Family Connections

I've just come back from a family reunion that was a very special event.  I come from a family of five sisters.   (I come right in the middle of them if you’re wondering.)  My eldest sister is living in Australia  so she’s sadly thousands of miles away, but the next eldest sister – the one between her and me – is having a big birthday this year.   And she invited all the rest of us -  and the next generation – and the one after that – to come together for a very special family  party and overnight stay.

We had a wonderful time. We all live in different parts of the country, have different lives, but it was as if time and distance hadn’t existed.  So there were my other sisters, two husbands, one sister’s daughter, and the birthday girl’s son, his wife and two daughters. So that’s  three generations. And to add to the celebrations, there were two more about-to-be members of the family as my niece and my nephews wife were both expecting babies due to arrive in September.

Since I came home and I looked at all the photographs – specially one that had all of us, each generation, arranged on a flight of steps, it made me think about families both in reality and in books.  And it got me wondering about the families in some of my books.

I’ve now been published for over thirty years, so some of the babies  conceived by or born to past heroes and heroines will be about the age to become heroes and heroines themselves.   The b

aby that pushes Pierce and Natalie into marriage in  The Unexpected Child would be twenty years old now – just old enough to have her own story. And so will the little girl   Rosie who appeared in His Miracle Baby.

Sometimes I create characters who are connected by family or place and  then if I revisit that place, that family,  there is a chance to catch up with the story of the original couple and see how their life has progressed. I did this with  A Question of Honour where the hero and heroine  - Karim and Clemmie  later appeared – with their children -  in Destined For The Desert King .   And  Nabil, who was to have been Clemmie’s original bridegroom in that story, is the hero of this second book, with his new bride Aziza.  I remembered these books particularly as the story I’m working on will  take my new hero and heroine from their homes in Ireland to the kingdom of Rhastaan  where they may well meet up with Karim and Clemmie, Nabil and Aziza . . .and who knows how many children now?

So that made me wonder.  Do you like books were past characters appear, and you learn about their lives later on? Do you enjoy finding out about what has happened to them since their ‘happy ever after’ ending? Are they in fact ‘happy ever after’?  (I should hope so as I try to write characters who are just made for each other.)

Thinking about these earlier books has made me wonder whether it might be interesting to revisit

What do you think?  Do you like to read books like this? Are there any books - mine or any other  author’s  where you’d like to know what happened to a younger character – or just another person – in the future?

families and give them their own family reunion  and a story for the next generation.

I  know I’m looking forward to revisiting old friends in Rhastaan as I take Adnan and Ciara out to that country on their rather unusual honeymoon.

A special Australian By Request Collection - your chance to get your hands on some older Kate Walker titles!

So - a few days ago, I promised my lovely Australian readers that there was some special news about my books coming up - well, here it is!

This month, as well as the Sexy edition of Indebted to Moreno, there is a special 'By Request - Popular Bestsellers ' 3 in 1 collection of 3 of my past titles on sale as well. This collection is called Resisting All Temptation - and the books in this collection are: A Question of Honour, The Konstantos Marriage Demand and Saturday's Bride.


Obviously, these are all reprints - A Question of Honour (which originally had the same cover as this collection) came out in 2014, The Konstantos Marriage Demand won the Romantic Times Best  Presents Extra in 2010 and Saturday's Bride goes right back to 1999!

So it's great to see these older titles get a new edition. If there are books you missed the first time around - or if you had a copy but lost it, then now's your chance to grab a copy in this special new Australian edition! If you want any more details on these titles  here they are:

A Question Of Honour

A runaway princess...
It should have been easy. Karim al Khalifa, crown prince of Mazarkhad, had one task—retrieve rebellious princess Clementina Saveneski from her hideout in England and return her home to be wed...to another man.
His to find, or his to keep?
It is not for Karim to notice her alluring scent, those seductive curves, the enticing glances she sends his way. No, his family's honor, and his own, require Clementina to be delivered—pure and untouched—to her unwanted bridegroom. And he must resist all temptation to keep her for himself!



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....



