Grab a Black Friday bargain !

Because of this chest infection I've been locked indoors - mind you there 's nothing much about the weather - freezing winds, snow, now icy rain - that has made me even want to consider   venturing outside.  Charlie (who is full of tuna and other treats  - thank you to everyone who suggested them, he says!  - has been snoozing in his cosy bed all afternoon and Ruby is lying in front of the  (as yet unlit) fi
re,  waiting for the Babe Magnet to  set a match to the kindling.

So I haven't done very much about Black Friday - or  has it been Black Monday - or just Black Week all week?   Anyway, I haven't felt  like going out and hunting for bargains, though I did find some on- line which meant I didn't  have to brave the cold and rain.   And while I was doing that I found some g

reat Black Friday/Week bargains for you.

 I was looking for the details  and UK cover of my January book - more on that  later. (As you know, Harlequin are having a complete makeover with some  new and  very different cover designs . . .)  But while I was looking for A Proposal To Secure His Vengeance, I  came across  a bundle of my backlist titles that are currently  at a reduced price on Kindle.

So if there are any of these that you don't have already - or you'd like an ebook edition for convenience - here's  your chance to catch up with some past titles at

 a bargain price.

All these books are  on sale at just £0.99 on Amazon - and on  the Mills and  Boon web site

Return of the Stranger
Kept   for Her Baby
The Sicilian's Red-Hot  Revenge
Bedded by the Greek Billionaire
No Holding Back
Rafael's Love-Child
The Unexpected Child
A Sicilian Husband
Wife for a Day
 Constantine's Revenge
The Devil and Miss Jones
Flirting With Danger

Not sure how long  they will be on offer -  but  if the weather stays like it is, you might want something to curl up inside in the warmth and read  this weekend - so grab a bargain.

"New books"

There are two "new" books of mine out next week  -

Well, they're new out, but they're not new titles and I wanted to make this clear as I don;t want people to be caught out and not realise that they are new issues but not new stories.

This is because when my previous editor was leaving, she checked through some things for me and discovered that two titles of mine were not available individually in ebook form.  People had been asking about individual copies of  the two linked books - The Sicilian's Wife and A SIcilian Husband.
These books are a linked duo, with Cesare  Santorino, the hero in one of them  (The Sicilian's  Wife)   who is the half-brother of Gio Cardelli the hero of A Sicilian Husband.

One book has appeared in a  3 in 1 By Request reprint -  so if you've got a copy of Claimed By The Sicilian then you'll have a  copy of   The Sicilian's Wife  together with Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride and The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge.  But I know that a lot of readers had enquired about finding the 2nd book linked to The Sicilian's Wife to find out about Gio's story.   Many of you fell in love with him when he appeared in  Cesare and Megan's story - which is what happened to me, I hadn't planned on writing a linked duo until  Gio walked into the book and demanded  that I tell his story.

So both
of these books are now issued as individual titles if you want to catch up on them. Or if you;ve lost your original copy and would like an ebook edition.

THE SICILIAN'S WIFE
Marriage to Cesare Santorino is all Megan has ever wanted, although never l
ike this! She's in deep trouble and, with no other choice, agrees to Cesare's offer of a mutually beneficial, convenient marriage.
Cesare makes no secret of his attraction to her. But what about love? Megan can only hope that her proud Sicilian husband might eventually come to see his young wife with more than just passion….


A SICILIAN HUSBAND

One night: The time it took Terrie Hayden to fall in love with a stranger.
One night: Was all that Gio Cardella thought he wanted from
her.
However, one night proved to be not enough. The proud Sicilian
had thought his heart was totally insulated, that he would never let himself feel anything again. But Gio was being driven by desire, a need to possess…


I have included the original UK copies of these books so that you can check if you already have a copy of them and don;t need to buy  the re-issue - unless you particularly want it in ebook form!

Both titles are available from November 15th.

