Tote Bags Blog day

Today's the first Sunday of the month so as usual I've written my usual blog post over on Tote Bags 'N' Blogs.

I'm sharing with you the very self-indulgent week I've had 'filling up the well' of my imagination with lots of great reading.   It's been so much fun - and I've made a large reduction in my TBR pile as  a result!

 What have you been reading lately?  Anything good? I'd love to know. I actually have space on my Kindle/TBR shelves now!

Good news for Australian readers

One of the books I get enquiries about so often from my Australian readers is A Sicilian Husband.  This is because this novel is part of a duo – the first title being The Sicilian’s Wife.

The first book tells the story of Cesare Santorino and his heroine Megan, and in that story readers met Cesare’s half-brother Gio Cardelli. Gio had adored his wife and had been heart-broken when  she had died tragically and far too young.

So many readers wanted to read Gio’s story – it was published in 2003 here in the UK, 2004 in America. But in Australia, it wasn’t  easy to find as it was published in a multipack of ‘Winter Warmers’ rather than as a separate title.

So if you missed it then, I have good news for you – and it’s great news for me too. Mills & Boon Australia is publishing a special reprint of both  these titles in a double volume  in their Bestsellers Collection which is out this month.

I’m so thrilled  about this for a couple of reasons – on is that A Sicilian Husband is one of my own personal favourites amongst my books. I always loved Gio from the moment I introduced him in Maegan and Cesare’s story. And secondly because it’s a real honour to have  two of my stories  reprinted in the special Bestseller series. It’s something I’ve dreamed of for a long time – and I’m really happy that the books selected are these two titles.

So I hope that if you’re one of my wonderful Australian readers who missed Gio’s story (or perhaps Cesare’s)  the first time around, or perhaps you just want to replace an old/missing edition of these stories you’ll be as glad as I am to see them back again. Or it they’re totally new to you – really hope you enjoy them this time around.

Oh - and I've  just discovered that over on the Mills & Boon website,  my novella Wife For Real is being republished  in their On Line Reads. This is the very first  story in  the series The Alcolar Family.  It isn't  available  in the reprint of the 3 in 1 Collection  - so if you wanted to know how that series began  - and to learn about Alex Alcolar  now's your chance to catch up.

(Wife For Real is included in the ebook collection of The Alcolar Family on Harlequin web site too)

Tomorrow in the first Friday in November which means that I will be blogging over on the Pink Hearts Society  site. I’m posting a second set of thoughts following on  from the So You Think You Can Write Contest  - hope to see you there!

Well I did warn you . . .

Just to say that  after I posted about The Advanced Romance Writing Course in  Fishguard in February,   someone who read the blog  has now booked one of the two remaining  places for Feb 2013.

So there is now only one place left on the course coming up. After that, it's fully booked up.

 If you want to book here's where you'll find the details.

If you don't get  your booking in in time for this space,  you can still leave your name and email and if anyone drops out between now and February, then any spaces will be offered  on a first come first served basis.

So looking forward to seeing everyone  in February.

Thank you and a bit of news

You are all so lovely. Thank you so much for the wonderful compliments on my new publicity photo. I was blushing as I read them - still am, thinking of them.  I'm so glad you approves.

The Babe Magnet says he's not surprised. He picked out that photo from the set of contact prints - some of the others weren't too bad but that was his favourite.  So I'm happy.

This brand new 'official' photo is pretty important to me as it marks a new stage in my writing - I hope. Certainly it marks the acceptance and scheduling of my 61st Modern Romance. Some of you will have spotted that this has been a long time coming, and I was going to blog a  bit about that   but I think I'll leave it for a my next post because I have some other news that  needs to be posted first.

I have been getting organised and planning my next few weeks  and one of the things I really must do - with some urgency  - is to update my web site and reorganise that.

Which means that I need to bring up to date the details of the events  coming up in 2013.  And as the first of these will be the Writers' Weekend at Fishguard in February,  I thought I'd check just what the situation is with booking for this weekend.

The Advanced Romance Writing Course has a strict upper  limit of 15 places  available. It has always been very popular, in fact has usually sold out almost every time - but there are more than three months still before the actual date of the event. (It runs from 15th - 17th February) So I was suprised to find that it is already just about sold out.

