Advent Calendar - catch up. Day something . . . .

OK, so I know I have missed some days on the calendar but really that just couldn't be helped.   Hope things will ease up now

But in any case - I'll use this post as a sort of catch up- and put in some extra books.   I ran a giveaway like this last year and it went really well  so I'm trying again.  This is hopefully a giveaway in the true spirit of Christmas - and I hope there's plenty of that around right now.

So I have three copies of the three  in one collection One Night in Madrid to give away. This collection has  my book  Spanish Billionaire,  Innocent Wife  in it.

Two years ago, Alannah left Raul without one word of regret. Now chance has thrown them together once more, and the proud Spanish aristocrat will see that Alannah pays for her mistake.
He had wanted Alannah Redfern the first moment he saw her. Her unique combination of purity and passion intrigued, then intoxicated him. And Raul Marcín was a man used to getting everything he wanted.
Now, Raul knows that Alannah is no longer a naive girl. Until their one night of passion proves that she is still an innocent. Raul will do whatever it takes to keep her at his mercy.


It also has
The Spaniard's Defiant Virgin by Jennie Lucas
and
The Spanish Duke's Virgin Bride by Chantelle Shaw.

And the question? Well this is where the Christmas spirit comes in. Today is not to win a book for yourself but to nominate someone  who you think needs a specail Christmas present this year.
Someone who has had a tough year
Someone who you want to say thank you toi
Someone who might not have so many gifts this time
Someone you want to see smile . . .

In the comments section please nominate the person to whom yo'd like to give this extra present and I'll send a copy of this book to the three winners Charlie picks when I get back to my desk.

Please  play fair on this - choose someone you want to give the book to. And please if you nominated and won last year don't ask for the same person over again.

What I'm hoping for is to make 3 lucky people smile - both because they have won a book - and because they have a generous friend/family member who nominated them for the prize.  This worked so well last year - I hope it works again!

Countdown to Christmas 2

Last year when I had more time and more concentration, I organised a special Advent Calendar for all my readers - every day there was a book 'behind the door'  on the calendar and everyone who came to chat was entered into the prize draw for that day - and all the other days through December. This year I don't have so much time. I've also just done the Great Big Blog Tour which meant that I gave away lots of books already.

But - hey - it's Christmas - and last year I had so much fun with this because I got to ask questions and  to find out more about all my readers.  And I loved that.  So this year I'm running a smaller shorter Countdown to Christmas - with questions and  prizes and - I hope  - lots of chat for the 12 days leading up to the big day.

So here's how it works - I've been cleaning out my book stock cupboard and I've found 12 different prizes to give away. Some are older some brand new, some are collections, some single novels - it all depends on what my hand falls on for the day.  Every day I'll ask a  question - I know there are lots of lovely readers out there and I want to know more about you . You just come and chat with me in the commenst section and at the end of the day I'll get Charlie the Maine Coon busy on picking a winner . . .

One a day for the next 12 days.  Well,  11 days actually because as I explained yesterday over on Romance book Paradise Nas Dean has already started this off with the great  giveaway of a signed copy of the 12 Point Guide - there still a chance to win there if you want to check it out.

And today? Well today's prize is a copy of the 3 in 1 volume One Night in Madrid - this has novels by Jennie Lucas, Chantelle Shaw and me.  And the book of mine that is in this collection is
Spanish Billlionaire Innocent Wife -

Two years ago, Alannah left Raul without one word of regret. Now chance has thrown them together once more, and the proud Spanish aristocrat will see that Alannah pays for her mistake.
He had wanted Alannah Redfern the first moment he saw her. Her unique combination of purity and passion intrigued, then intoxicated him. And Raul Marcín was a man used to getting everything he wanted.

Now, Raul knows that Alannah is no longer a naive girl. Until their one night of passion proves that she is still an innocent. Raul will do whatever it takes to keep her at his mercy.

And for the question?