Saturday's Bride

A most determined seduction . . .
Connor Harding was outraged to come back home and discover that Jenna Kenyon was getting married - to the wrong man! But he knew that Jenna was determined to prove him wrong, despite the passion still smouldering between them.
Connor decided that all was fair in love and war. Only five days remained before Jenna became Saturday's bride, but that was more than long enough for him to persuade her to change her mind. . .




Oh - and these are not the only reprints! Look out for the Surrender to The Sheikh collection coming in December - with At The Sheikh's Command, Desert Affair and Destined for the Desert King (which of course is the second part of the Rhastaan Royals duo - the first being A Question of Honour.)

   I don't have a cover for this collection yet but I'll share as soon as I do. This a real collection for everyone who loves a sheikh story

Book News

I have book news to catch up on.
After working my way through the piles of emails and letters that were waiting for me after  we got back  from Wales, there were also several boxes of books  to open.    Some were foreign editions -  Indian, German, Dutch . . .

But the best moment is always when I open a new box of a brand-new title and get to see the books in  reality for the very first time.  Unfortunately I still haven't seen the UK's edition of my new (September)  Presents title - Indebted to Moreno.

There is also a new reprint edition of an older book that's out right now - and that's  the 2013 title  A Throne For The Taking  which is now reprinted in a 3 in 1 By Request collection in the UK. The title of the collection is Claiming His Princess.

Coming up is some extra news for Australian readers  who will get Indebted to Moreno in October - and a best seller collection of 3 of my older title - A Question of Honour (2014) , The Konstantos Marriage Demand (2010)   and Saturday's Bride (1999).   These will all be in a collection that (I think ) will be called Resisting All Temptation!   

No covers for those yet, but as soon as I see them I'll share them with you.

As you'll see,  Saturday's Bride is a long ago title - so if you're looking to add a missing title to your collection, this might be the one. There might be more older titles coming up soon - certainly there'll be some news about older titles in the UK  in ebook form as well.  I'll let you know about that as soon as it's all finalised

This weekend I'm off to Harrogate to have a short break  to treat the Babe Magnet for his birthday.  Afternoon tea at Bettys and a trip to the theatre - I'm  so happy  I get to share it with him.

Hopefully there won't be so many emails/letters/packages waiting for me when we get back!

International giveaway

So - I  promised anyone who might read my books in a language other than English, that I'd have a special treat for them  - and here you are -
it's an International  Translations Giveaway

I've had a lot of deliveries of  foreign translations of my books and  before I send any to the language library I support, I thought I'd ask if there are any readers out there who'd like to win a giveaway of  the titles I have available.

It's quite simple - all you have to do is to email me  and let me know which book in which language you'd like to win.
A few simple conditions - 
1. One book only per person
2. Books on a first come first served basis. Once they;re gone, they're gone
3. Please  give me one title and a second choice in case I've run out of copies of the book yo

u first selected. Of course if there's just one book in one language then I'm afraid once they're gone, they're gone.

The books you can choose from are:
 1. Italian translations 
Olivero's Outrageous Proposal - Un Intrigante Proposta
The Good Greek Wife  in Scintilla Greca   -  4 in 1 with Sarah Morgan Caitlin Crews Abby Green
The Konstantos Marriage Demand   in Matrimonio Greco   4 in 1 with Diana Hamilton, Margaret Mayo, Helen Bianchin

2. Thailand:
Olivero's Outrageous Proposal

3. Poland
Bound By Blackmail (by Kate Walkerova!)  Spanelskanhra

4. Holland
Olivero's Outrageous Proposal  - Perfect Wraak?

5 German
The Temptation Game in  3 in 1 Traummanner with Julia James  and Catherine George
Cordero's Forced Bride in 3 in 1 Mittelmeertraume  - with  Susan Napier and Melanie Milburne

6. French
A Question of Honour - Pour L'honneur du Cheikh

7. Japanese - MANGA editions  of
Kept For Her Baby
Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Wife


THIS OFFER ENDS MONDAY MARCH 14th!

