate - and some of those things were so very special so I was really glad I didn't have to choose. So I asked Sid to pick a couple of extra people to win copies of The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge too.

And he picked out:

Julie M

Dena

and Eva S

So ladies, will you please email me your postal address kate AT kate-walker.com and I'll organise your prizes. If you already have this book please let me know and I'll try to arrange an alternative.

How fabulous to see all those weddings and anniversaries - and grandchildren and so much good news. I'm really glad I asked that question.

There is an Advent Calendar giveaway today - but it's in a different place this time.

Today is the first Sunday of the month and that's when I blog over on Tote Bags and Blogs so that's where you'll find the giveaway question. I've been logging about the way that getting ready for Christmas is very much like preparing to write and the writing a book. So why no join me over there? You can post your answers to the Giveaway question there too - or here - it doesn't matter which!

The Giveaway book today is another 3 in 1 Collection - MistressesShackled with Rubies is a collection that came out at the start of 2010. It has stories by Lucy Monroe and Lee Wilkinson together with my own Her Secret Bridegroom which was originally published back in 2000.

Bride by deception!

After a whirlwind wedding in Venice, Amy discovered that her brand-new husband had only married her to gain a priceless old ring. Fleeing Italy, Amy never told anyone of her marriage to ruthless billionaire Vincenzo Ravenelli.

Four years later, while Amy knew she'd never really love another man as she loved Vincenzo, she needed to be free of the past. The time had come to return to Venice and confront her secret bridegroom . . .

Hope to see you over on Tote Bags. The December 6th giveaway will be on this blog as usual.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 4

The winner of yesterday's Advent Calendar prize - a copy of Mistress Material - goes to CHEY!

So Chey please email me - Kate AT kate-walker.com with your postal address and I'll sort that out for you.

Thank you all for your responses yesterday. It really wasn't a condition of entry that you had to include my name in your list of three - honest! But I was honoured by the number of you who did. And I agree that it is like choosing one of your children. So now you know what it feels like to be asked which of my books is my personal favourite.

That's just not possible to answer. But there are some books which are very special to me and they're more easy to list. Obviously, The Chalk Line which was my very first published title ever - or the book that is today's giveaway prize. The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge is a book I will always remember specially because, as many of you who have been reading this blog for a while will remember, this was my 50th title published back in 2007. And I can say quite honestly that this has one of my favourite ever covers. I love it.

I've chosen this as the prize this morning because I really think we need something red-hot to warm us up with the snow still so very dep outside and temperatures of -4 predicted for the rest of the weekend.

They shared one night of passionate lovemaking. Then in the cold light of day, her secret tore them apart. Now Vito has come back – and he’s determined to have his revenge.

Emily Lawton never expected to see him again. But Vito Corsentino has tracked her down and he wants Emily. This time he’ll take her and he’ ll be the one to leave when it’s over.
But Emily has one last secret for Vito . . . She’s having his baby and if he finds out, he’ll want more than revenge!

The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge is Part Two of the Sicilian Brothers duo, and obviously it's Vito's story. The other part of this series is Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride - Guido's story.

And the question for today's Advent Calendar giveaway is - The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge was a very special, landmark book for me - my 50th published title - so I celebrated that event with other writers, friends and family. And of course this year I've been celebrating my 25th year as a published author. Today I'd like to know - what special event (big or small) have you celebrated in 2010 - or are looking forward to celebrating in 2011.

Answers, as always, in the comments section.

And to answer Nicolettte's question - yes, you are allowed to keep on entering/answering right up until Christmas - I'd love to see your answers. And Sid will be happy to have plenty of cat treats to choose from.

One other thing - for those of you who are interested in the newly-released third edtion of the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance , keep your eyes open all over the internet for special contests/giveaways for this special book in the run-up to Christmas. Several people/bloggers/writes I know will be offering a chance to win a copy over the next couple of weeks.

Here are two of them to start with:

Simon Says

The contest is already running

And coming next week:

Quiller's Place

There will be more - or you could just put a copy of this book on your list to Santa and hope to find it in your Christmas Stocking!
It's available to order from any good bookshop or on Amazon /Book Depository/ Amazon.com etc

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 3

The winner of yesterday's giveaway is Nicolette

Nicolette please email me kate AT kate-walker.com with your postal address.

Thank you to everyone who posted an answer - I think Laney had it right about being snowed in is no real hardship when you have food, warmth - and a few books you want to read! I know this is perfect writing weather with so few distractions

Well, OK with a small ginger and white kitten distraction - and Charlie can be very distracting. He's thinking about writing the next instalment of his diary so watch out for that.

I've been getting some great covers lately. I'm still looking for my first new-style cover (for The Proud Wife out in March) but I've just discoivered this one for a 3-in-one collection coming in February - What do you think?

I haven't found out the title of my book in this collection but it's great to be in with a couple of my personal favourite authors so I'm looking foward to seeing this one and finding out just which novels are reprinted in it.