Well, let's start with something simple  -  I see the counters on my blog mounting up - I have had visitors from 167 different countries - 167!!

But what about you? Where are you from?  What country? What city/town?  What's it like where you live?

I'd love to know

And when Charlie comes down from climbing the Christmas tree, I'll get him to pick a winner for today - then you can come back tomorrow and see what book is on offer then.

The countdown to Christmas has started . . . .

Kate's Corner

It's May 15th so that means that it's my day to guest blog in Kate's Corner  over at We Write Romance. So that's where you'll find me today.

I've been thinking about the way that my birthday last week made me feel - and that made me thankful for all my wonderful friends and readers  who share my life through my books. 

I've said it over there but I'm going to say it here as well - Thank you to everyone who buys and reads my books so that I can keep writing and hopefully keep sharing with you all!

And I hope you'll keep posting some thoughts of what you enjoy in my blog or what you'd like to read about in my blog so that I can put more names into the draw to win a copy of One Night in Madrid.

Thank you!

Missed me?

Where  have I been?  Well, I'm not really sure -  I've been busy working for a start.  At last I've been able to really concentrate on the book and  (my editor will be so pleased about this)  and my recalcitrant hero  Carlos  who  was living up to his nickname of El Diablo - the devil - finally agreed to cooperate a bit more.   So he took  a lot of my attention
Then there was the birthday weekend - was it really a week ago! I had a lovely time with family and friends, visiting York, wandering in the sunshine, treating myself to a couple of dresses. The great thing about having a birthday on a Staurday is that you can make a weekend of it - so I did.  Thak you again to everyone who posted birthday messages on Facebook.


So now I'm back - I hope!   And I have good news.

I was sent a really great review for The Proud Wife yesterday - this is from a site that I didn't know about until now - The  Long and the  Short  Of It reviews.   As  I'd never had a review from this site before, I think it's always really valuable to see a review from a new reader.  It's great to see what they think about a book. And I was thrilled to find that this new reviewer really loved The Proud Wife. She also made some really astute comments on the book.  

She also rated it 4.5 books out of a possible 5.

Hare's part of the review:


Ms. Walker creates two attractive characters with strong personalities and strong wills and then pits them against each other. Marina is English, Pietro is Sicilian. They married shortly after they met when she found herself pregnant and that’s just the beginning of their troubles.

As anyone in a relationship knows, misunderstandings can easily arise. It’s not just what is said but what isn’t said that can cause problems. This author uses this situation to set up the stress and tension between the two. Marina walked out on Pietro and he’s too proud to go after her. They both feel shut out and unloved.

The interplay between during the divorce discussion is amusing and volatile. While these two characters think there is no love left between them, you know there wouldn’t be as much passion and anger between the two if they didn’t care. The author uses the sexual attraction between as a point of contention: Perhaps it was lust rather than love?

I enjoyed watching them trying to work past their problems without actually explaining anything to each other. You know, the old, “If you loved me, you should understand.” It takes communication to develop understanding and this author knows this well, making this an interesting read.
Many thanks to Aloe for this great write-up - and you can see the full review here on The Long and The Short of It

But there is even better news because I woke up this morning to find a message for LASR in my inbox:

We offer a weekend poll at The Long and the Short of It romance reviews—we want to know which book or story sounds like the best read based on our reviews.

The winning author gets a nifty button and the privilege of having their book or story featured at the top of that page the entire next week, as well as getting a custom made video from Goddess Fish Promotions to publicize their review and the win!

Your story "­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­The Proud Wife" was reviewed by us this week and is up for Book of the Week honor this weekend (voting runs from Saturday, May 14th through Sunday May 15th). We thought you might like to know. You can find the information here onSaturday:  http://www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR/index.htm

Thanks and good luck.

