Favourite Covers 2 - my choices

So  now it's my turn. Andrea asked me to share my choice of favourite covers  and as she promised to make that lovely donation to the Tickled Pink collection for research into help for breast cancer, I want to thank her by doing just that.

There's a slight complication in that she had the UK covers to choose from - while I have the same books as her but often the UK and USA covers are rather different -  but I'll post  images of the covers anyway so you can see them - whichever version I use.

I mentioned in yesterday's post that like Andrea, I liked the cover for Man of Shadows (see above).  This was very like the image I had in my mind of my hero and heroine and although it's a long-ago title, I still like it.


One of my favourite covers - and a favourite book with literally thousands
of readers judging by sales  - is     Constantine's Revenge.  I have a thing about strong male arms  - and  hands - and this get the intensity of the story too.

There's a book called The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge  where, like  Constantine's Revenge, the cover is the same on both the USA and UK editions.   This cover is affectionately known as 'The Back' among fans - I 'm sure you can see why!   There is also, as one reader said - 'all that sexy non-touching' .
  Often when there is a sheikh in the title, and when it works for the art department , then it seems works I get  great cover art -  like  At The Sheikh's Command

In fact a 'Sheikh' title often works really well - like Destined for The Desert King where I  was delighted to see that my 'desert king' had the beard that is so much a part of his  appearance  at first.  There's a reason why he has that beard!

One of the few times when I've liked the UK cover better than the USA one has been  A Question of Honour - it's rare that I like a photo image better than a painted  cover.

But this one works for me:


These are some of my favourite covers, where the artwork comes close to the mood of the story and the hero and heroine I had in my imagination while writing the book.

It doesn't always work out that way though - sometimes I find I'm left wondering 'why?'  when I see a cover.

As an example - how about the one known in my family as 'The Headless Manicure'!

Hmmm!

Special treat for my Australian readers (another one!)

It's December - so as I turned over the page in my calendar and opened the first door on my lovely Advent Calendar (Thanks to Anne Mcallister) I was reminded that my lovely Australian readers have

a special extra book treat coming out this month - and so I thought I'd share the cover with you. I love it.

Surrender to the Sheikh is another 3 in 1 collection - this one has At The Sheikh's Command, Desert Affair and Destined For The Desert King in one volume - so if it wasn't hot enough for you already down under, this could warm things up quite a bit!!

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

Now where was I . . .?

Sorry for the delay in updating this blog - one of the things about being a published author is that in order to keep that title you have  to write - and that takes time and focus. Life has been hectic anyway, and I've needed to carve out time to spend with a sexy Italian and his wife of convenience, to get their story told.  

So that's where I've been and what I've been doing  - on the writing front anyway.

On the teaching front, I've been thrilled by the response to the new Kindle edition of the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance  - and want to send many thanks to everyone who  bought a copy  at the special promo price |(and to the wonderful friends and fellow authors who spread the word that it was available.)  The ebook is now on sale at it's proper price - but as that is only $3.99 - or  £2.45 in the UK., I still reckon this is a bargain compared to the  price of the paperback. Plus,   the Kindle edition is easily available to more countries  - copies have sold in Germany, France, Australia and Canada - all with just one click! I love ebooks.

I'll admit I never thought I'd say that but I do love ebooks. I love the ease with which I can buy them, the way that I can store hundreds on my reader and not clutter up my room. I'm never without something to read, travelling is easy - just throw the reader in my bag and I  will never run out of  reading matter or if I should do, then  it's easy to get hold of something new.

Not that I'm ever likely to need to do that  . . . the problem is that my Kindle sits on my desk beside me as I

write this - and if during the day I spot an interesting title, then  the temptation is very strong . . . and I was never good at resisting temptation - at least not where books are concerned!

And as a writer, the great thing about ebooks is the way that old titles  get a  whole new lease of life as people discover them. When I was first published , Harlequin romances were in the shops for one month and that was it.  They sold, or they didn't and there was little chance of getting  a copy once the month was over. Sometimes, a book might be reprinted as a 'Bestseller'  - but that would be years later.  I often used to get letters/emails from readers looking for a replacement copy of an old book - or to catch up on one

they'd missed  and  it was difficult to help them.

