40 for 40 - Anne McAllister

Do I need to introduce you to today's guest blogger?
Anyone who has followed my blog for some time will recognise my dear friend Harlequin Presents author,  Anne McAllister.  She has appeared on this blog many times,  as my friend, fellow author and of course, the late lamented Sid Sidney's Lady Across the Pond.  She's shared Sid, the other cats, the hedgehog family - the Hecks  - and as she now tells you, amazingly her husband and mine share - well, an on-going conversation.

Welcome Anne!

When Kate asked me if I would write a post for the 40th anniversary of her marriage to The Prof (UK version), of course I said YES!

What else could I possibly say. There are just some people that you find an instant connection with. And Kate and I shared that from when we began corresponding on an authors' loop long ago now.  But there are not a lot of people with whom one's spouse finds an equally kindred spirit in the other's spouse.  Our respective Profs (UK and US) did exactly that.

We met Kate's husband at the Doncaster railway station, having been invited for a few days, and wondered if her spouse and mine would find anything to talk about.  They were both English professors. Surely they could find common ground, we thought.  But mine can go days without saying much, and hers might say more, but not necessarily to order. So we were, um, a tad bit apprehensive. 

Did they talk?

When have they shut up?  They talked their way out of the railway station, at tea, all the way home in the car. They talked in the back garden, in the shops, on the way to a) Lincoln, b) Grasmere, c) Millom, d) York, e) all of the above (answer: all of the above. See first sentence of paragraph,)

They came to visit us. We picked them up in Chicago. We drove them to Denver. We drove to Cheyenne. We drove home again.  They talked.

We met them in New Zealand. They talked.  And talked.

Now they can FaceTime.  My husband, who can talk 30 seconds to his children and grandchildren on FaceTime can explain Complicated Multi-Phase Stuff That He Works On In The Basement to The Prof UK.

They write poetry

.  They spent several soggy days at Grasmere, writing stuff while the saner members of the foursome were out buying raincoats and umbrellas. 

So it's fun to spend time with Kate Walker and her Prof.  We also appreciate their generosity. They have shared their cats with us. Sid, of course.  I have volumes of correspondence from Sid. But  Bob and Spiff communicated now and then, too. And Dylan even write me Potry -- because he attended his dad (The Prof UK's) Potry Class and so He Knew How To Do It.  Now Charlie (aka Chaz) writes me missives and Flora deigns to communicate occasionally. She tends to prefer FaceTime, too, though.  Not a letter writer, our Flora.

They have also shared their hedgehog family, the Hecks.  And, of course, we have shared the McAllister D.O.G.S. with them. 

There are not many couples we know with whom we've had a stupendous time no matter where in the world we are.  Kate and Steve are one such couple. We count our blessings regularly -- and Kate and The Prof UK are right there among them.

So, to both of you, The Prof (US) and I wish you a wonderful anniversary. (Your gift is on its way. Truly.  You must put it whe

re you can see it -- and live by it!).

I would add pictures, but my computer (the REAL computer with the pictures on it) is (I hope) recovering at a friend's house (he's a computer guy who Knows Things and might be able to save it).  So, I can't post any. But chances are that Kate has a few pics that she can add.  If there are pics, thank her.  I will.

 

 

PS From Kate - there are pics. It was easy to find photos of Anne, of  Sid The Cat - the  D-O-G-S. Even The Hecks the hedgehogs were easy to find - but The Profs?   I can't find one of them together!  They must be off somewhere - talking!

Which takes me to Anne's question -
Where  would you  suggest the Profs and their spouses go next (it's like the garden gnome goes round the world) to keep up the conversation?

Anne is giving away a copy of  Breaking the Greek's Rules  to one lucky commenter (if you promise not to look too closely at the cover - it's - er not one of Anne's favourites!)

Happy 4th of July to you and The Prof USA  Anne!  (And to everyone else who is celebrating it.)


You can find out more about Anne on her website

When I find him . . . .

. . . Charlie will be picking some winners.
The contest to win the Haworth/Bronte souvenirs after my visit to Haworth to talk about  The Return of The Stranger has now closed.

So has the Great Big Blog Tour Stop 11 giveaway for comments over on We Write Romance to win a copy of the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance

And as soon as Charlie comes in he will pick winners for both  .. . .er though that may be  a little while yet.    Charlie is a young cat,  having as he would say only just got a number -  that number being one. One year old.  So he is always desperate for the door to be opened and to get out into the garden - and he's never too desperate to come back inside! 