Thank YOU LASR!  I'm thrilled just to be nominated for the possible Book Of The Week.   When I checked this morning voting wasn't yet open  - those time zones again! - but I expect it will be possible to vote later. So if  you enjoyed The Proud Wife   it would be wonderful if you did go and vote - and you could explore this great site at the same time.

And now for some good news for you, my lovely blog readers - as you can see I have things to celebrate and when I celebrate I like to share with my readers. Well,l the other good news this week was that I received a delivery of the author copies of the new three in one collection that's published this month - One Night in Madrid.

This great collection has a reprint of my  2008 novel Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife in it together with stories by  Jennie Lucas and Chantelle Shaw.  And I have some copies to give away!
So if you want to share in my (belated) birthday celebrations , please just leave a post in the comments section over the weekend! I'd love to know what you enjoy about visiting my blog (apart from the fact that I sometimes give away books!)  What do you like to read about on an author's blog - what sort of things would you like me to blog about in the future?  I haven't done any writing/craft related posts in a while  - so maybe WTBBIF  - When the B. . . . . Book Is Finished . . . .

Let me know - I'd love to hear from you (and if you tell me you voted for The Proud Wife as Book of The Week so much the better!) - and I will give away  copies of One Night in Madrid to the posters Sid chooses on Monday.

PS The voting for Book of the Week is now open here

Coming in May

It's May - a brand new month, and Spring is definitely bursting out all over,   The sun is shining (well, it is here) the fresh green leaves are on the trees, and there are flowers coming to life in the garden.

Spring is a time for revival and this May I have 'revivals'  for a couple of older titles of mine that are being reissued innew collections or new formats this month.

First here in the UK there is the One Night in Madrid collection  with three sizzling Spanish stories  one by me, by Jennie Lucas and by Chantelle Shaw.

My novel is Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife which was originally published in  2008

Two years ago, Alannah left Raul without one word of regret. Now chance has thrown them together once more, and the proud Spanish aristocrat will see that Alannah pays for her mistake.


He had wanted Alannah Redfern the first moment he saw her. Her unique combination of purity and passion intrigued, then intoxicated him. And Raul Marcín was a man used to getting everything he wanted.

Now, Raul knows that Alannah is no longer a naive girl. Until their one night of passion proves that she is still an innocent. Raul will do whatever it takes to keep her at his mercy.

Then over on eHarlequin.com, an even older book - Saturday's Bride is rereleased in ebook format. This is a bok that I remember writing very well. I always say that I almost had to write it backwards - I needed to get the ending right first and then make sure that every other scene fitted with that ending! Want to know why? You'll have to read the book.

And for all of you who sometimes wish we had  somne 'homegrown' heroes  rather than the Mediterranean men or sheikhs who are so popular now - here's one of my very sexy Englishmen!

Connor Harding was outraged to come back home and discover that Jenna Kenyon was getting married—to the wrong man! But he knew Jenna was determined to prove him wrong, despite the passion still smoldering between them.

Connor decided that all was fair in love and war. Only five days remained before Jenna became Saturday's bride, but it was more than long enough for him to persuade her to change her mind.

And of course, The Proud Wife is still available in Presents Extra. Thank you so much to everyone who has already bought it and given it two weeks on the Booktrack bestseller list!

Contest on My Tote Bag

There is a Kate Walker Contest  running on My Tote Bag  where Lee Hyat is running a series of contests where you can win copies of some of my backlist books.

Have you missed Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife? Never got a copy of The Sicilian’s Red-Hot Revenge? Check out this set of contests and have a chance to win some of the great novels you missed.

Marina thought her dreams had come true when her husband placed a wedding band on her finger. But their marriage was not the fairy tale she'd hoped for, and eventually Marina walked away, her heart broken.

Two years later Pietro D'Inzeo no longer haunts Marina's dreams. She knows the time has come to move on, and even a summons to join him in Sicily won't deter her....

However, with his wife standing before him, about to sign on the dotted line of their divorce papers, Pietro wonders why he ever let her go.