There are in fact only two places left on this course  for February 2013.  (And I've already had some interest in one of those places.) So if you are interested in joining us in beautiful Wales next year,  now is the time to thinking about booking so as not to miss out.

I am so looking forward to going back to Fishguard - I love the place, the hotel staff are always so very helpful,  I get to be back with the wonderful Anne and Gerry Hobbs who  as most of you know also run the fabulous Writers' Holiday in Caerleon in July.  The weekend is great value for money - only £219 all in, and if you book online,  you save an extra £10 of that.

There’s nothing extra to pay -  you can even  be collected from Fishguard or Haverfordwest Railway stations and return you there at the close of the event on Sunday afternoon. You’ll have a choice of single, double, or twin roomed, all en-suite accommodation (even taking the trouble to guarantee that you’ll have a room next to your friends), and excellent full board plus (vegetarian choices) hospitality for the duration of your stay. Fully inclusive, the only extra expense will be in the bar during the weekend, or if you wish to purchase a book or souvenir from the Bookroom.

There are courses and places that are much more expensive  - but believe me, we cram a lot into one weekend at Fishguard. I always come home inspired and buzzing with ideas - even if I have no voice left after all the teaching.

Oh yes  - the teaching -   This course is open to previous Fishguard workshop or Caerleon Romance course participants or  those who have been on one of my basic Romance courses or workshops elsewhere. It is not for beginners. Designed especially for Fishguard to move you on, the whole weekend will be concentrated on this workshop - without other distractions. Guests are encouraged to complete work with me prior to the weekend commencement, and everyone will have a short one to one session with me to discuss your writing.  This is in addition to a series of six advanced novel workshop sessions.

So if you’re interested – check out the full details on the Writers’ Holiday website  and get your booking in now , and I’ll hope to see you in February.

For those of you who have already booked, I’m so looking forward to seeing you (again  - for some of you) and I’ll be contacting you all very soon about the  course.

Can’t wait!

Congratulations & Photo

First thing today is to congratulate the Top  28  - the writers who have been chosen to go into the next stage of the So You Think  You Can Write contest.   This is a real achievement for all of you  - so Congratulations! I hope that this success spurs you on to greater things - I'll look forward to seeing the results of the next stage when they are revealed.

If you haven't see the list, then you can find it here.

Good luck to the long list 'winners' - but really, the hard work starts now. It;s one thing to create a first chapter, polish it and submit it and win the attention of the editors/reader voters - quite another to craft it into a full length, fully developed and readable story.   Go for it!

Those who have not been selected - this is not the end. I'm sure that more than the 28 long listers will have been noticed - and I hope that having taken the plunge and written something  you will not give up now. Remember, getting published is a marathon, not a sprint - keep on  keeping on and hopefully there will be many newly published authors from this contest.

Photo - I expect you'll be seeing lots of these all over the web in the last few days - When the authors all met for the annual Association of Mills & Boon lunch, back in September, Harlequin provided a photographer to take photos of everyone there  so a s to provide a new publicity photograph for author pages etc.  We all received our copies of the new photos last week and as I said many authors have been posting them on their web sites, blogs etc.   So if you've always wondered what a favourite author looks like you'll find them around the web.

And if you want to know what  mine looks like - well, here  you are. 

The Babe Magnet likes it, so does The Offspring and even Flora and Charlie think it looks like Mum!

Kate's Corner day

It's October 15th so that means that I'm blogging over on We Write Romance today in my regular Kate's Corner spot.

I'm not doing well in keeping up with my personal blog here but at least I am blogging in my regular 'guest spots' which is something! I keep hoping that at some point life will settle down a bit.

Well I can hope . . .

Good luck to everyone who has entered the So You Think You Can Write Contest - I'm looking forward to seeing the list of the final 28.

Catching up again

Well, that was a busy week.   I'm not quite sure where most of it went -  I was deep in revisions so I  was barely away from my desk.  We had family to visit and I have to judge a writing contest for a  Writers'  Circle . . . Blink and the week was gone.

I did actually blog a couple of times on my usual   monthly dates for other sites but then the internet played up and I didn't post to let everyone know.  So if you want to catch up, then there are posts
 here   on the Pink Heart Society Blog (talking about the So You Think You Can Write contest)
and
here at Tote Bags 'N' Blogs  - talking about my favourite season

I'm back today with some interesting news -  I was talking about older books  and that seems to be the thene of the  month really because I've just discovered that Mills & Boon have brought out some of my older titles in brand new ebooks. This is part of a new initiative to republish  older titles in the  Mills and Boon Vintage series.