But at some point in the day  the urge of his tummy will bring him in and then I'll set him on to winner picking and announce the results  as soon as he's done his job.

Charlie is ready to become the winner picker  for the future but he would just like me to mention his loving memory of  The Great Sid  - that Cat of Superior Breeding  who taught him all he knew. Some of my gentlest memories of Sid's last days are of him and Charlie sitting in the hall - just hanging out together. And I'm sure that Sid was passing on all the wisdom of his 16 years,  He will have taught the Young 'Un  well, as I'm sure all the future prize-winners will know.

And so - for  Julie, Desere, Rita   and everyone else who have asked for 'more cats'  (Julie Thank you for the pic of Vala and Teyla and my sympathies on the loss of Mia -  I know exactly how you feel)  I've added a few cat picures to today's post to amuse you while you wait for the winners' names to be drawn.

And the next Blog Tour  Dates and stops will be coming up later this week - you can see the itinerary  here.  Don't forget that it you join my newsletter list  - see the sidebar  - you'll also get up to date news  and extra chances to win!

Friendships

One of the great things about having Sid the Cat in my life was the way that he made friendships so easily - and with so many people.  I shouldn't have been surprised (I wasn't really) to find that so many of you have enjoyed  meeting him through my blog and this was no matter whether he had ever picked you out as a prize  winner in a contest or not.

One of the really special things was the friendship between The Cat of Superior Breeding and his dear Lady Across the Pond Anne McAllister. They perhaps met half a dozen times in all, but it was a union of minds. She knew just the right place to rub him behind the ear, she  provided the  special bowl and they shared  a communication that was  unique.   Those six visits were spaced out over years - but he never forgot her, always ran to the door to greet her when she arrived,  and it will be hard to have her come and sit in my office in the future without a large black tabby insisting on joining us because - well, you can give ear rubs as well as talk/read/write . . . can't you?

Anne will miss Sid too and she's written her own commemorative blog about him.  It made me sad to read it, as well bringing back great memories - but one thing the photos she posted did was to remind me how fabulous a cat he had been  - which let me know that the poor 1/4 of a cat that the cancer reduced him to was not what he would have wanted to be. And that I did the right thing  - for him.

It's so hard to make that decision for someone you love - I've done it more times than I care to remember - but afterwards, I'm always glad that we can do this and stop the glorious creatures who have given so much to our lives from suffering any more.  To anyone who's having to make that decision right now - I totally understand - and I hope you know that what is the hardest thing for you is the most gentle, loving thing for your pet.

A Cat of Superior Breeding

This one's tough to write  - but so many of you have shared in the cat charisma of  my lovely Cat of Superior Breeding  - many of you have received prizes as a result of his totally objective and  enthusiastic choosing of winners names for my contests  so I have to share.  Yesterday I lost my beautiful cat Sid.

Fourteen years ago,  we opened our back door and our then black and white cat Spiffy  walked in, followed by a large,spectacularly beautifully marked black tabby  with great big paws and a thick soft furry tail. He lived here, his attitude said - he belonged.

And yes he did. He belonged.
We tried to find previous owners  - but only at the beginning. When we realised that he had air gun pellets in his belly where he had been used for target practice, and that some of his whiskers had been pulled out, we gave up  - no one who did that deserved him. And we were amazed by how trusting and affectionate he was considering what he'd been through. He slept for the first  3 months with his eyes open, twitching in his sleep - and if he went outside and the door shut then the whole neighbourhood  new it. He would stand at the back door - his door - and YELL!  And he would continue to yell until someone turned up to let him in.

I named  him Sid - after Rambling Sid Rumpo in the Round the Horne radio programmed. That dates me but the name fitted - except it didn't stay at just Sid.  Bit were added here there and everywhere until he became Sir Sidney St John Eamonn  Willoughby Portly-Lummox.  Anne McAllister, one of his greatest fans - and a  deep friend, their meeting was a meeting of minds - added  'Bart' - Baronet - Laird of Hellion's Bumpstead and Earl of Blubberhouses (we share a love of some of the more ridiculous names of UK villages. 

Anne also shared Sid  for all the years of our friendship (mine, hers and Sid's) She became his Dear Lady Across The Pond,  her  Gunnar the Great   the d-o-g  that Sid could tolerate at this distance! And she gave Sid his starring roles in her books  The Great Montana Cowboy Auction  and his final appearence in One Night Love-Child.  So  Sir Sidney became, on the pages at least, a American cat too.