Now where was I . . .?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Advent Calendar Day 3

I've set myself a problem with getting Charlie to pick the Advent Calendar winners - he's a much younger cat than dear Sid was so he's  out and about a lot more! I managed to get him to pick a winner for the Tote Bags 'n' Blogs prize - the winner was Martha Lawson -    and then he decided that he wanted to go out roaming while there was still some daylight and before it got too cold.  So I'll have to get him back on the job of picking a winner when he comes in for supper.

In the meantime, I want to post up today's question.

Over on Tote Bags, I was talking a bout buying and sharing ebooks - and that was on my mind because I've  been  watching how my ebooks - old and new - are selling since some were re-issued as Harlequin Treasury and M&B Vintage.  It has been interesting to see which of the older books have been bought  since they came out in this format. Amazon show a listing of the bestselling M&B books  and for the past few weeks I've been thrilled to have three books on this list  for almost a month - in spite of the fact that they were all originally published some years ago.

It's made me wonder what sparks off a new interest in an older book - word of mouth? Or some new  readers who have just found my books and want to pick up old ones?   Or readers who read these books when they originally came out  and lost their print copies so now they';re collecting ebook versions to reread. I know that's why I've been buying some of the M&B Vintage classics. 

You can see all the titles of mine that have been reissued as Vintage/Treasury titles in the great banner that Heather has made for the head of this page -  nut there are a couple of other 'oldies' that have been appearing in the Bestseller charts. The top runner for weeks now has been The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge, This is a really special book for me as it was my 50th title published. It came out back in 2007. 

The other books that have had a renewed interest in them have been  a mixed bunch - Kept For Her Baby (2009) has been appearing on the list for the past 4 weeks or so - and  now it's been joined by His Miracle Baby (2001). It makes me wonder if someone is wanting to read some older stories with babies in them. I know so many people have written to me to say that thnis are real heart tugging stories so perhaps that's it?

And then of the Vintage titles, the most popular is The Groom's Revenge  (1997)  and The Unexpected Child (also 1997)  - there's another 'baby book'.

So that set me wondering - what golden oldies would you want to pick up if you were buying |Treasury/Vintage titles?  What older books do you remember that you'd love to go back and reread, to see if they were as good as the way you remember them the first time?

You don't have to name any of my books - but I'd love to know if there are any  you'd like to find.

Today's Advent Calendar prize is one of those  bestselling, second time around books - that very special 50th title of mine - The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge.(Vito's story)
 
They shared one night of passionate lovemaking. Then in the cold light of day, her secret tore them apart. Now Vito has come back – and he’s determined to have his revenge.
Emily Lawton never expected to see him again. But Vito Corsentino has tracked her down and he wants Emily. This time he’ll take her and he’ll be the one to leave when it’s over.
But Emily has one last secret for Vito . . . She’s having his baby and if he finds out, he’ll want more than revenge!

When only seduction will settle old scores.
Part One of The Sicilian Brothers series is Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride - Guido's story
Don't forget - answers in the comments section and I'll get Charlie on to picking a winner  tomorrow.

Oh yes - and if any of you are real collectors and looking for  some real golden oldies to add to your collection - I have some of those on offer in this Advent Calendar including some  that I think are now totally out of print - keep wathcing thnis space! And I hope you'll join in the rest of the contests as you do.

Catching up again

Well, that was a busy week.   I'm not quite sure where most of it went -  I was deep in revisions so I  was barely away from my desk.  We had family to visit and I have to judge a writing contest for a  Writers'  Circle . . . Blink and the week was gone.

I did actually blog a couple of times on my usual   monthly dates for other sites but then the internet played up and I didn't post to let everyone know.  So if you want to catch up, then there are posts
 here   on the Pink Heart Society Blog (talking about the So You Think You Can Write contest)
and
here at Tote Bags 'N' Blogs  - talking about my favourite season

I'm back today with some interesting news -  I was talking about older books  and that seems to be the thene of the  month really because I've just discovered that Mills & Boon have brought out some of my older titles in brand new ebooks. This is part of a new initiative to republish  older titles in the  Mills and Boon Vintage series.