At the moment they are publishing  Modern Romances  from the 1990s and there are five of my older books appearing in Kindle editions from today.  I noticed these last week, while I was still busy revising,  and they just had blanks for their covers but today I'm really pleased to see that they have proper covers  with the artwork from the past editions in a new format .

The books now available are :
The Unexpected Child
Hers For  A Night
Flirting With Danger
No Holding Back     (which has one of my favourite openings ever)
The Groom's Revenge.


So if you missed any of these in the past and would like to catch up on some older Kate Walkers  here's your chance.

I'm not sure about being called Vintage - but it's the books not me!

And talking about older books -  special thanks go to Marybelle, Maria and Princess Fiona. I'm sorry I was so busy that I've neglected to answer your comments - I really enjoyed reading about your book collections so  - if you'd like to email me  -  see the link  at the bottom  of the page, I'd like to see if I can add a book to your Kate Walker collection. I don;t have any really old ones but I'll let you know which of my backlist books I do have and you can choose one of them.

Talking of older books . . .

This is a post that results from a comment posted on my earlier blog about the reissue of older books.

In the comments on that day PrincessFiona said:

>>Excellent to see the ebooks coming out. Though I look at my nice little shelf with 37 of your titles in paperback and want to complete the set.

I was so thrilled to think that Fiona had  a collection of my books and was looking to complete the set (only 23 titles  to go Fiona!  Well - actually only 21 as two of these were only in ebook form  or a story published on eHarlequin). But this got me wondering  - which is the oldest Kate Walker title  you have?  On your bookshelves? Do you have a collection of oldies from my writing history?

Does anyone out there have a complete collection of Kate Walker titles? Or who has the largest collection?  Is Fiona's 37 titles the biggest collection of Kate Walker's in captivity?

Or - another question - which older title would you most love to find and read ?

Fiona - I don't know if you knew of this, but I just discovered that one of those 'ebook only' stories has actually be published in print in  Australia -  Wife For Real which was a serial over on eHarlequin was a bonus book in with  Innocent Secretary . . .Accidentally Pregnant by Carol Marinelli.  You might find that somewhere.

Anyway - tell me about your oldies and  I'll have a look in my book stock boxes and  offer a couple of giveaways from my backlist to help some of you add to your collection.

Where does time go?

Yesterday we celebrated a birthday in this house. No, not mine or the Babe Magnet's  - but Flora's.  I find it hard to believe that she is actually now a mature (well I use the word advisedly ) lady of five .

Five! That's mature in cat years. And even though Maine Coons are supposed to keep on growing longer than most cats, she has now reached her full size and beauty. And she knows it.  It's hard to remember when she was just a small kitten who came to live with us two days after Christmas  in 2007.

So to celebrate,  I thought I'd just post a couple of pictures of   Princess Flora Floozibelle - as the little kitten I first met, through her growing up years and - as she was yesterday , asleep on my desk after all the extra treats and food.

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?

Celebrating a friend's achievement

Today I have a blog in a very special place - I'm over on my friend Kate Hardy's blog, joining in  the special  - and very big - blog party she's having to celebrate her real landmark book - her  50th published title!

Some years ago I shared the day of my 50th book presentation with Kate  because  she was then celebrating her 25th silver pin.    And last Friday I was there after the AMBA lunch  to cheer and applaud when she was presented with her gold pin for her 50th title!

Er . . .yes  - five years later!! She's hit 50 and I'm plodding along with 61 . . .

That - and other reasons are why I call her Scary Kate. If you want to know more, then why not visit Kate's Blog today. I'm giving away two copies of my trilogy Claimed by The Sicilian (it includes my 50th title The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge)  as part of the celebrations.

See you there?

And many, many congratulations, Kate on this landmark book. At the pace you write, I'll expect to be celebrating your 75th . . .Oh - next year??

Missing again

My blog is getting neglected  - that's because I've been busy and been away again

I've only just got back from a trip to London where I was att the annual lunch for the Association of Mills and Boon authors  - I also had a great trip to the theatre - and  dinner with my sister.

Because it's the day for my regular Kate's Corner blog over on  We Write Romance,  there are more details over there.