She bought him a ten gallon hat - several ten gallon hats in different colours,  perfectly happy to go into a shop and ask for a 'ten gallown hat for a cat'. And she sent him a special food bowl - one that she knew would suit him perfectly.  'Bad to The Bone' it said. And no one - no one else was ever allowed to eat from him.  No one else ever will.

He was a cat of substance - Anne had him right when she described him as A Cat of Superior Breeding. He may have come in off the streets but he made himself into a gracious host in no time, hurrying to meet visitors, to wind himself round their legs and give them his special head butts of welcome. If you picked him up, he woold immediately put his arms round your back and HUG.  He got on well with everyone - all the other cats even Flora the Floozie and  Charlie Rumpusscat were tolerated, taught respect with a well aimed paw.  The one cat who was always his arch rival was Dylan  who was an ex-street-tom like himself and they held themselves apart. each guarding his own territory. When Dylan went missing in March we already knew that Sid had a sore mouth that wasn't healing - sadly, an investigation a month or so later proved that this was mouth cancer  and totally inoperable.  We could manage on painkillers and love  until it was too much. For months that worked - his enthusiasm for food - something that never dimmed  - continued, in fact it increased as he became slightly senile and forgot that he'd just been fed  - or claimed he had.

Yesterday we knew it was too much.  That cancer was making his life unliveable. He couldn't eat, had lost too much weight  he was bleeding. The growth had spead into his head, his eye. It was time to let him leave peacefully.  My thanks go to the vets who help us help these beautiful creatures and make sure they slip away so gently, so softly that you can have  no doubt you've made the right decision - for them.

 I don't know how old Sid was when he first chose to walk into my life and my heart - 18 months? 2 years?  I just know I have an empty 14 year old space in my life. I don't have any regrets  though - for  Sid.

Flora  has been suprisingly cuddly - she's not a deeply affectionate cat - Charlie is clearly worried by the space in his life too. Over the past months he has spent long hours  lying in the hallway, just a few feet away from Sid,  just   chilling. It seems as if he was absorbing  the wisdom of the Great Cat - and communicating without words or fuss.

Charlie   will take over the responsibility of choosing my winners in the future - he's been taught  by the Master. He's not yet A Cat Of Superior  Breeding  - he has a lot of growing up to do to fill such big paws. But I know he'll remember his friend and miss him as we all do.

How can you not miss 14 years of love and purrs and head-butts, a large, furry spread of cat over half my desk when I was working  - obviously meant to inspire me (waht alpha male could compete  with that sight.)  .  - and a heavy, snoozing  weight on your back when you wake in the night.

There's a lot to miss  - he was a  great cat. A Cat of Superior Breeding.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 22

I'm getting later and later posting - but that's only to be expected - I have a kitten climbing up the christmas tree, frozen pipes, more snow coming down - and still got parcels to wrap!

But Sid has come back from wherever he went wandering and the winners he's chosen for the prizes are:

Julie M wins a copy of Cordero's Forced Bride

and

Caroline wins a copy of The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife

Please send me your postal addresses ladies!

Today's book is a recent title - it came out in 2009 and it's - Kept For Her Baby.

Wanted: wife and Mother...
Staring at the granite-handsome features of Italian billionaire Ricardo Emiliani, Lucy knows she's made a mistake coming back to their palatial Lake Garda home. But she'll do anything for her baby son—even return to the husband who never loved her...
Ricardo branded his wife a gold-digger, however, tiny Marco needs his mother so he will keep Lucy captive on his private island until she proves herself a worthy wife—in every sense...

Kept For Her Baby is in the Dark Nights with A Billionaire collection for Presents Extra.

And today's question is . . . what do you do on Christmas Eve?

Anything? Nothing? Do you put out a mince pie for Father Christmas or a carrot for Rudolph?
The last thing I do is to put up the Christmas crib that has been in my family since I was a baby - so it's just about an antique. We put up out all the figures except for the model of the baby Jesus - that goes in on Christmas Day.

Then when my son was little we'd leave out a plate with a mince pie and a carrot - perhaps a glass of wine for Santa and some water for the reindeer too! I used to have to leave just the carrot stub with teeth marks in it!!