Question:What - or who - helps Kate pick the prizes for her contests?

Hint: You can find the answer on my web site!

Contest Deadline: April 30th, '11.



Prize: A copy of Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride & Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife!

Please email  with your answer and include your full name and mailing address. Please also mark the subject heading as Kate Walker Contest.

Coming up

 I've been getting  enquiries about new books coming up - and the titles of the novels that are being reprinted in the collections  that are published in the first half of this year.  Up until now I wasn't quite sure  of the exact detaiols, but after a  bit of a research and a confirmation email from my editor, it now seems that the line-up  goes like this:

New title: -

The Proud Wife - modern Romance  March  4th 2011 - and Presents Extra  in April

Reprints:

Meditrranean Tycoons  - includes  The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife

After losing his memory, all Andreas remembers is his passionate affair with Rebecca. But what will happen when Andreas recalls throwing Rebecca out of his house a year ago for reasons only he knows?

Also has novels by Michelle Reid and Sarah Morgan

Published 4th Feb

One Night in Madrid  - includes Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife

Raul wanted Alannah the first moment he saw her. Her unique combination of purity and passion intrigued and intoxicated the proud Spanish aristocrat. And Raul Esteban was a man used to getting everything he wanted.

Also has novels by Jennie Lucas and Chantelle Shaw

and finally - my editor has just confirmed the title and ther schedule date of my latest novel -
The Return of the Stranger - September 2011
This book will be part of the special mini-series The Powerful and The Pure  - I'll tell you a little more about that  very soon - hopefully tis week.

And that, I think, is it until after September.   Meanwhile I'm getting on with the next one . . .

Oops - forgot one!
If you are using ebooks to catch up on any backlist titles you've missed then His Miracle Baby  (2001)  is being re-issued in ebook  format this month.

Advent Calendar Giveaway Day 20

I'm still dashing around like a mad thing - but I suppose that's to be expected at this time of year! A migraine hasn't helped so that's why I'm late posting today.

So again I'll just have a post of a book and a question

Oh - and of course - Sid's Winners!

So the winner of Spanish Billionaire;Innocent Wife is Lois

and the winner of The Italian's Baby Bargain is Gaelikka

Please email me your postal addresses and I'll get these prizes in the mail to you.

Today's book is Cordero's Forced Bride (2009)

Taken in payment into his bed!
Alexa Montague is mortified. She's had to call off her sister's wedding, and now the ruthless, arrogant groom, Santos Cordero, is demanding that shy, ugly duckling Alexa, takes Natalie's place!
The Montagues have stolen his money and his convenient bride, so Santos will enjoy taking Alexa instead. For Santos does not - cannot - love. But his body burns for Alexa as it has for no other woman before. He'll keep her captive in his bed until she's begging to be his . .

And the question - one of my favourite things about preparing for Christmas is putting together a stocking for each member of my family. Even though my son is grown up - and so is his partner - I still like to collect silly gifts for this tradition. And the sillier the better.

So do you make up a stocking for anyone or have you given up on that tradition if your famiy is grown up?What sort of things do you think make good stocking stuffers? (I always think that romances make good choice - for the women anyway! And do you wrap the stocking gifts or just bundle them into a stocking?

You know what to do - answers in the comments please.

Lots of my friends are getting caught up in the travel chaos with the ice and snow. If you're struyggling in the freezing weather or the snow (we're supposed to be getting more of that tonight) keep safe and warm and I hope you get to wherever you're going.

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 Day 18

Three things that coming in combination don't work too well -

1. Revisions - no not the revisions, they're fine. But a global 'search and replace name change - when the character in question has the name Ed. And you're replacing it to Arthur.