Meanwhile, I've been busy appeasing  the cats for abandoning them, unpacking, washing . . reading for getting back to my desk tomorrow.

Pink Heart Day

It's the first Friday of the month so that mneans it's my Pink Heart Society  day for blogging in my Date With Kate Column.

So that's where you'll find me - with the So You Think You Can Write  contest in mind, as a special  request from PHS editor, Michelle Styles, I'm talking about choosing just which type of romance writing will suit you best.

See  you there!

Tote Bags Blogging Day

It's the first Sunday of September  (where did the rest of the year go?). So today is my day for blogging over at Tote Bags 'N' Blogs so that's where you'll find me.

 I'm talking about my  'New Year'  - which I'm starting with a book giveaway. So if you post a comment over there you'll be in with a chance to win. Maybe The Devil and Miss Jones  or The Return of The Stranger  . . . Your choice of the backlist books I have available.

Thanks to everyone who has sent sympathies and get well messages after Charlie revealed that I'd sliced into my finger - it was definitely an OUCH! moment. It's  still not quite healed - I'm not sure if I'm going to lose the nail - but it is getting there so thank you all for your concern.  It has certainly made typing messages  a lot more difficult! One of the reasons for the shortage of blog posts.

Charlie's Diary - A Big Day!

 

It’s been a while  since I wrote my diary  but I have a special reason for  posting today. It’s my birthday! I am two. (My Mum says that I look like two cats stuck together because I’m so big but I’m talking about years here.)

Anyway, today is my birthday so I’m having a celebration.  Started off well with special  chicken chunks for breakfast, followed by a quick snack on some Dreamies, then out into the garden. Luckily the rain of yesterday has stopped. I don’t like rain!  Tonight I am having a party with cat pate and  crunchies – great stuff.  The only down side is that I have to share with Flora the Diva.  But then I’ll get to share when it’s her birthday next month.

My Mum asked me to pose for my special  2nd birthday portrait so she can post it for you to see. So here I am – being two! I’m also reading the Telegraph, as you can see. I like to keep up to date with what is going on. I also like to watch TV – the Olympics were great. I specially liked to try and chase the runners, and the cyclists, and the jumping horses though I got quite bored with the swimming. I don’t like the wet.  I ordered sunshine for my birthday and so far that’s what I’m  getting.

I have a message  from My  Mum – to explain why this blog has been so quiet lately. It’s because she  hurt her hand and so couldn’t type very much. She was chopping vegetables for soup  and she sliced into her finger – right through the nail.  You should have heard the shriek!  It has  been  a bit sore – well, a lot sore, for some days but hopefully it’s healing up now. Personally, I think  she’s daft cutting up veg anyway – I mean, who wants to eat veg?  I know I don’t.  I wouldn’t swap my chicken chunks for chunks of broccoli – broccoli ! – or onions.

Anyway, that’s why  she hasn’t been posting. Typing has been a bit tricky.  So it’s a good thing I’m here to say hello and  make sure you know this blog is still active. Not that I’m feeling all that active right now – I’ve been in the garden all day, climbing trees, chasing Flora,  pouncing on  butterflies. I even tried eating a butterfly. The taste wasn’t all that great – and it was little more than a mouthful so I don’t think I’ll bother again.  It’s almost time for my  posh paté  and then I think I’ll have a little snooze on the sofa.

I like birthdays – I wish they came round more often.   But At least now I’m two! My Mum says I have some more growing to do yet – it’ll be fun to pounce on  Flora if I get any bigger.

Happy Birthday to me!



Kate's Corner day

It's the 15th of the month so today is my day for posting over on the We Write Romance Blog in my regular Kate's Corner  post.

Today I'm talking about some of the new things coming up with the advent of autumn (or Fall!)  One of these is the lauch of the big international So You Think You Can Write contest which is now launching -
All the details,  rules and regulations  can be found here

And the other piece of news is  that he brand new designs for the RIVA covers have been launched today - you can see them here - with more on that blog.

The're very different - what do you think? What do you think?

Bag A Bargain

To mark the success of the Olympics,  Mills & Boon is offering a huge special sale with 70% off a huge selection of titles - both print and ebooks over on their Mills & Boon  web site.

Along with many others you can grab yourself a copy of The Devil and Miss Jones for just 0.99p -print or ebook! That's  a reduction from the original price of £3.49  saving £2.50!