Now I have old titles out in ebook  form - and it's great to see  - as I did this morning - that older titles like  Kept For Her Baby, At The Sheikh's Command,  The Italian's Forced Bride and Cordero's Forced Bride are out there in the list of bestseller for Modern Romances on Amazon UK.

Oh - and btw -  if you buy  your ebooks from the Mills & Boon web site - they've now introduced a brand new app  which is the best way to read Adobe® Content Server protected eBooks on your iOS device.

What else? Oh yes - courses - I need to update the info on the courses coming up   including one special

retreat style event called Focus on Writing Romantic Fiction - but there's an Italian calling to me so I'll post about that tomorrow.

If you're still looking for a basic course - check out the details  on the upcoming course at Weetwood Hall -   below -  it has filled up but if you're interested I can find another space for you.  Details are also on the Events page of  my web site and on the Relax and Write website here. 

More details on the other course(s) and the Focus retreat as soon as I get some more words added to my total for Dario and Alyse! 

Countdown to Christmas 8

Thank you all for your comments yesterday and for  the private messages too.  I know that it has been a difficult year for many people and  sharing  helps us feel  that bit warmer and more connected. It's one of the reasons why I decided to run the Countdown to Christmas  again this year - and ask you to tell me about yourselves,  even though I've just done the Big Blog Tour as well.

My book stock cupboard is looking much barer than before as a result but it's lovely to know that my stories are going around the world and hopefully brightening that day for someone who needs it.  That is one of the great hnours of being a writer - the way of being able to touch someone's life when they need it without even knowing it.

Yesterday's winner of a copy of The Italian's Forced Bride is  Debby -  so please let me know your postal address Debby

Oh and to answer Kaelee - yes, there is Cordero's Forced Bride as well as The Italian's Forced Bride  but that;s it for the Forced Brides! Personally it's not a title I've ever liked - it's one of those that come from the 'buzzword'  type of titles - that now thankfully seem to be behind us. Incidentally,  do you like the new titles? Just wondering.

Anyway today's give away is a replay of Day 3 - This is At The Sheikh's Command. You may remember that  Lois won  a copy of this back then, but then she realised that she already had the book  so  I swapped it for another backlist title - and At The Sheikh's Command is  still available for a giveaway 

So to remind you  about this 2006 book

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 the question is -
Who in your family  is the most difficult person for you to buy a present for - and who is the easiest?

My answer to  that - to both questions would have to be my  DH the Babe Magnet - he's easy to buy for because all he ever asks for are books - books - and more books.  But that in my mind makes him the most difficult - because  there is never any variety in what  he wants!
Oh well, they are always easy to wrap !

PS - I'm adding an apology that I don't manage to answer all your comments  everyday. I do read them - obviously because I have to get the names to allow Charlie to pick the winners - but with so much to do and the prizes to send out etc I just don't have the time to respond to every single one. I'm so glad to see everyone joining in, 'old faces' and new   frieds turning up - you are so welcome.  And I'm so happy that you've come to visit.

Countdown to Christmas 3

Thank you to everyone who came by to tell me a bit  more about yourself yesterday -  it seems that my readers are spread far and wide, which is wonderful.

First - some lucky winners
 Over on Romance Book Paradise, the winner of the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance is Juanita Kees
and my first Countdown winner  is Sunu

Please email me  - see the  link at the bottom of my web site hom page - with your postal address abd I'll get the prize in the post to you.

To those who didn't win  - please make sure you come back every day and join in as there are still lots of prizes to win, right up until Christmas.

Today's giveaway book is an older novel - At The Sheikh's Command was published in 2006.

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 is -  how do you decorate your house for Christmas? Do you like traditional  decorations - holly, tree, candles - or do you go for something different? If you don't live in the UK or USA please let me know what is a 'traditional'  way of decorating for you.

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for another giveaway . . .

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.

Favourite Kate Walker - Lynne Raye Harris

As I promised, today is a post in that irregular series - My Favourite Kate Walker. I have rather neglected this as a result of pressure of work/life/everything else but I'm still keeping an eye on it for the celebration of 25 years since my first book ever was published. If you have an absolute favourite of my books, feel free to let me know about it and you might see your post on this blog.

