Courses Coming Up 1

Ok so, I said that I would give some details about the courses I have coming up in case anyone was interested in joining me on one of them. But then it seemed that as soon as I mentioned that, bookings took off with the one just on the horizon - so -

The Advanced Romance Writing Course in February in Fishguard is now totally booked up.Writers' Holiday just in case.

The last two places were allocated this week - so if you wanted to put your name on the waiting list you can - contact Gerry Hobbs  at

 I believe that most of the February Weekend is also full or filling fast - so if you want to consider
Poetry with Alison Chisholm
Short Story writing with Della  Galton (though that may be filled as well!)
Novel Writing with    Rachael Thomas              
Writing Feature Articles with    Simon Whaley
or Painting and Drawing with    Susan Alison 


It will be a good idea to at least make an enquiry with Writers Holiday right now.

Courses for 2015

I've been getting enquiries about possible courses I have coming  up  for 2015. I haven't been able to get round to updating my Events page on my web site yet as all the dates haven't been finalised but  I thought  I'd post what I do know and then if you're interested you can start to plan ahead - maybe save up. Or perhaps you can ask Father Christmas for the cost of a course  as a present?

Also - courses are booking up fast so  I'd better let you know what's still available and what isn't.

OK -

With Writers' Holiday.

Writers' and Artists Winter Workshop Weekend
13th - 15th February 2015

My Advanced Romance Writing Course is FULLY BOOKED
You can ask to be put on a waiting list in case anyone backs out.

There are other courses running  that weekend
Poetry
Short Stories
Novel Writing
Painting and Drawing

The Writers' Holiday site says there are just ten places for the whole weekend still available  at a price of £299


For the Summer Writers' Holiday
There are also only 10 places left  - but you can still get on my Complete Contemporary  Romance course
Dates: July 27th - 1st August 2015
Cost: £499  all inclusive  (accommodation/tuition/meals)
For details of all the courses and events, check out the Writers' Holiday web site.

With Relax and Write

13-15 March at Weetwood Hall Leeds all inclusive fee £249
This is my Focus on Writing Romantic Fiction Retreat 

'Write Romantic Fiction' Retreat with Kate Walker
An ideal course to get your writing moving ahead. This course will help you edit and polish your synopsis and first three chapters.  For those of you who have been working on your novel, your work in hand will receive constructive feedback. There are a limited number of places on this Retreat, so it is essential you book early, in order to send Kate your work in advance for comment and arrange a one-to-one.
Places on this retreat are already limited - with  half the places booked already  so let Relax and Write know if you are interested.  You need to be able to provide three chapters and a synopsis for me to read and discuss with you.,
 Other courses available that weekend:
 'Self-Publishing' with Malcolm Chisholm

'Create a Mini-Memoir' with Alison Chisholm

'Writing the Past' with Stephen Wade

We are still at the stage of planning and organising further courses with Relax and Write - and need to finalise dates and venues but plan to have coming up :
Beginning, Middle and End - Planning Your Novel
and
Writing Romantic Fiction.

More news when I have it myself.
. 
You can find details of courses and other events on my Events page on my web site  and you will also find comments and reviews from students who have been on my courses  in the past here .

Maybe I'll see you somewhere in 2015.

Want to come on one of my writing courses ?

I'm trying to get organised.

The emphasis there is on the word trying. One of these days, I'll turn into Superwoman and have everything under control, everywhere tidy, everything in its right place . ..  but I'm afraid I'm one of those people who work best in 'creative chaos'!   Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

One of the things I'm hoping to get done before the end of the month is to update my web site. It has been sadly neglected in the past year, and I need to get it sorted.   I'll be totally  updating my Events page where I list everything I'm doing like the writing courses I run in  various places through the year.

I have new courses to let you know about - more details on those in my next post - but before I do
  that, I need to  talk about my Advance Romance Writing Course in Fishguard in February .

This course is strictly limited to 15 places available - it has to be limited because it is such an intensive, focused course that it's impossible to manage with any more than this number. Add in the  one to one critiquing sessions and the weekend goes by in a flash,

This year's course has been  sold out  almost since the dates were first announced  last year.

But yesterday I learned of an unexpected cancellation so, for the first time ever, I do  have a single place on this year's course.

It's coming up in February -   Friday 28th February - Sunday 2nd March to be exact.
Where?  Fishguard Bay Hotel  Fishguard  Pembrokeshire
And the cost is just   £229 all  in - that's room, all meals, and the course . . . six workshops sessions and your one to one.