Lots of other books on offer too. So if you haven't already grabbed a copy of The Devil and Miss Jones, now's your chance - with a great saving!

But hurry - this offer closes at 12 noon BST tomorrow August 13th!

Advanced Writing Romance Course

Just to let you know that if you were thinking of booking for my Advanced Contemporary Romance Workshop in February 2013 -  There are now only EIGHT places left for the whole set of  Winter Workshops at Fishguard.

And that's between all the courses - and there are five of them!  So if you want to be assured of a place on my course  - book now!

Book online now and save £10 at www.writersholiday.net

Good News and Bad News

I had a wonderful time on Friday  when I visited Bridlington Library and spoke to their Writers’ Group.  The turnout was great – the librarian told me that they had the most people attending than at any other meeting in the past. So thank you to everyone who came. I hope you enjoyed the afternoon as much as I did.

As an added benefit, the sun shone and the day was warm so the Babe Magnet and I enjoyed a day beside the sea, strolling along the seafront and relaxing. We even found time to visit Bempton Cliffs to see the huge gannets whirling in the air high above the sea as they feed their chicks which were perched in nests in what seemed like tiny cracks in the cliff.

This will be my last Writing Talk/Workshop for some time – that is, unless any events are planned for the So You Think You Can Write. But that reminds me that I need to bring you up to date on the news about some of my other planned events – which is why the good news/bad news scenario.

Bad news first – Sadly, the week-long writing course at The Watermill in Posara has been cancelled. I’m really disappointed about this, but the decision was out of my hands.  It seems that they didn’t feel they would get enough bookings even though there are still two months before the course actually starts (and they actually cancelled some weeks earlier than that.) So I’m sorry if you were hoping to attend . I’m really sorry too, as I had a great course planned out and I was very much looking forward it.

But the good- the great news is . . . Remember this post back in June?

That was when I feared- dreaded  - the possibility that the wonderful Caerleon Writers’ Holiday might be coming to an end. When the Babe Magnet and I – and the organisers Anne and Gerry Hobbs thought that this fantastic week might not happen ever again – ort if it did it wouldn’t be on  the campus of the University of Wales Caerleon and in  the lovely surroundings of  Caerleon village and its fantastic  Roman remains.  

But the good – the great news will be that Caerleon Writers’ Holiday will be back again next year. Everyone involved was so relieved and so thrilled that we’ve been smiling ever since we heard the news.  The details of next years’ event will be posted  here just as soon as Anita gets the details, but one thing I can assure you of and that is that I will be there, running my COMPLETE INTRODUCTION TO WRITING ROMANCE course in July 2013.  Which reminds me that I must just send a special wave to everyone   who was on my course this year. They were a great group, we had a lot of fun as  well as learning a lot (well, I  always learn a bit more each time I teach.)  We had a wonderful week with blue skies and warm sunshine – the temperatures went up to 26 on two days  - with all the usual great Writers’ Holiday events, the courses, the speakers, the poetry reading, the Male Voice Choir. And  I’m looking forward to seeing so many of my students  back again at Fishguard for the Advanced Contemporary Romance  Workshop in February 2013.

Because of course these two workshops are linked and students need to have attended the Introduction course in order to be able to apply for the Advanced. In Fishguard. Numbers for the Advanced course are strictly limited to 15 and I know that at least half of those places are already booked up. So if you’d like to attend, the sooner you get  your booking in the better.

For me, it’s great news that I will be able to be back in Wales, with my dear friends , and enjoying the warmth of their hospitality, in both February and July next year – and hopefully for many more years to  come.  Not for nothing are  Caerleon and Fishguard two red-letter dates in my calendar. 

Oh yes – and if you’ve visited Caerleon this year or before, we now have a special Writers’ Holiday page on Facebook. There are lots of great photos of this years’ event up there.

Pink Heart Day

It's the first Friday of the month. As you read this I will be beside the sea in  Bridlington,  talking about writing for Harlequin Mills & Boon to a library writing group. And this ties in with my topic in A Date With Kate over on The Pink Heart Society this month.

With the huge So You Think You Can Write contest launched by Harlequin, I'm looking at possible ways to learn more about your craft - and  maybe make  new friends in the process. It's all about Conferences, Courses, Critiques .. .