Back home

I'm back! Thank you so much to everyone for you kind and caring get well messages. They meant such a lot to me and brightened hospital days. After a week + of IV antibiotics fighting septicaemia I'm now back home - knowing more than I care to think about of the horrible effects of a high fever. (Who knew that you shiver so much when your temp is soaring!) But I had really good care and I was able to get to know new friends and share with them while we were all stuck together. 

I've posted about this on the Tote Bags n Blogs blog page - where I'm offering giveaway of a copy of A Question of Honour  for you to give someone you think will enjoy it.

A Question of Honour is of course Part One of the Rhastaan Royals duo - and the book in which Nabil bin Rashid Al Sharifa  first appears - ten years before her turns up as the hero of my latest title Destined for the Desert King which is in the shops now. At least I hope it is - I haven't even seen it on the shelves as I haven't been into any shops except one - and there it had all sold out!

But as it seems someone has  put Christmas  on to a week on Friday, I'd  better start to do something about that!

It's good to be home.

I heart Presents blog

Things are a bit complicated and stressful at the moment so I'm not able to post much with limited internet connection and only an iPhone to use. But I do have a new title out so I want to share that with you as much as I can.

So today I wanted to let you know that I have a post over on the I heart Presents blog today. I'm talking about the special challenges of writing Destined For The Desert King and turning  Nabil
from A Question of Honour into a hero when he wasn't so much of one in that story.

Can't work out how to link using the phone but I'm sure you all know where that is!

Hope to see you there!

And I really hope life will get back to normal soon!

Is it really 2 weeks since I posted?

I've been  too long getting to posting on this blog again  - life sort of blew up round me and I have been running really hard just to stand still - apologies for the absence.

It isn't going to get much better for the next month either.  I am committed to something that will take me away from my desk for the next two weeks - then, hopefully, a moment to snatch a  breath, turn round, plan a course, pack - and head out to Fireguard where I'm teaching Writing Romance at Writers' Holiday  again.

I can't wait for that - a chance to meet up with dear friends,  talk about writing,  drink a little wine - maybe even find sometime to stare at the sea if  the sun  shines and  I get a chance to sit on the balcony to my room - every other time I've been to Fishguard it has been February so  I've usually had to stare at the sea from inside my room.  This time will be the first time I've been there in the summer.  I shall miss being at Caerleon but I'm looking forward to being part of the new Fishguard Writers' Holiday.

I've been working on plans for more courses - so hopefully they will be coming up soon and I'm hoping to get my web site updated to include the information. So if you're interested in writing romantic fiction, look out for those.  (You can find the preliminary information here)

I was tagged in a post  on Facebook  to tell readers about my WIP (work in  progress|) - answering that was rather tricky as the book is currently with my editor and I don't yet know what she thinks of it. But in case you haven't seen that Facebook post  - here are my answers:

Anne McAllister has tagged me to share five things about my Work In Progress . . .but . . .

 She tagged me ten days ago when I was waiting to know if the WIP was actually in P – ie progress – because it had left my desk and headed for my editor’s. However, I still don’t have a verdict on this story – so * don’t know if it’s in progress, progressed or not going anywhere at all – so I’m not sure if I tell you anything that it might change . . .

 But, as things stand:

 1. The heroine is Alyse, the hero Dario – I hope! Alyse is named for a long ago friend of my mother’s.

 2. They meet at a charity ball in London when in fact each of them is looking for the other, though they don’t know it.

 3. The phrase that sums up my hero is ‘I don’t do family’

I’m going to complete the 5 things by giving two other things about the book I’m planning out because that’s the one in my mind:

 4. The book is a sort of a follow on from the current ‘A Question of Honor’ so that there is a chance to catch up on the lives of the hero and heroine of that story – and one other character.

 5. As a result, this book has to be set 10 years after the ending of the first book because one character in particular has to change a heck of a lot from the way he was before. Well, the truth is that a LOT has changed since then!

The Story Behind the Story

Part of the dedication to A Question of Honour   reads like this:

To my who knows how many 'greats' back ancestor Chevalier Charles Wogan whose real-life story was the inspiration behind my fictional version.