Think about it - the computer doesn't distinguish the Ed that is his name and the -ed at the end of or in - say changed, suprised or even edged. And when you're changing the name to Arthur - you get changArthur , surprisArthur and even ArthurgArthur. I am not amused

2. The blazingly bad headache that results from replacing all those Eds/Arthurs inthe wrong place

3. The fact that I have visitors tonight and am going visiting tomorrow so I'll be out all day

So - there will be a giveaway today and tomorrow - but I won 't have a moment to announce the winners until Monday. Tomorrow it will just be the book and the question.

The winner of The Greek Collection is Jayne Heponstall - I think Sid was entranced by the idea of the Mouse House. I know I was but perhaps thinks you meant real mice!

Jayne please send me your postal address and as long as the mail is still running, your book will go in it.

Today's book is Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife (2008)

Two years ago, Alannah left Raul without one word of regret. Now chance has thrown them together once more, and the proud Spanish aristocrat will see that Alannah pays for her mistake.
He had wanted Alannah Redfern the first moment he saw her. Her unique combination of purity and passion intrigued, then intoxicated him. And Raul Marcín was a man used to getting everything he wanted.

Now, Raul knows that Alannah is no longer a naive girl. Until their one night of passion proves that she is still an innocent. Raul will do whatever it takes to keep her at his mercy.

And today's question -

We will be visiting the Babe Magnet's family - who always stay in Yorkshire and wait for us to come to them! What about you? Do you stay at home and have people come to visit you for the holidays or are you the ones venturing out to visit other people? Who are you looking forward to seeing at Christmas that you haven't seen for a long time or perhaps are coming from a long way away. Or who do you wish you could see.

I'd love to see my eldest sister but she is miles and miles away in Tasmania so we have to make to with the phone and email -but at least there's that!

Come back tomorrow for anther book and another question but the winners might have to wait till Monday!

Here Come the Grooms - the result

I really should never go away. I enjoy the trip - I had a wonderful time in Dublin, and spending time with Abby Green is always fun - but by the time I get home and unpacked and the washing done and caught up with emails and phone calls, it seems as if I've been away for ages instead of just a few days.

Anyway, as I said, Dublin was fabulous. Freezing cold but sunny and we even managed a trip to the sea to walk along the shore at Bray. The Babe Magnet researched ghosts, we spotted copies of Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Dublin in the bookshops, and we relaxed over wonderful meals and bottles of wine and talked books and writing and life with Abby who is now in London helping to launch the new continuity that links romance and rugby.

The important thing I must do is announce the winners of the Here Come the Grooms Contest - I finally got Sid to stop sulking because I abandoned him and choose the winner for me.

So the result is:

Anne McAllister's winner (ie PJ's winner) is Karen from North Carolina

Liz Fielding's (Jago's) winner is Rachel from New Zealand

and my winner (Santos's winner) is Lynn from Florida

These three lucky readers each get a copy of the three books:

Antonides' Forbidden Wife by Anne McAllister

Wedded in a Whirlwind by Liz Fielding

and Cordero's Forced Bride by Kate Walker

I also ran a special Newsletter additional contest to mark the publication of Cordero's Forced Bride and the winners of that prize draw are:

Dina from Wisconsin

Ronda from Texas

Carol from New Jersey

Thank you to everyone who entered. I've been chatting with Anne and Liz and we are already planning the next Grooms' Contest - probably around this time next year. After all, you have to keep up a great tradition.

Oh - and many, many thanks to everyone who has already been out and bought a copy of the Presents edition of Cordero's Forced Bride. I've had an amazing week with it being on the eHarlequin Top Ten, the Top Ten ebooks and now on the Waldenbooks Top 10 too. Wonderful

Which reminds me - if you like to buy your Presents novels in ebook form, then Cordero's Forced Bride is still available at a special sale price of 25% off on eHarlequin now and Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife is offered with a 10% discount too in the Best of the Best ebook offer. And in the Winter Sale on the Mills & Boon Site, The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife is still on sale at just £0.99p. Don't miss out on these bargains while they are still available.

Looking Forward - 2009

So it's a different year. It's 2009.