I'm also looking for questions on the writing craft that I can answer to help anyone who's entering SYTYCW - and there's a copy of the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance to someone who asks a great craft question.

So see you there! (When I get back from the seaside.)

Maeve Binchy

I was really saddened to learn that best-selling Irish author Maeve Binchy has died aged 72 after a short illness.

In 2007 I was lucky enough to meet her at the launch party in Dublin for Abby Green's very first Mills & Boon novel. She was a lovely, warm-hearted and welcoming woman  and I really enjoyed talking with her.  She invited me to visit her  with Abby when I was next in Ireland but sadly she was never well enough to fulfil that invitation.

Maeve  Binchy, born in Dalkey, Co Dublin, has sold more than 40 million books. Her works were often set in Ireland and have been translated into 37 languages. They include The Lilac Bus as well as Tara Road and Circle of Friends, which were both adapted for screen.

She  trained as a teacher before moving into journalism and writing, publishing her first novel. Light a Penny Candle was written  in her spare time from her day job as a journalist at The Irish Times - in 1982.


Maeve Binchy  was renowned for her generosity and support of others, writing in a guide for aspiring writers: "The most important thing to realise is that everyone is capable of telling a story. It doesn't matter where we were born or how we grew up".

In a 2001 interview with the BBC after she had won the WHSmith Book Award for fiction, she described the five rejections she received for her first novel as "a slap in the face".  But she said she was glad she persevered and sent the book to a sixth publisher.

Maeve Binch and Abby Green
at the launch of Abby's first book

"It's like if you don't go to a dance you can never be rejected but you'll never get to dance either," she said.

The author said that her secret was to write the way she spoke.

"I don't say I was proceeding down a thoroughfare, I say I walked down the road. I don't say I passed a hallowed institute of learning I say I passed a school. You don't wear all your jewellery at once - you're much more believable if you talk in your own voice," she said.

In 2000, Maeve  Binchy was ranked third in the World Book Day poll of favourite authors - ahead of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

She received a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Book Awards in 2010, the same year her last novel, Minding Frankie, was published.

I remember a warm and vibrant personality who sadly is no longer with us.  My deepest sympathies go to her beloved husband and her family.

Missing . . .

Well  that was a hectic couple of weeks.  I  was travelling here there and everywhere and giving talks, running courses . ..  In the end something had to go  and this blog had to be it.   I just couldn't keep up.

But now I'm back - for a few days - heading for another talk in Bridlington library on Friday -  so I'll try to catch up. A bit.

But while I sort through a  ton of laundry, a zillion emails, innumerable answer machine messages, here's a bit to keep you reading.

As you know I was at the Romantic Novelists'  Association conference in Penrith   which is where I gave a talk on putting Emotion into your writing. There are a couple of reports of tbhis that you can find:

Here on the RNA blog where with other speakers I talk about  the 'behind the scenes' of my talk.
and

Here in the Conference reports on the same site - there are reports of other talks too if you are interested.

Now I have a date with a washing machine . . .again!

Oh  - but I can't finish without sending huge  congratulations to the brilliant Sarah Morgan who won  the Short Contemporary RITA award at the Romance Writers' of America conference this weekend with her  fabulous Modern Romance/Harlequin Presents title  Doukakis's Apprentice. 

Congratulations Sarah!

Pink Heart Friday

It's the first Friday of the month so that means that today I'm blogging over on the Pink Heart Society site with my regular Date With Kate.

Today with the announcement of  the So You Think You Can Write Contest in mind, I'm posting the first of a set of craft posts to help those of you who plan to entere and to start with I'm going right back to basics and looking at the 'rules'  there are in romance writing - or that everyone seems to thin there are!

See you there?

Tote Bags 'N' Blogs

It's the first Sunday in July, so  of course I'm blogging over on Tote Bags 'N' Blogs - talking about the month coming up in What I'm Doing on My 'Holidays'.

And as I know everyone's looking for a 'beach read' - or an  armchair read - for the holidays - I'm giving away a copy of  The Devil and Miss Jones to one commenter - just as soon as I get Charlie the Maine Coon to come back in from the garden. It's actually not raining at the moment so he's having a lot of fun out there - climbing trees, hiding in the bushes - jumping on the bird table . . .

Or perhaps I'll wake Flora who's sleeping on my desk . . .

See you over at Tote Bags N Blogs!