Today's author is someone else who has had a difficult week with a husband in hospital and then back home - so I'm sending her a hug and a smile (and a gentler one for her husband!) So let me introduce you to Lynn Raye Harris.

Many of you will recall that Lynn won the very first Presents Instant Seduction contest back in 2008 and when I first met her at the RWA conference in San Francisco she was halfway towards being convinced that her book just wasn't going to make it as she dealt with the revisions asked of her.

She says I gave her the advice she needed- well, that was simply that revisions are a fact of life for all authors from first book to 100th and beyond. I'm surprised that she gave any credit to what I said as I believe I was dressed in my pajamas at the time - this was at the eHarlequin PJ party after all. I liked Lynn from the start and we bonded even more the following year when we shared a wonderful dish of fries and garlic sauce in a Washington restaurant. I'm only sorry that I won't make it to RWA this year so we can meet up again .

Here's Lynn:

As a new author for Harlequin Presents/Mills & Boon Modern, I have to tell you all that I was a bit apprehensive about joining this illustrious family of writers. What would they think of me? Could I possibly talk to any of them without descending into fangirl stuttering? Would my stories live up to the promise of the line?

Kate Walker was the second Presents/Modern author I met in person, and the first I talked to when I was on the verge of selling. I will never forget her kindness or her bubbly personality. She treated me like I was already a member of the fold. And she gave me exactly the right advice at exactly the right moment. I went home and got to work – and then sold my first book shortly thereafter.

So when Kate asked if I could talk about my favorite Kate Walker book for her 25th anniversary, I said yes! Except that I can’t talk about my favorite Kate Walker book because I enjoy them all so much that I can’t pick a favorite. I really can’t! Whether Kate is writing sheikhs or Greeks or Sicilians or (pick your favorite hero), I love them all.

(In fact, I’m currently rereading AT THE SHEIKH’S COMMAND – oh yum!)

But I can talk about one of Kate’s stories that gave me an aha moment as a writer: SPANISH BILLIONAIRE, INNOCENT WIFE. Alannah and Raul’s story is so intense that you just can’t stop turning the pages. What did I learn from this book? I learned how finely one can spin out the emotions of a character, how intense the suspense can be when one character needs to tell the other a dark secret and doesn’t want to do so. I learned about the deep ache of thwarted love, and how two people can want each other so much and still not think it will ever work out.

That book was intense, y’all! Steamy and dark and so emotional that I was biting my lip as I kept turning those pages. But you know how it turns out, even if you haven’t yet read it. Alannah and Raul get their happy ever after, though it’s an emotional trip to the end. It was the kind of book where you close it and can’t immediately begin another because you need to think for a while.

I hope I put half that emotion into my books! And if I do, I surely learned how by studying Kate’s work. Many congratulations, Kate, on twenty-five years of excellent storytelling. I hope you keep telling stories for another twenty-five years!

Thank you Lynn! I 'd love to think I have another 25 years' writing ahead of me!

Lynn has a couple of books out this month - so look out for them. The Prince's Royal Concubine - which uses one of my favourite themes in a romance, the way that the weather (in this case a huge storm) traps the hero and heroine together so that they are forced to face up to their conflict because there is literally nowhere to go. It makes for an intense and claustrophobic atmosphere - is out in Presents in America and The Devil's Heart is on the shelves now in the UK. I know it is because I bought my own copy yesterday. Just need a little time to read it.

You can find out more about Lynn and her books here

I'm back . . .

And I had awonderful weekend. The Babe Magnet definitely gets big brownie points for this. Two nights in a lovely country house style hotel with a spa, swimming pool. large grounds . . . The Offspring and his lovely partner joined us too so we have the whole weekend together.

I swam, I had a massage and a facial, lovely meals, I drank a little wine . . .It was fabulous. And I came back feeling a few years younger instead of older!

Oh yes - and that book - well, in my birthday post there was my very first ever manga edition of one of my books. I've wanted to see one of these for ages so to have the first one delivered on my birthday was just fantastic. Fascinating too to see my story - At The Sheikh's Command - told in this very special stylised format. Some bits of it, I could tell exactly which scenes were being illustrated - others. . . well - no . . .