Yesterday was spent with calendars . Making sure that all the important upcoming dates are listed so that I don't forget anything. I love brand new stationery - pristine notebooks, fresh calendars, new diaries, so that was a real pleasure for me.

And there are already plenty of dates and events to note down for this new year even though it Ihas only just dawned. So today I'm looking forward at what's coming up with a whole new sense of anticipation.

I'm sure there will be more to add to the calendar later in the year but for now - here's what 2009 has planned for me . . .

So we'll start in January -

Coming up very soon is the now traditional (well, we've been running it for 3 years!) joint contest - Here Come The Grooms - that Anne McAllister, Liz Fielding and I run every year around this time. It's been in February before but Anne's book is out in January so we're starting early this year. More details very soon.



In February I am teaching a residential weekend course on the Writers' and Artists' Workshop Weekend at Fishguard in Wales. I am teaching The Novel - not specifically Romance writing but writing a novel in general. Obviously plenty of what I have to say will apply to Romance but this course, (like the 12 Point Guide actually) will be suitable for anyone who wants to write any sort of fiction.

And if anyone out there wants to write poetry - or knows someone who does, then the Babe Magnet will be running the Poetry course on the same weekend.

The dates for this event are 20th February - 22nd February 2009 and the cost is an all-inclusive (accomodation, food, classes) £199. That's for six one hour sessions of talks, one to one assessments and assignments.

(If you want to join me there, then if you add my name after yours on the application form, that will save you an extra £10 on the cost of the weekend)

Talking of courses I'm teaching, I will be back in Wales in July when I am teaching the Writing Romance course at Writers' Holiday at Caerleon. This is a very special event as it is the 25th Summer Writers' Holiday. I had to miss last year's event as I was in San Francisco so I'm really looking forward to being back at Caerleon this year.

The dates for this are 26th July - 31st July 2009 And the cost (again all-inclusive) is £399. There are 14 courses in total to choose from and some wonderful main speakers lined up for this event.

Details for both the Fishguard Weekend and Caerleon can be found on the official website here where you can also book online and save money.

Summer of course will be the Conference season and I shall be rushing from one end of the country to another - and overseas, I hope - in July when there will be the RNA Conference in Penrith (10-12th July) and the 29th Annual National Conference in Washington, D.C.July 15 - 18, 2009. And then heading for Caerleon! I might just find time to breathe!

Of course I will also have some new books coming out and the first of these is Cordero's Forced Bride which officially published on February 1st as a Presents edition. And then it's out in March as a Mills & Boon Modern Romance. But I was thrilled to see that even before 2009 had dawned, the ebook version of this book was already on pre-order on eHarlequin and since then it has been riding high in their ebook charts - arriving at #2 today. (And as that's #2 to Lynne Graham's #1 I'm not complaining!) It's also now listed on eHarlequin's Top Ten Bestsellers right now. So it's off to a very good start.

My next romance out in 2009 will be Kept For Her Baby which has a M&B Modern publication date of September 2009. This is out in the same month as my friend Michelle Reid's next book too so I expect that we will be repeating our Super September Contest like the one we ran last year.

Oh, and before that book in September I have a reprint out in May. That's when At The Sheikh's Command appears in Sold to the Sheikh with books by Miranda Lee and Emma Darcy. I haven't yet found out if this is a UK release or an Australian release but I'll let you know just as soon as I can.




Finally, if you're in America and you missed out on getting an ebook copy of my June '08 release Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife - then that is on sale in a special BEST OF 2008 - Best of the Billionaires - sale over on eHarlequin here.

What else? Well, I'll be continuing my blogging as a Pink Heart Society Columnist - my first blog of 2009 is to pick next Monday's Male on Monday so watch out for that. (I've been doing some serious research forthis one!) I'll also be guestblogging on Tote Bags and Blogs on the first Sunday of every month and with We Write Romance whenever they need me! And of course I'll be blogging here too.