I know it's short notice - but this place has only just become available.  So if you're interested  you can contact me - use the link at the bottom of the page- (kate At kate-walker.com)  or get in touch with Gerry Hobbs of Writers' Holidays who organizes this event  - and you might be able to grab this rare available place.

But  do remember that this is the Advanced  Romance Writing Course. Anyone who attends this course  should have been on  one of my foundation courses - or one run by another writer. And you do need to submit a chapter for assessment. This isn't a one size fits all course, I tailor the workshops to the people attending.  It's focused, intensive - but we also have a lot of fun!

If you're interested contact Writers' Holiday here

If the foundation courses are what you're looking for - more news on that coming up.  And all details will soon be on my Events page (I hope!)

I

Caerleon summers

In 1997 the Babe Magnet wrote a book for a series called How To. His title was Writing and Publishing Poetry.  As a result of that, he was invited to run a course at Caerleon Writers’ Holiday.  When he was contacted by Gerry Hobbs who,  with his wife Anne ran Writers’ Holiday, he asked if they  would like a Mills & Boon author to come along too – ie me.  That offer was accepted enthusiastically, we both went the Caerleon  - and it was the start of a long love affair with the place and the event.

 We fell in love with the setting – a tiny Welsh town with the best preserved Roman amphitheatre in the country - the atmosphere - the  good food  (there is always huge amounts of food, with so much choice ) But most of all with Anne and Gerry who ran a wonderful event with friendliness, informality and made sure that it was exactly as they described it a Writers Holiday. None of the other general  Writers' conferences come anywhere near to Caerleon on these points.

Since then we have gone back to Caeleon every year but one -  and that was only because it clashed with the RWA conference in America and I just couldn’t manage both., Caerleon in July has been so  much a part of our lives that we start to look forward to the next one even as we are driving home from the most recent event,  We have done talks, run courses, organised poetry readings, made friends, each year meeting up again with old friends and making new ones. We helped to celebrate Caerleon’s 25 anniversary and  we have been proud  to be part of the very special writing event.

We’ll be there again In July this year – but sadly probably not after that,

2012 is likely to be the last year that Writers' Holiday takes place in the form it has taken for the last 26 or so years, at the university campus in Caerleon, South Wales. The change is as a result of economic necessities but also other  difficulties so that Writers’ Holidays is unlikely ro continue as it has done in the future.

There's a possibility of Writers' Holiday evolving, next year, at a smaller and different venue, with a correspondingly smaller number of places available, but if anybody has always meant to go to the present Writers' Holiday Caerleon, or thought they might go this year but haven't got around to booking, this is your last opportunity. You can find out more at the web site

The Babe Magnet and I will be there this summer – I will be running the  course  A COMPLETE INTRODUCTION TO WRITING ROMANCE  . The Magnet is giving a Main Talk on something or other.  We will enjoy every bit of the week as we always do  – the courses, the conversations, that food – the Wednesday afternoon trip out – the final evening with the performance by the Male Voice Choir  and we’ll be desperately sad when it’s  over and at the thought  that it will never be the same again.

I’ll let you all know just what plans Anne and Gerry come up with to carry on their wonderful tradition of friendly and helpful writers events – and I’ll hope to see some of you at Caerleon in  July.

And don’t forget that Anne and Gerry also run the fabulous Fishguard Writing Weekend in February  where I   follow up my Introductory course  from Caerleon  with  Advanced Romance. I hope I’ll be able to run the basic course somewhere else next year with Anne and Gerry’s warm  welcome to look forward to.

Coming events - a recap

As I've just been talking to the librarian in Hull who is organising the workshop there, I thought I'd just recap on the details of that and other events coming up where the booking details haven't been totally finalised before-

So - Hull Central Library Monday 8th February 1- 3pm
Workshop on Writin Romance
For details and to book please contact:
Jessica Leathley Senior Librarian here or phone: 01482 331365


Fishguard Writing Weekend 19th - 21st February - there are still places available on the Contemporary Romance course (but of course Historical Romance will be covered as well!) and if you put my name on the application form it should save you an extra £10. (Considering I just saw a different writing weekend costing over £500 , I personally think the £209 this weekend costs is a bargain anyway)
Details here: Writers' Holiday site


Residential Training weekend in Southampton
The course's web site is still down but you can find details and contact the organisers here:
http://hampshire.tk/events/writing-romance-with-kate-walker-at-new-place-shirrell-heath-southampton/

Reasons to be cheerful, Part One

So I finally got around to writing the cheery post - not because I lost any of the cheeriness, but because I found I could add more. Which is great - so . . .