So now to round off the birthday celebrations - a couple more prize giveaways - the names Sid has picked this time are:
Romy and
Linda C

Oh - and Host - you need to claim a prize from over on Tote Bags 'N' Blogs.

So if you could all email me I'll sort out a prize for you all - and thank you to everyone who sent brithday greetings here or privately - I had a wonderful celebration. Thank you so much for joining in

My First/Favourite Kate Walker book- A Reader's Story

Another reader's story about her favourite Kate Walker books.

A few weeks ago I told you about some of the writers I've worked with who had good responses from the Presents writing contest and today's reader is one of those.

Because of course the writers who succeed are usually voracious readers too.

I met Rachel at one of my Workshops - for the Guildford Festival - and I'm hoping to see her again when I run a Writing Romance weekend course in Southampton. (There are spaces left on this course - and all my courses so far if you want to book check out the Events page on my site.)

See you there Rachel!

Here's what Rachel has to say about discovering my books - and her Favourite Top 5

About six years ago a little miracle happened when the second grumpiest baby in the world actually fell asleep in his pram going round a charity shop (the first grumpiest had just started school). After years of sleep deprivation and the self neglect most new mums go through, I was beginning to feel desperate. Desperate for something different, desperate for something just for me, desperate for an escape from the hideous routine of it all and then I saw it. The little paperback wasn’t a Kate Walker but it had a photo of Santorini on it, the blurb promised romance, luxury and of course a gorgeous Greek—just about as far from reality as it was possible for me to get right then.

I’d never read a Mills and Boon before, I’d never read a romance per se (far too much of a literary snob!) but that day I sat down on a damp park bench and read something properly for what felt like the first time in five years. It was bliss. That little book fitted snugly into my handbag and the chapters were just short enough for me to treat myself whenever I could sneak the odd half an hour. Before I knew it, I was hooked and fed my new habit from charity shops over the next two years—I truly believe those books preserved my sanity!

Then we got our first computer. The first thing I did was book my grocery shopping on line, the second was to Google Natasha Oakley whose lovely book I was currently reading. My eyes were opened wide that day when I read her biography, writing her first book on the kitchen table with all those children around and highly recommending a certain person’s 12 point guide.

My youngest was just about to start preschool and I thought ‘well if she did it, I wonder if…?’ I used my newly acquired internet shopping skills to order Kate Walker’s amazing 12 Point Guide and promptly went out to see if I could find a book by this mysterious Kate Walker. Blow me if I couldn’t find a single book by her in any of the five charity shops in town. Now I know why: everybody keeps them! Fortunately W H Smiths saved the day and I greedily snatched up At The Sheikh’s Command…

The rest, as they say, is history and Kate Walker is now firmly on my ‘buy without hesitating’ list, but I think my most favourite so far is The Spaniard’s Inconvenient Wife. This is a truly memorable book for me in so many ways but I won’t spoil it for anyone who’s not read it by revealing the best bits!

If that’s my number one then the rest of my top five would be:

Rafael’s Love-child

The Italian’s Forced Bride

The Antonakas Marriage

A Sicilian Husband

And Kate Walker ‘does’ the BEST Italian men, believe me!

Thank you Rachel! And good luck with your own writing - I'd love to be able to announce your first book on here.

Friends and Books

I had a wonderful evening yesterday. Meeting up with lovely Susan Stephens and her personal handsome Alpha Male, enjoying a meal and sharing a bottle of wine - and talking books,editors, writing, markets, books . . . It was great. Thank you Susan - we must do it again soon.

And then on to the poetry event in Borders where the Magnet had a great time too. He was so involved in chatting to everyone, talking about poetry and enjoying himself that they had to be asked to leave as the shop was closing! He was also delighted to see how many of his books the shop had on display.

And while I was there I spotted that the newest Mills & Boon titles had been delivered and were on display so of course I had to go and make my selection. And for the very first time I saw the 3 in 1 collection Sold to The Sheikh where my 2006 book At The Sheikh's Command is reprinted together with other novels by Miranda Lee and Emma Darcy.

I thought that the original cover of this book was great when it came out 3 years ago, but this new collection cover is just fabulous when see in print for the first time.