And finally, 2009 is a very important year for Harlequin and for me. For two different reasons.

This year Harlequin is celebrating it's Diamond Anniversary - that's 60 years of publishing the brilliant romances we all know and love. So there will be special celebrations all thgouth the year and a special Spotlight on each line in turn, staring with Desire. Presents will have its turn in July, just in time for the RWA Nationals.

My own anniversary will arrive in December 2009 when I will be celebrating 25 years as a published author! 25 years! I can't quite believe it myself. I'm not sure quite what I'll be doing to mark this occasion - but I will be doing something so watch out for that.

And with Bedded By The Greek Billionaire now officially shortlisted for that Best Presents from Romantic Times, it's shaping up to be an exciting year ahead. Now all I have to do is to write the next book and get my publications for the next new year ready and lining up.

Finally, I'm signed up to take part in the eHarlequin Book Challenge 2009 where for every book I read and review Harlequin will be donating a book to the National Center for Family Literacy to benefit their literacy programs - why don't you come and join in too. All you have to do is read and you were going to do that anyway - right?

I hope you'll enjoy the books I have coming up in the next year, come and visit my blog often in 2009 and maybe I'll meet up with some of you at one or other of the events or workshops there are planned for this year.

2008 Looking Back

Well that was quite a year. It had to be really, when it was the year that Mills & Boon celebrated their centenary, with all the fuss and interest that came with it.The celebrations started off in February and from then onwards things didn't seem to slow down much for the rest of the year.

Interviews, TV programmes (about the company, not me)Book Festivals, Library events . .. and that was before we hit the conference season. I seem to have been here there and everywhere this year, snatching a breath as and when I can, and really there was just a bit too much crammed in there.

London, Lincoln, Manchester, Hale, Chichester, San Francisco, Guildford, London again . . . I'm not sure I want to reckon up how many miles I travelled to do workshops. give talks. It was great fun, but I wouldn't want to do it all again - not all in one year anyway! The best part of the public appearences was the oppportunity they gave me to meet people - readers and would-be writers who came to the workshops. That's always a delight and to everyone who came to one of these and stayed to chat or wrote to me afterwards - my thanks. It's always so special to meet readers face to face - and that includes the readers who say that my 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance has helped them.

Because of course 2008 was also the year in which the 2nd (revised and expanded) edition of the 12 Point Guide was published and I was really thrilled about that. I've been delighted and honoured by the way that I keep meeting people - or getting emails from readsers - or reading reviews on Amazon - that have nothing but praise for this book. Not being a teacher, I'm thrilled to find that I can communicate my love of the romance genre and the skills needed to write it - and that those of you who have bought this guide find it helps. And when those people end up with their very first published books in their hands and my 12 Point Guide has played apart in it, that's an even deeper sense of satisfaction for me.

Of course, the travelling of 2008 was also wonderful for the way that it gave me extra opportunities to meet up with friends from the writing world - and I do mean the world. Being in London and San Francisco meant that I could spend time with Michelle Reid, Anne McAllister (who later came to stay her and visit Sid of course) Trish Morey, Abby Green, Sandra Marton, Holly Jacobs, Susan Stephens, India Grey . . . So many friends from eHarlequin too. I also got to meet new authors Jennie Lucas and Sabrina Philips and - new to me anyway - Ellen Hartman. And in a 'before she was famous' moment there was also the Instant Seduction winner Lynn Raye Harris. The RNA Conference gave me a bit more time to catch up with wonderful writers I don't see enough of - and some lovely friends grabbed at the opportunities of the workshops etc when they brought me nearer to them. None of it was ever quite long enough but it was so valuable.