Do you have any special Christmas Eve traditions? If you don't - well just come and chat anyway. Tell me something you have planned for this holiday and as long as you comment you'll be included in the draw!

PS - Please remember to check past posts in case you're a winner and have missed the message! Gaelikka - you for example!

Advent Calendar Book Giveaway Day 21

Time has got away from me - and I can't find Sid!

So here's the Advent Calendar book and question for today - and you can still answer yesterday's if you want until I can find The Cat and then I'll announce winners when I have them Today's book is The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife 2007

He thought she was his mistress . . .

Recuperating on his private Greek island after a car crash, Andreas Petrakos had no memory of the previous year. The last thing he remembered was his passionate affair with beautiful Rebecca Ainsworth.

. . . when actually she was his wife!

Becca returned to the island because Andreas had asked for her. But she had to hide the truth from him. So what would happen when he recalled throwing Becca out - on their wedding day - for a reason only he knew?

And the question?

Tell me about the best present you've ever been given - big or small.

It doesn't have to be expensive - but something - the best things often aren't costly! Something that meant a lot to you and that you treasure - perhaps because of who it came from.

Or perhaps, like Charlie and Flora - because they bring so much joy every day.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 19

Just the book info and a question today .

When I get back from Frozen Yorkshire I will get Sid on the job of picking out a winner for Saturday (Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife) and Sunday.

And today's book is the latest 3 in 1 collection that my novels have been in - The Italian's Baby Bargain.

The book that's reprinted in here is The Italian's Forced Bride which has been a giveaway (back on Day 7 ) so Alicia who won then won't want to try for this.

But Alicia I don't have your postal address so your copy of the book is still sitting on my desk! Would all winners please make sure they let me know where to send your prize or you will miss out.
Anyway - The Italian's Forced Bride

"As long as I want you, you stay — and you only leave when I give you permission to go."
Alice Howard spent six passionate months as Domenico Parrisi's mistress. But she knew he would never love her back and would soon discard her — so she left him.

But now Domenico wants her back in his bed, and his terms of possession are the same as before—until he makes a discovery that changes everything: Alice is carrying his child.

Waldenbooks #1 bestseller
This book won Best Mills & Boon Modern Romance in Cata Romance's Reviewers' Choice Awards!

The other authors with books in this collection are: Trish Morey and Kim Lawrence

And today's question - let's look at books again (always a good subject)

When you buy your romances, what influences you most? Do you buy because of the author? The line? Which lines are your favourites that you buy from most often? Does the cover influence you? Or the title?

As always - post an answer in the comments section . And yes, you can post for both Saturday and Sunday until Sid The Cat has chosen. Which he will do on Monday

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 12

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

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

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

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

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

The return of the proud Greek husband...

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

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

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



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

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



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

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 6

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


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




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

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

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



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




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

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



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

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



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


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

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

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

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

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

Charlie's Diary

SATURDAY
Big day. Today I'm going to my forever home. Can't wait. But first I had to stoke up on cat crunchies. You never know when you're going to get enough to eat. I live with five other kittens (my litter brothers and sister and Christopher and Pollyanna from the other litter) so I need to make sure I get to the food bowl in good time. Was still stoking up when my Mum and Dad arrived. Sorry, but they had to wait. A guy's got his priorities. And my belly is my priority.

I got put in the cat transporter. Not happy about that as it usually means a trip to the v-e-t but then I usually go along with the whole gang for that. This time I was in a cosy bed - but I still didn't want to be shut in. So I complained . Loudly. Got some good head rubs - result!

At the house I was let out at last. This looks like a good place. They had grub waiting for me straight away - a treat to settle in they said. I'm settling! And The Offspring and his lady came to welcome me too - I got lots of strokes and head rubs.

Met Grandad Dylan. He's OK for an old dude (he's nearly 17!!!). Small though. I'll soon be bigger than him. Cool! He just dozes or stare into the flame thing. (We didn't have one of those in my old place). Says he's worshipping the fire. His answer to anything - meeting me - me pouncing on his tail - trying out his bed - is 'Whatever' . He's got a great attitude for an old. (But I think I'd better not pinch his spot in front of the flame thing.)

Met Sid the Cat. Seems like he's the main man around here. Big respect. Gotta go careful with him or I get the paw round the ear. But I've been hanging out with the really big guys like Harley, Raven and my dad so I can handle myself. Sid says he's ACOSB - a cat of superior breeding. I said I was a COSH - a cat of stunning handsomeness. I think we'll get along. I fancy pouncing on his tail but I think I'll wait - that paw to the ear wasn't funny!