1. The Greek is gone. My scarred Greek hero has left the building and is sitting on my editor's desk (now there's an image) waiting to see what she thinks of him. Zarek Michaelis is no longer my hero (until he returns, needing tweaking no doubt) and I can finally turn my thoughts to a Sicilian who has been waiting patiently since I thought of his story but had to put it aside for Zarek and the Greek Myth project.

2. The sun is shining. Well, it's a little early for that right now, but when I planned this post yesterday it was very definitely shining and creating a wonderful, warm and bright Indian Summer.

3. The flu is gone at last. It lingered like a bad smell, dragging me down, for far too long but yesterday it was wonderful to be back on my walk, in the sunshine (see above) and watchig the squirrels play in the fallen leaves, talk to all the dog walkers and their dogs, see the changing colours and hear those leaves rustling under my feet.

4. I heard from We Write Romance that they had reviewed Kept For Her Baby - and what a review -

"...a masterpiece that will live in the hearts...for many years to come!"
Kept for Her Baby by Kate Walker is sensuality personified with a touch of real emotional upheaval. The fire between the hero and heroine is palpable and intriguing. And while the subject matter dealt with in the plot is harsh, it is so real and well done that if you give Lucy a chance you'll not be sorry because it will make this story a true keeper.

Lucy Emiliani couldn't handle the emotions that came after childbirth. Running on highly unstable hormones and horribly negative thoughts, Lucy sought escape in order to save her child. Even knowing she was branded a bad mother, she braved returning under the cover of night to catch a glimpse of her baby boy. And hopefully catch her husband unaware so she might have a chance at getting what she was after.

Ricardo Emiliani is a rich Italian billionaire who felt as though he'd been trapped into marrying a pregnant Lucy. He'd thought she were an innocent and beguiling girl...until she'd found out who he was and how much money he had. Knowing she was probably just another gold digger didn't diminish the heat between them and he had to have her. While she gave herself and her innocence over freely, she'd also given him something else. The best thing in his life, Marco...before abandoning them both.

When Lucy returns after no word for months he's reluctant to let her back into his or Marco's life, but when his reaction to her is the same fast and furious appeal it had been the first time they'd met, when they'd been strangers, he decided he'd make her an offer she couldn't refuse. And in doing so they found the love that had been missing when they'd married.

Kept for Her Baby kept me intrigued from beginning to end. I was curious as to what could keep a woman from her baby, and not once at the beginning of the story did I imagine it would be mental issues. Maybe threats from someone or the like, but not mental. And those issues were very real and very well done by Ms. Walker. It makes those who might not have had those feelings and bad moments after childbirth see how real it could be, and how hard it would be to live with them and the real fear that you could be putting your child in danger just being with them.

Ms. Walker has created a masterpiece that will live in the hearts of the reader for many years to come!

A masterpiece! No wonder I was smiling all day yesterday.

And in the same email:

5. Again from We Write Romance, I learned that both Kept for Her Baby and my previous book Cordero's Forced Bride had been nominated for the 2009 Reviewers' Choice Award "for being the best in their respective subgenres." So now do you see why I was feeling so cheerful?

6. I've had some emails from readers and would-be writers in Scotland who feel - unsurprisingly - that the workshops I do in Wales (Fishguard and Caerleon) and Southampton involve too long a journey for them to get to. So I was wondering what I could do, if anything, to remedy the situation. And then I got an email from an arts organisation based in Inverness asking if I would be in terested in doing a romance event or maybe more with them early next year. So Scottish readers - watch this space . . .
(I will still be doing Fishguard and Southampton - so it's going to be a busy Spring - details of all events and the Inverness one when it's finalised can be found on my Events page.)

7. I'm blogging over on the Pink Heart Society today about one of my favourite types of reading - ghost stories - just in time for Halloween.

And finally -

Sir Sidney, Princess Flora and Dylan would like you to know that 29th October is National Kitteh Day which is a reason for the to be cheerful and they would like you to help them - and me - celebrate it . So when I'm celebrating I like to share and when Sid is celebrating her likes to - well - eat . . .

So if we combine the two - you tell me one (or more) of your reasons to be cheerful today and I'll get Sid on the job (er - offer him a few cat treats) to pick the names of couple of winners who will win a book from my backlist. I'll add in a pen and one of my brand-new bookmarks.

Let's have some more reasons to be cheerful.