So today's giveaway is another 3 in 1 volume - this time it's Mistress Material where one of my books was included in a collection with titles by Lucy Monroe and Daphne Clair.

This edition is actually the Australian edition of this collection.

And the title of my book that's included in this volume is The Married Mistress which was originally published in 2003.

The Mistress’s secret...is hot news!
Gorgeous Greek tycoon Damon Nicolaides is always in the news...so when the paparazzi get a tip-off about his new mistress, they come banging on her door.
The truth is that Sarah and Damon were married a year ago but Sarah left him, believing their marriage was a lie. Now Damon’s back to claim his wife, but first he must protect her from the press by pretending that Sarah is merely his mistress...and to do that, he tells her, they’ll have to make their ‘affair’ real!

The Married Mistress is linked to Their Secret Baby which tells the story of Sarah's boss Rhys and his hunt for his baby daughter.

Oh- and this book has recently be rereleased in ebook format so if you like your books in ebook form you can find the details here.

So today's question is: If you were putting together a 3 in 1 volume of Mills&Boon Modern/Harlequin Presents stories - which three authors would you love to include?

Answers in the comments section please - and Sid will get on the job of picing winners on Saturday morning.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 2

The winner of yesterday's copy of Bound By Blackmail is

Rachael

Rachael, I have your address anyway, so I'll get your book in the post just as soon as I can manage to find a sledge and a team of huskies to take me to the Post Office! It may be a couple of days.

Book news

I just learned that in the new batch of ebooks that Harlequin are reissuing from authors' backlists, my 2003 title Desert Affair has been reissued as an ebook . Details can be found here

This book is surprisingly apposite at the moment as it starts with my hero and heroine meeting at an airport and then being un able to fly because of a major snowstormso ending up stranded in London for 3 days. (So why is it called Desert Affair? Don't ask!) I loved writing this story and creating the 20 'sensual stages of a super-sexy affair' to base the three days around.

Romantic Times called it 'and one of the most romantic and sensual premises around.'

Three days and nights in the arms of a sheikh!

Stranded with a devastatingly handsome stranger, Lydia Ashton decides to throw caution to the wind and spend a luxurious and passionate three days and nights in his arms. Soon she discovers that her charming stranger is the proud son of a sheikh, heir to the throne of Kuimar, and used to getting exactly what he wants. And he wants Lydia. Amir fulfills her every desire, and their passion seems to know no bounds. Lydia knows she has broken the rules by falling in love. Too late, she discovers why....

Desert Affair is also the book that had my worst ever UK cover - affectionately known as The Blob

So to celebrate the reissue of this, my first ever sheikh story, today's Advent Calendar giveaway is my 2006 title At The Sheikh's Command

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 today's question - answers in the comments to be in with a chance of winning - well, there's two - answer whichever takes your interest - or both!

Do you enjoy stories with Sheikhs as heroes - or would you rather give them a miss?

Have you been snowed in - or are you snowed in right now? How did you/are you coping?

Sid will pick the winner tomorrow . He says he's going nowhere in this white stuff.

Advent Calendar Giveaway

Let it snow . . .Well, I can't really do much else, but let it snow - the damn stuff is piling up around me. And has been for days.

It started with an inch or two. And since then there has been more added to that inch, day by day. I've tried to get out at least once a day just to get into the air and see daylight. But this morning I have drifts piled up against my door so that it's almost impossible to open it. Ihad to try though - Flora needed to go out.

She went into the garden and just about disappeared into the snow. It's higher than her legs. We had to go and fetch her because she couldn't get back! If Charlie went out into it, he'd be buried completely. I measured the snow by the door - over 14 inches of the stuff.

I think we need something to brighten the day

So it's December 1st. Today the countdown to Christmas begins. On December 1st, children open one door a day on their Advent Calendars to mark the days between now and December 25th.

And as I've been celebrating 25 years, I think 25 days of Christmas is a great way to round off the year.

So, every day between now and Christmas Eve, I'm giving away a book on this blog. Some old, some new(er). Some single titles, some 'By Request' or Collections. And all you have to do is to come and visit, and say hello in the comments, answering my question.

And every day I'll pick a winner - and then I'll send the book to you (when I can get out to the Post Office that is!)

So - today let's start with a golden oldie. Today's giveaway book is Bound By Blackmail (2005)

Bound by Blackmail is the final part of The Alcolar Family trilogy and it's the story of Mercedes, the only Alcolar daughter.

He'll make her his mistress for revenge...

Jake Taverner has never wanted a woman as much as he wants Mercedes Alcolar. So when she rejects him in the most painful way, Jake's hurt pride demands the most pleasurable revenge...
...his mistress for a month!

Jake traps Mercedes into a fake engagement as he embarks on his skillful seduction. She'll share his bed for one passionate month. But though he can bind her by blackmail...can he keep her?

So to be in with a chance of winning this book, all you need to do is to post in the comments - tell me, do you have an advent calendar in your house? For yourself, or the kids - or, like some crazy people - for the cats! (Can't find the photo right now - but I will!)