Met Flora - oh boy! She's a Maine Coon like me and quite a doll for an older woman but what an attitude! Hissing and wrinkling her nose at me. The language! Well I wasn't standing for that so I gave her The Growl and went off to play in my tunnel. You could tell she wanted to join in but she was keeping her dignity! The spider ball and the purr got her tempted though - I give great purr! And as for the catnip mouse - does she think I didn't catch her playing with that when she thought my back was turned? I'll soon have her playing pounce and chase. Can't wait - that long fluffy tail of hers is just asking to be pounced on. And we did touch noses at the end of the day. She's just playing hard to get. I'll play it cool and we'll see. .

Found out where all the important stuff is - food bowls, water - litter tray - I'm all set!

Oh - and this place has STAIRS! Man, I love the stairs! We didn't have stairs in my old place! I can run up and down them all day long. It makes a great noise.

But now I'm going to take a nap . . .It's been a long day.

Introducing Charlie

A long, long time ago, when I was first married and we moved into a tiny terraced house as our first married home, it was just about perfect . . .

Just about, because as far as I was concerned, there was one thing that was needed to make that home perfect - and that was a cat. I've always agreed with Pam Brown who said: One small cat changes coming home to an empty house, to coming home.

We had a house but we didn't have one small cat . Then one day I was walking past a pet shop when a small ginger kitten came up to the window and waved a paw at me. I was sold - and so was he! I brought him back to the house - and he turned it into a home. We named him Rumpuss because he made a lot of noise. The Babe Magnet wanted to add some of the names of his favourite people at the time so he became Alexander JB Hopkins Rumpuscat. Most people couldn't get their head round Rumpuss. Our elderly neighbour always called him Rufus, but he was polite - he'd answer to anything . He shared our lives for many years - nearly 19 of them. He was there when I had my first book accepted, then published.

When he died, we missed ginger fur so much we had to find another ginger kitten - it wasn't easy. But eventually we found a tiny red and white boy who still had big blue eyes so we named him Robert Redford - though to all his real friends he was just Bob.

Long time blog readers will know that Bob had a stroke and we lost him 3 years ago., As a result of that, I was thrilled to have Flora as a very special Christmas present. A gorgeous, flighty, fun Christmas present.

But I still missed red and white fur around the house. And because of Flora I'd fallen in love with the wonderful cats that Maine Coons are. So when I discovered a lady who lived locally, bred Maine Coons - and had some red cats, I watched her web site just in case. . .

And one day I found this little person on her 'Kittens available ' page.

Now who could resist those baby blue eyes? And even more - how could I resist when I saw that his litter name was Rumpuss! So we went to see him to decide if we liked him - but really there was no decision to be made. He walked right into our hearts and we fell in love all over again. We named him Charlie - but we had to keep that special name as well so he's Charlie Rumpuss now.

He's officially my Christmas present but Christmas has come early this year and yesterday we went to collect him and bring him home. He's crashed out on the settee right now, exhausted after a busy day charging around the house (he loves stairs), chewing his catnip mouse, dashing from one end of his play tunnel to the other - and chewing my toes as I sit at the desk. Last night he came up on to the bed with us. I thought he might be lonely after leaving behind his two brother and sister - but every time I woke up all I heard was loud, continual purring - and he's rarely stopped purring all day.

He has met everyone else in the cat family. Dylan, being a grandfather sort of cat has the attitude of ‘kittens – see it all before’ and he just sleeps through all the fuss. Flora hissed a bit but was intrigued by the fact that he was playing with a ball and purring and she’s keeping an eye on things. It's obvious she really wants to join in but right now she's pretending to hold on to her dignity and holding back for a while. Sid warned him to know his place - but then Charlie was trying to snaffle some of the big guy’s meat at the time! But Charlie's mixed with bigger cats that Sid (I know I've seen them) and he's not cowed - just keeping a respectful distance . . . though Sid's tail is an awafulk temptation . . . (Flora's is a worse one - I think that's going to get pounced on before very long.)

He's just 13 weeks old so he's lost those baby blue eyes and now he looks more like this. He has explored every inch of the house, staked his claim to a seat on the sofa, and knows where all the important places are - food bowl, water bowl, litter tray, food bowl . . . He's also well aware of what the sound of a door opening means and he's furious that Flora and Sid get to go outside while he has to stay indoors. He can just see the garden out there and wants to go and investigate.