Back!

Actually I've been back for a day or so but I've been trying to catch up on things - including sleep! You don't sleep much on a long weekend course when there are lots of great people to talk to, lots of writing to discuss and a little bit of wine to share while talking.

Not to mention the l-o-n-g drive back from Wales.

But it was worth it. It was a a great weekend. But then it always is in Fishguard - or Caerleon - any writing event run by Anne and Gerry Hobbs is always a warm, welcoming and happy time. And this one was specialy so,

Maybe it was because I had such a great group for my class - 16 lively, intelligent and interesting women all wanting to learn as much as they could about writing the novel and keen to join in in the classes, to make friends as a result, and to just enjoy the whole experience.

Or perhaps it was the addition (one totally unexpected) of two special friends to add extra warmth to the weeked. One, Chris, was on my romance writing course 2 years ago and she was visiting family in Haverfordwest so she came by for the Saturday night. The other was lovely fellow Presents writer Abby Green who wickedly convinced me that she was working so hard on revisions that, even though Fishguard is just across the Irish sea from Ireland, in fact the Rosslare ferry leaves from right below the hotel, she wouldn't be able to come and say Hi.

She lied! After totally deceiving me with texts that claimed to come from where she was supposed to be in Dublin where we had last seen her at the end of January, she was actually on the road to Fishguard and stunned and delighted the Magnet and I by suddenly appearing beside us as we were unpacking the car! What a real joy it was to have her company for the weekend as well. (Incidentally Abby's April Presents release, The French Tycoon's Pregnant Mistress, just earned 4.5 stars and a Top Pick from Romantic Times - congratulations Abby! )

Of course I could add in to the things that made the weekend great the amazing weather - the sun shone and it was actually warm enough to sit out side for coffee breaks and those on the artists' course took full advantage of that. The sea looked wonderful in the sunshine and the Magnet and I were able to appreciate that even more from our fabulous room which had a full balcony overlooking the bay. Not that we had too much time to enjoy it as we were talking, teaching and socialising most of the time.

And then there were other friends from past Fishguard or Caerleon events - special mention to Rachael, affectionately known as my 'stalker', having been to three of the course I've taught. (But then so has Johanna - and Kate and Sarah are coming up close behind!) And crime writers, Lesley Horton and Janet Laurence, new tutor Sophie King who taught the short story course . . . We had to tear ourselves away when Sunday afternoon finally came around.

But we'll be back again. I thought that we wouldn't be visiting Fishguard again for a while but Gerry took advantage of a mellow moment and booked me to teach there again next February - I'll be teaching the Modern Romance course there this time. Details will soon appear on the web site here.

While you're there take a look at the upcoming Caerleon Writers' Holiday where there are - just - a few places (a very few - about 3 I think) left to book. If you want one of those, you'll have to act fast!

So now that I've recovered from the lack of sleep and the travelling (my talk-hoarse voice might take a little while longer) I have to concentrate hard and focus on the latest book - and see if I can put into practice all I talked about at Fishguard.

But if anyone from my course this time is reading this, I just want to send a great big thank you to you all for making it such a special time - Rachael, Brenda, Jo, Kate, Siobhan, Sarah, Christine, Ann, new Granny Anne (have you seen those little twins yet?) , Christine, Vanda, Karen, Jess, Becks, Kirsty, Yvie and Mary.

Hope I'll see you all again soon.

Writing Courses Coming Up

I just heard from the organisers of the Fishguard Writers' and Artists' Workshop Weekend about the people in my group for the workshop I'm running there and sending me their submissions for me to read for the one-to-one sessions. So now I'm looking forward to that.

I've also had several enquiries about the workshops I'm runnng this year so I thought it might be a good idea to remind people who are interested in writing and learning more about it just what I have coming up while there is still time for you to join me if you'd like to.

At the moment here are just two writing workshops planned for 2009 - but the year is young yet so there might be more, you never know. And these two are both in wonderful settings with lots of concentrated time to study - and enjoy yourself.

First of all there is the

Fishguard Writers' and Artists' Workshop Weekend

20th February - 22nd February 2009

I will be teaching The Novel course on this residential weekend. This course will not specifically concentrate on writing Romance but on writing book length fiction. Of course plenty of what I have to say will relate to writing romance but it will also cover much wider ground than just that.

Details and booking forms can be found here.


This course consists of six one hour workshops spread throughout the weekend, starting after dinner on the Friday evening up and going through until lunchtime on the Sunday.