Several  people have asked what this dedication means - and who exactly is the 'Chevalier Charles Wogan' I'm talking about.

I've mentioned the story in a couple of places  on my blog tour, but if you want the full story so that you know exactly who he was and what happened, then  a couple of posts around now will  give you the story.

If you look over over on I Heart Presents  today, you'll find the true story of Charles Wogan and the Polish princess  Clementina.

And on the Tote Bags 'n' Blogs  post  from yesterday there is a bit ore about other books that have been

written about this  hero inspiration, together with a couple of portraits of Wogan himself - and his Clementina.  Though I have to admit that neither of them look very much like Karim and Clemmie  on the cover of the Harlequin version out this month.

So if you've ever wondered about the answer to that question I'm always being asked - 'where do you get your ideas  from'  then here's one example of where mine come from.

There's a chance of winning a giveaway copy of A Question of Honor too if you comment  over at I heart Presents. 

Pink Hearts Day

Today is the day for my regular Date With Kate  post over on the Pink Heart Society blog.

Today I'm talking about heroes - and specially  the hero in my latest release - A Question of Honor

What makes a hero for you?  Come along and let me know what you think.

Publication day

It's publication day for A Question of Honour - or  A Question of Honor depending on where you live - you take your pick!

Well, it's the official publication date - but I'm not really sure whether anyone sticks to the official date any more!  For a start  this book has been on sale on the Mills & Boon  website for the past month - and it's been at #1 on the bestseller list there for over a week.  But them M&B have the books out a month early anyway.

Amazon etc deliver the book from the 20th May (USA ) of 1st June (UK)  but I've seen physical copies of the book  one sale in UK shops for almost a week now - including special 2 in 1 editions in Tesco/Asda  where A Question of Honour is sold together with   Kim Lawrence's The Heartbreaker Prince.   Unfortunately this means it doesn't have the grea

t cover that's on the UK edition -  I really like this one.

There are some great reviews coming out for  A Question of Honour -  you can see some of them on the Mills & Boon site - and there are another selection  here - at Romance Book Haven's Reviews section

But on checking out Amazon to find out  A Question of Honour, I also found some good news of another publication date -  an edition I didn't know anything about. So I'm celeb rating that too. Remember the English Manga edition of The Return of The Stranger  - the 'Harlequin Comics version?  Well there's now another of my books brought out in this unique format.

This is the English manga version of The Hostage Bride.  I mentioned this some time back  when I talked about the Japanese version - now there's this really great version in English as well.

So there's a lot to celebrate - Oh and I should have said that I now  have a brand new Author Page over on Facebook - so if you're on Facebook, please come along and join me there - maybe 'like' the page. That's where I'll be posting the news and  daily events if I don;t get time to blog about everything.

You can find my Facebook page here. 

And  talking of up to date news -  when I opened this page, I talk about celebrating with a book giveaway so  I'm going to do just that - and seeing as I have  a lot to celebrate, let's make it a great giveaway.

So - I have 10  signed books to give away

4 copies of A Question of Honour to mark its publication day - and  6 books from my backlist.
To be in with a chance to win, all you have to do is to send me an email with A Question of Honour/Facebook in the subject line, and I'll get Charlie on to the task of picking 10 winners.

(For email see the link below - or Kate (AT) kate-walker (DOT) com)

 If you already have A Question of Honour do let me know and I'll put you in the draw for the backlist books.

This giveaway is only for today to mark the publication of A Question of Honour  - but I'll keep the entries open for 24 hours (from now - 10 am UK time - to 10 am UK time tomorrow) so that everyone has a chance to read this and find out how to enter.

But you only have 24 hours
So - ready  - steady - Go!

A Question of Honour

  Great way to start the day - I  took a look at the Mills & Boon  site and found a featured review of A Question of Honour

It's always great to know a reader has enjoyed you book.

A welcome return to form for Mrs Walker with an exciting and humourous beginning which draws the reader in for the whole book. 

Although I'm not overkeen on either Royal or Sheikh themes for most of the book this doesn't really feel like one. 