2008 was The Year of Flora - as I've already noted. At first I think Sidney the Cat of Superior Breeding felt that his handsome nose was a little put out - but how could I let that happen? And his fans are still there, ardent as ever (he thanks the two beautiful ladies Josephina and Theodora for their messages on my last post and of course as he helps himself to Greenies from his Christmas package, his dear Lady Across the Pond, Anne McAllister is in his mind too) Of course, there is one important job that Sid has always carried out and that is picking the winners of my contests - Flora is way too flighty to handle anything so important. And while there is a a crunchie that needs choosing, then Sid will always have the Upper Paw.

There were also a few books published in 2008 - some new and some reprints. Two of which I'm particularly pleased about - the publication of The Duke's Secret Wife as part of the special Centenary Collection of shorter novellas - and the reprinting of The Alcolar Family trilogy as a complete collection in book form in the UK and then as an ebook Bundle available on eHarlequin. And thinking about these other forms of publishing that seemed to take such a leap forward in 2008 - there was the use of my Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife as the free book to launch and highlight Harlequin's links with Daily Lit's publication of books in instalments by email.

There were the new books too - that Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife and then Bedded By The Greek Billionaire which gave me my first Romantic Times Top Pick - with 4.5 stars too. This book has also ended my year of a real thrill because it has been shortlisted for the Best Presents of 2008 by Romantic Times too. I've been smiling and Snoopy dancing quite a bit over that particular book!

And now we're into the last hours of 2008. It's time to stop looking back and start looking forward. I'm not one for resolutions, certainly not for great assessments of what I did right or wrong achived or didn't achieve last year. To me that seems to have too much of 'shoulds' and 'musts' that end up being just more sticks to beat ourselves when the inevitable realisation that being human means not being perfect kicks in. As the Jewish proverb says - only God ever created perfection. So I'm not listing any 'I resolve to . . . ' here.

Instead I'm looking forward to plenty in 2009 and hoping to make it an emotionally satisfying, personally satisfying, career-wise satisfying year with lots going on ( that's pretty much certain already) but also lots of balance and quality - because quantity, in achievements, in experiences, in love - is NOT the same thing as quality - not at all.

And I'll be back to tell you more about what's coming up but first I just want to say before midnight sounds anywhere in the world of my readers -

HAPPY NEW YEAR and I hope that 2009 and is a very special time for you. One that leaves you with some wonderful memories - of all sorts of things - when it comes to an end and you're looking back on it on December 31st next year.

Quick reminders

Locked in the writing cave (can you get locked in a cave?) with a brooding Italian - no you can't mention the dreadline!

But I just thought I'd better remind you that August ends this weekend ( and that's why you definitely can't mention this dreadline!) and so . . .

If you want to get your hands (or your email) on a free copy of Spanish Billionaire Innocent Wife delivered by email then tomorrow is the last day it will be on offer from DailyLit.com to download for free. When September dawns this offer closes - so if you want to take advantage of it, then grab it now.

Apparently, DailyLit is celebrating the delivery of its 250,000th read to one of their 125,855 dedicated readers. That's a lot of reading in this new way of getting books electronically.

And don't forget the Super September Contest that I'm running jointly with the fabulous Michelle Reid - details are on my contest page .

There are two great prizes of a signed copy of Bedded By The Greek Billionaire and The De Santis Marriage together with a copy of the By Request 3 in 1 volume Her Passionate Italian which contains my A Sicilian Husband and Michelle's The Passion Bargain.

You have until September 5th to enter this.

Finally, the change around from August to September means that the books I have on sale also change - so this weekend is probably your last chance to grab a copy of The Alcolar Family Trilogy in one volume (By Request) - though the trilogy will still be available in the ebook bundle form over on eHarlequin.com - or the special Centenary novella, The Duke's Secret Wife.

But as those are taken off the shelves, my new title will be added as it comes out next week - and that, of course, is Bedded By The Greek Billionaire.

So hopefully that wil be plenty to keep you happy reading while I go back into the cave with Ricardo and hope to get him to his personal happy ending before too long . . .

. . . .just don't mention the D word!