Each guest will be sent a special questionnaire to answer to find out what you want to gain from ther course and what you feel you need most help with.

Although this course is a general one on The Novel, if the majority of the group are interested in writing romance/romantic fiction I will be able to deal with that in more details.

This is a superb, small, friendly and intimate event you’ll love from the time you arrive in Fishguard until the day that you have to leave. You can bring your partners for a leisurely weekend where they can enjoy the unspoilt walks - or just relax and soak up the ambient atmosphere that Pembrokeshire instils in its guests.

There’s nothing extra to pay - the organisers will even collect you from Fishguard or Haverfordwest Railway stations and return you there at the close of the event on Sunday afternoon. They’ll provide 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.

Save £10!!

If you want to join the Fishguard Writing Weekend for this course then adding my name next to yours on the booking form (http://www.writersholiday.net/bookingform.htm) will give you a £10 discount on the cost of the weekend.

Any poets amongst you - the Babe Magnet will be teaching the Poetry Course at this weekend too. But unfortunately you can't sign up for both courses so you get one of us only.

Then in summer - July 25-31, 2009 I'll be at:

Writers’ Holiday at Caerleon

Once again I’ll be going back to one of my favourite places and taking part in the Writers’ Holiday at Caerleon 2009.

This year is a very special year as it marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of Caerleon Writers' Holidays by Anne and Gerry Hobbs who still host this - and the Fishguard event with their own inimitable warmth and generosity. I've always enjoyed every minute I've spent at Caerleon and this year promises to be no exception.

I will be teaching a five part course on The 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance. This one will speciifcally concentrate on Writing Romance.

And at this event as you can choose two courses throughout the week, you can have a chance to sign up for

Writing the Past
A new course for those wanting to write creatively from the past - biography, historical non-fiction, and fiction. Covers research, writing techniques and writing for publication.

This course is run by none other than the Babe Magnet wearing his Historian and Crime Writer hat as opposed to the poetic one for Fishguard.

Further details and booking forms can be found here

Other than the course leaders, main speakers include :

Iris Gower
Jane Wenham-Jones
Lucy Mangan
Katie Fforde
Teresa Chris
Zoe Sharp

I do have one more appearence coming up - hopefully in June -though this will not be a writing workshop. It's something invoved with where I grew up and one of my great interests. So I'm really looking forward to that. More details when I get them

And I just booked to go to the RWA National Conference in Washington in July too. It's going to be a busy year again.

Looking ahead

It must be the start of new term effect or the fact that for years of my life September always meant new beginnings - new term, new school, new courses - and then when I went to university etc new places to live . . . But I always feel more like a new start around the beginning of September than I do at the turn of an old year into a new one.

Updating my web site (with the help of wonderful Heather from We Write Romance) has made me look forward at what's coming up for me. And as I know that some of you want to know about courses, workshops etc that I'll be running, I thought I'd let you know about some events that are on my calendar for the future.

First of all, there's Guildford Book Festival. This runs from 16 - 25th October.

I've been asked to take part in a panel discussing the appeal of romantic fiction together with the fabulous Katie Fforde and Matt Dunn - with Jane Wenham-Jones (who you will know about from my reports on Caerleon Writers' Holidays) acting as compere and asking the questions.

This event will be on 17 October at the Electric Theatre. Time: 7pm

I've also been asked to run a workshop based on the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance - the details have yet to be finalised, but I expect that the workshop will be on the 17th as well - and it will last for about 2 hours. As soon as I get more details, I will post them here - and on the Events page on my website.

A couple of other teaching events I have been booked for are coming up in 2009. The first of these is in February - Februrary 20th - 22nd to be precise.

And that's when I will be teaching on the Writers' and Artists' Workshop Weekend at Fishguard. As many of you know, I have taught in Fishguard before, at the Winter Novel Writers' Weekend but this is a slightly new departure for me. I will be teaching a course on The Novel, not just Romance and I'm really looking forward to the challenge.

And if anyone wants to learn more about writing poetry, then I should let you know that the Babe Magnet will be adopting his poet and Creative Writing Lecturer hat and joining me in Fishguard to run the Writing Poetry Workshop.

You can find more details about this weekend in February here. And as this weekend is run by the fabulous Anne and Gerry Hobbs who run the Caerleon Writers' Holidays then this will be a welcoming and fun event as well as a chance to learn more about writing.

And talking of Caerleon - although being in San Francisco this summer was wonderful, bit the Magnet and I were really sad that the dates for RWA and Caerleon clashed and in order to be in SF we had to miss being in Wales.