I'll have some new pics of him in his forever home as soon as I can upload them - right now he's usually movng too fast for a photo opportunity. But I'll try.

So that's the new member of the family - and I'm sure you'll be hearing lots more about him in the months to come.

My special thanks to Kay and Neil for such a lovely calm, confident kitten - a tribute to the way they care for their babies a

nd socialising them so wonderfully. Believe me, I was tempted by every single one of the kittens they had but Charlie Rumpuss is really rather special.

He has a long heritage of wonderful red and white cats to live up to but I feel he's well up to the task.

And if you're wondering how big he might grow - here's a photo of his Dad McKenzie to show you where the next couple of years might take him. He has big paws and strong bones, so I suspect he will match his father . . . . watch this space.

25th Anniversary Contest - WINNERS

Well - that took some time!

Even Sid was slightly outfaced by the 200 or so entries I had for the contest. But we got there in the end and the names of all the winners are listed below.

Each winner wins one of my backlist books plus a Kate Walker tote bag.

I don't know whether it was Sid's plan but we do seem to have come up with a wide variety of countries - and a large selection of USA states. At one point I thought he was going to pick names from every state in America but not quite

Congratulations to the winners - you should all have been notified but if your name is on here and you haven't heard, check your spam folder - or email me at the address at the bottom of the page

Maggie C Yorkshire

Zoe M Singapore

Winnie K Michigan
Pamela S Alabama

Theresa N S Carolina
Joanne A Massachusetts

Nyla T South Dakota

Rachel B Wiltshire

Linda B Illinois

Debra S Minneapolis

Jayne H Worcestershire

Maurine A Maryland

Debra C New York

Annie Martin New Zealand

Linda E Alberta

Juanita I Florida

Kelly W Manitoba

Frana L Croatia

Hannah B Connecticut
Christine H Coventry

Laurie G Wisconsin

Metha C Georgia
Mary K Tennessee

Christine N Indonesia
Kamini N

Jo G
Louise L from Massachusetts
Alison W from Dumfriesshire Scotland

And the special Newsletter extra prizes go to:

Pat C Texas

Michelle H Durham

Audra H
Xandra James
Afshan N from New York

Nearly November . . .

So that means that it's the last days to enter the 25th Anniversary Celebration Contest and put yourself in with a chance to win a signed copy of one of my backlist books, and a Kate Walker tote bag.

The contest will close at midnight, October 31st wherever the last second of this month ticks away. So get your entries in today.

Full details are on my Contest Page and please don't just send in your name - entries without the answers to the questions will not be included in the draw - ahem - cat choosing.

Sid the Cat is going to be very busy tomorrow - and very happy when he has 25 + cat treats to munch his way through

Another contest!

As I may have mentioned, The Good Greek Wife? was a special project that my editor asked me to write for a mini-series based on the Greek Myths.

The Good Greek Wife? is now released in Presents Extra in the second half of this mini-series which in America is labelled The Greek Tycoons - legends are made of men like these.

I've had some enquiries about these books, wanting to know which other titles are included in this special mini-series. So I thought I'd let you know what the other three books are:

Released in June were:

The Power of The Legendary Greek by Catherine George

and

The Greek Tycoon's Achilles Heel by Lucy Gordon (now guess which myth that is based on!)

and this month (October - ie this week)

The Good Greek Wife? by Kate Walker

and

Powerful Greek, Housekeeper Wife by Robyn Donald

To mark the publication of The Good Greek Wife? I'm running a contest with Lee Hyat of Authorsound Relations through her special Newswire service to win copies of each of the books in the mini series. I have 3 sets of all four books to give away - if you answer the simple question I've asked, then you'll be in with a chance.

You can find the full details here. But be quick - you only have until October 17th to get an entry in.

My 25th anniversary contest is still open until October 31st though. Entries are coming in nicely and Sid the Cat is realy looking forward to helping me choose 25 winners. He may even have to enlist Flora to help him (though I doubt it). Entry details are on my Contest page.

But please - do answer the questions to enter! Just sending me your name and address isn't going to work. No answers, no entry - and no entry means there won't be a piece of paper with your name and a cat treat on it for Sid to choose from - and you wouldn't want to diasapoint a hungry cat - would you?