With great character exploration and dialogue, the fascinating Karim and dutiful but in no way boring Clemmie wrap themselves around your heart.

 Excellent read Ten out of ten 

Thanks 'R'!  That's set me up for a day's writing.

Cover reveal

I've been waiting for ages to see what the cover of my  June book A Question of Honour  would be like. Over the years I've had some  great covers - and some not so great!   I was sent the cover of the USA Presents cover a month or so again    and I liked that  - it  has the atmosphere of the story - and the characters  (Karim and Clementina)  have the right colouring (not always the case!)

But I was waiting to see what the UK/M&B Modern cover was like. I found it last night on Amazon - and I have to say that I'm thrilled - I love it.  Again  Karim and Clementina look just right - but  this one has  more impact I think. More of the  right atmosphere - more  emotion.

It would make me want to pick this book off the shelves  anyway. I think it's a winner.

What do you think?  So- do you prefer  A Question of Honor (USA)? Or A Question of Honour (UK) ?

My lovely web designer Heather has been busy updating my web site  - so you can find more details about A Question of Honour/Honor - and read an excerpt on its  special page here 

Oh , and while I'm talking about covers, I also just got the cover for the 3 in 1 collection  Eligible Greeks: Sizzling Affairs  - which contains  a reprint of my  2010 book The Good Greek Wife. 

This one is out  on May 1st 2014.

Busy week

Well, I can't quite believe it's been a week since I updated this blog. But then it has been a busy week.
A very busy week. And, well, to be honest, the lovely news about  Rachael Thomas's first book was worth leaving up on its own for a while.

I've been working on a new  project - well, a couple of new projects.  And some new approaches to old ones.
First of all, there has been the working out of the plot of the  latest novel.. And that has involved a fight between two heroes. One, a Spaniard with a severe chip on his shoulder and a brooding resentment about the way that his  father's family have treated him - and the second a Sheikh who first appeared in my new book  A Question  of Honour  but has had a lot of growing up to do since then. They both wanted me to tell their stories and it hasn't been easy to decide which one to work on first. So I've made notes on  one - and started the story of the other . . .  Which one? Well that would be telling. Because I don't know whether I'll be able to continue  with the one I've chosen as the other is still demanding that I find him his heroine and give him his happy ever after . .  . watch this space.

What else? Well, I have the Advanced Romance Writing Course at the end of this month so I've been planning things for that - and looking at new ways of getting ideas across.  Of course, what I find works for this course will probably be used again in one of the other courses I'm teaching - like the ones in Weeton Hall in Leeds. That hasn't yet made it on to my Events page  but it should be detailed there very soon.
Actually, I thought I was going to have to say that the course  in May was already sold out as it filled up fast - almost as soon as it was announced. But I've talked with the organisers and we've decided we can add a few extra places if  anyone wants them.  We're trying to keep the classes small and informal so that people can do exactly as it says on the tine - Relax and Write -  but we can manage that and give a few more people the chance to join us. So booking is still open. Contact Malaga Workshops - Relax and Write  if you're interested.

Oh - and I need to add the details of the second course at Weetwood - coming up in October.  My web site designer is working on the updates right now so hopefully they should be up very soon.

Meanwhile I've  also been busy revising and updating  the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance - this is going to be republished in a new updated format, easily available in EBook form - I'll be announcing all the details soon so watch this space for this too.

Finally - for everyone who's been asking how  Ruby is settling in - well, the truth is that she's been rather unsettling things.  She came  into season  unexpectedly early  and created merry hell as a result. She kept throwing herself at Charlie who really didn't understand what all this fuss and excitement was about and he gave me rather panicked looks as if to say 'Get her off me! I don't know what she' wants!'.  Luckily things have all settled down again now  and the little madam is fast asleep in front of the fire. And you'd never know that she'd  been going round the house yelling at the top of her voice and molesting poor Charlie if he came anywhere near her!  She will have an appointment with the vet just as soon as we can arrange it.

But this is what peace and quiet looks like

Where was I?

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

What have I been up to?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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