But we will be back at Caerleon in 2009 - and I'm already looking forward to it. The Writers' Holiday this time will be a really special one as it is their 25th event.

The Magnet and I will both be teaching a full course (that's 5 one-hour sessions ) at this Writers' Holiday - where I will be teaching Writing Romantic Fiction and The Babe Magnet will be running a brand new course called Writing the Past - this is a course for those wanting to write creatively from the past - biography, historical non-fiction, and fiction. It covers research, writing techniques and writing for publication.

(And if you should want to take both our courses, you can as we are teaching in different parts of the week so the teaching hours don't clash.)

You can find out more about Caerleon Writers' Holidays - and all the extras that they provide as well as the courses - on the web site here.

So these are the teaching events I have coming up in the future - so far. If anything else crops up, I'll let you know. And you can always find these and any further details you need on the Events page on my web site where I'll post anything and everything I'm doing as I get to know about it

And maybe I'll see you at one of these events - if so, please do come and say hello.

Another event coming up

Doing anything Saturday May 19th?

I know where I'll be that afternoon - from 12 - 4pm

Borders bookshop 122 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0JR

Last summer, at the Caerleon Writers' Holiday in Wales, another of the speakers, Jane Wenham-Jones asked me if I'd answer a set of questions for her as part of her research for a book she was working on about writing and the writing life. I was happy to help, the questions arrived a few weeks later - and now the book is out. Wannabe a Writer was published on May 1st.

Wannabe A Writer ? is described like this:

This hilarious, informative guide to getting into print, is a must-have for
anyone who's ever thought they've got a book in them. Where do you start? How do you finish? And will anyone ever publish it when you have? Drawing on her own experiences as a novelist and journalist, "Writing Magazine's" agony aunt Jane Wenham-Jones takes you through the minefield of the writing process, giving advice on everything from how to avoid writer's bottom to what to wear to your
launch party. Including hot tips from authors, agents and publishers at the
sharp end of the industry, "Wannabe a Writer?" tells you everything you ever
wanted to know about the book world - and a few things you didn't...

And knowing Jane it will be written in her own inimitable and funny style. (I just wish I'd had the info on how to avoid writer's bottom before it set in for life). This book certainly has contributions from many authors, agents and publishers - the list of contributors read like a Who's Who in publishing - writers Katie Fforde, Frederick Forsyth, Ian Rankin, Jilly Cooper, Jill Mansell, Publishers Hodder Headline, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Agents Simon Trewin, Jonathan Lloyd and Jane Judd, Journalists Miles Kington, Michael Bywater, Robert Crampton . . .and me.

The official book launch is on Saturday May 19th. Everyone who contributed is invited to go along, celebrate, meet readers and would be writers - and, Jane being Jane, "hopefully have the odd glass of wine!"

So if you're in London that day and have nothing better to do, why not come along and join in the fun? I'll have (hopefully) copies of the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance to sign. I'll also be the one with a slightly shell-shocked look as I'm having an author/editor lunch the previous day to map out my 'career path' and the new contract for the next couple of years. (Basically that will involve me saying 'You want me to write how many books?'). I'll be enjoying an afternoon off before I head back home and get my nose back on the grindstone with the editor's whip cracking over me. (She does it very nicely - honest - but she does crack the whip!)

So maybe I'll see you there?

Or if you can't make it and you'd like a more hands-on writing approach then both Jane and I will be at the wonderful Caerleon Writers' Holiday again this summer.

I'm not running a full course this year - maybe next time . And that means that I shall probably be doing my own writing rather than holidaying some of the time. But I'll also join in some of the other novel writing courses as and when the course tutors ask me to. Jane is teaching 'Novel Writing - Where Do I start?' and I'll be doing a talk as one of the main lectures during the week. I'm saving myself for the weekend-long, intensive - and wonderful fun - Novel Weekend in Fishguard later in the year. (If you're in the RNA there will be a write-up of last year's course in the issue of Romance Matters coming out soon)

Hmm - so that's the course in Leicester, one in Fishguard - Writers' Holiday - this book launch . . . Oh and I'm doing a talk at Doncaster library in July . . . yes, I'm going to have to keep my nose very much to that grindstone the rest of the time. But if you come to any one of these events, please come up and say hello.

Full details of all the events will go up on my web site on - naturally enough - the Events page. just as soon as I have all the details of times dates etc. The Novel Writing weekend at Fishguard is up there now - everything else should go up this week.