Beyond the Hearts and Flowers

I'm back. Did you even notice I'd been away?? I was so busy preparing for the course I was teaching that I never got a moment to post before I left for Leicester and the Writing Romance: Beyond the Hearts and Flowers course this weekend.

I had a fabulous time. It's amazing the way that 12 people who have mostly never met before (14 if you include the tutors) can meet and 'gell' quite so fast that in a couple of days I felt as if we'd known each other for ages and that I'd made a whole bunch of new friends.

I knew it was going to be a good weekend, if only because I was teaching with my great friend Julie Cohen who I haven't seen in far too long and I was right about that. Julie is always wonderful company and as a co-tutor I doubt if I could have picked anyone better. But I wasn't prepared for was just how much fun the whole weekend was, from the first welcome cups of tea, through the teaching sessions, the meals, the evenings swapping ghost stories in the bar (and being told to be quiet because we were laughing too much!) the critique sessions , the Writing Sex class where the poor man asked to bring us in a heater (this was another cold WET summer weekend) fled rapidly as soon as Julie told him what we were doing . . .

It was one of the best courses I've ever been involved in and that was down to those 12 people who made up the class. So, in no particular order -

Liz , Jo , Jacqui , Lara, Melanie, Pat, Karen, Sue, Gray, Jane, Sarah, Marie it was wonderful to meet you

And of course Julie - Thank you all for a fabulous time.
And thanks to Sally and Bonnie from Arts Training Central for organising everything and for all the photocoyping!

Now I have to catch up - again ! The Great Big Blog Party is over (sniff!) but I have plenty to do. I still have some winners to announce and, looking at the last Party Post, I have some questions to answer that will give me some material for the next couple of blog posts.

And of course I have THE DEADLINE . . . .So I'm going to be busy.
Oh, and there's one thins I should mention.

Recently I've had a flurry of emails asking about the internet story Stolen By The Sheikh that was the result of the Writing Round Robin that I did on eHarlequin last year. This story is linked to the later book At The Sheikh's Command and the two cewntral charaters of S B T S appear in that book at the end.

This story was available as a special ebook mini on eHarlequin and then it disappeared. Because so many people were asking about it, I checked with eHarlequin and to my delight they have reinstated this ebook - and what's more it's available for free! So if you're one of the readers who wants to get you hands on this story, you can find it here to read absolutely free.

Kate Bit - Good news and poetry

Before I post the next guest blog I need to just sort things out, making sure who has sent a blog and who hasn't so here's a quick Kate bit to say

1. I was checking my links and things on the blog this morning to make sure that all were still working anbd accurate and I discovered that both At the Sheikh's Command and The Italian's Forced Bride have lovely big red Sold Out signs across them over on eHarlequin.

Which is great news for me - not so wonderful if you were looking for copies of either book to buy. Apparently they are still available in the Large Print editions on eHarl so I'll leave the links live for a little while - and there are some lurking on the Amazons. But if you're one of those who've bought a copy already, I owe you a great big THANK YOU! for such a wonderful result.

2. In her guest blog, Julie Cohen set the challenge to readers to write a poem about one of my books - if you haven't already checked out the contenders, I do recommend that that you go and check them out - there are some great entries. And no, Lord Alfred is not the BM ! (Though I think I know who . . .)

In honour of which, and because there was a general request for a printed version of some of the poems that were read out at the celebration dinner - I'm still waiting for permission and copies to print of the other poems, but I've twisted the BM's writing arm and have been allowed to reproduce a copy of the poem by 'im indoors.

Important - please remember that this is copyright:

ROMANCE

For Kate Walker

And it's the wonderful, colourful dance of life

We sing today

And we believe what we say
For the words we make
Are about the chances we take

And it's the romance of life
The irrational passionel that enhances life

We sing today,
The high not the low,

The fire and the glow,

The words flying high

From the new lover's sigh.

We sing today

And in the dance of each heart

The fearful new start,

The wonderful, colourful dance of life.

In romance we revisit the spoken vow

And the warming rush of living now.

The uneasy taking

And the laughs in giving.

We sing today
And we believe what we say

For the words we make

Are for their own sake

For the believers who dance
And still delight in the thrill of chance

We sing today

(c) Stephen Wade 2007