At the moment they are publishing  Modern Romances  from the 1990s and there are five of my older books appearing in Kindle editions from today.  I noticed these last week, while I was still busy revising,  and they just had blanks for their covers but today I'm really pleased to see that they have proper covers  with the artwork from the past editions in a new format .

The books now available are :
The Unexpected Child
Hers For  A Night
Flirting With Danger
No Holding Back     (which has one of my favourite openings ever)
The Groom's Revenge.


So if you missed any of these in the past and would like to catch up on some older Kate Walkers  here's your chance.

I'm not sure about being called Vintage - but it's the books not me!

And talking about older books -  special thanks go to Marybelle, Maria and Princess Fiona. I'm sorry I was so busy that I've neglected to answer your comments - I really enjoyed reading about your book collections so  - if you'd like to email me  -  see the link  at the bottom  of the page, I'd like to see if I can add a book to your Kate Walker collection. I don;t have any really old ones but I'll let you know which of my backlist books I do have and you can choose one of them.

Pink Friday

If  you haven't already noticed  - today is Pink Friday over on the Mills and Boon  web site. There are over 150 bargains to pick up - with Modern books at  99p and bundles of 4 or more titles from  £99.99.  These discounts only last until midnight - so take a look before they're all gone.

 And while you're there - it isn't listed in the Pink Friday list, but right now my own Claimed by The Sicilian trilogy is currently at a sale price of £2.99 - that's reduced from the original price of £5.49 so you can grab yourself a bargain there too.

It was while I was over at the Mills & Boon site that I realised that they'd been busy and had now put several of my older books on to ebook format and these are now availble for anyone who wants to catch up - or reread an old favourite.

There are 8 of them in total -

At The Sheikh's Command

Fiancée By Mistake

His Miracle Baby

Rafael's Love-Child

The Antonakos Marriage

The Christmas Baby's Gift

The Hired Husband

The Hostage Bride

So if you have an ereader with some gaps in your Kate Walker collection on it, now's your chance to catch up on some golden oldies.

In other news, the Big Blog Tour is almost coming to an end. There will be another stop on November 28th and then there will be the wrap up party and the annoncement of the big winner on December 1st.



Workshop and The Return of The Stranger

So looking forward to meeting everyone at my New Voices workskshop at Ashby Library today. The workshop starts at 11am and lasts two hours. The last I heard it was just about full, but if you've only just learned about this or decided you can manage to come after all, I should be able to squeeze and extra person or two in at the last minute - North Lincolnshire Central Library on 01724 860161 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 01724 860161 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or email library.enquiries@northlincs.gov.uk.
Friday 2nd October is the official publication date for the UK edition of The Return of the Stranger so I'm looking forward to seeing this on the shelves in the bookshops.   This book got a great review over on the Mills & Boon site where one reader said:

"I'm not altogether sure that I agree with the premise of re-working the plot of all time classic novels.

This is the last in the Series and is based on Wuthering Heights. Moreover I never really liked Heathcliffe seeing him as rather cruel.

However Mrs Walker triumphantly produces a powerful and intense novel which involves your emotions from start to finish.

Heath is a super hero full of brooding passion and the delightful Katherine evokes your sympathy.

Not to be missed - as they say they saved the best till last.

Ten out of ten."

Thank you to the reviewer!  And talking of the M&B site - it's 31st Augusr and The Return of The Stranger is still there at #1 on the web site sales list! This means that it's been up there at #1 all month. Thank you so very much to every single one of you who has bought a copy to help me achieve this amazing result - it's so appreciated. I couldn't have done it without you!

Oh - and  if you're in America and want to get your hands on this book, don't forget that the books are on sale early on the Harlequin web site - the eboook is already up there  and the paperback edition  should go on sale as soon as August becomes September.

Right, time to pack up my workshop notes and get ready to talk about New Voices

Harlequin Treasury

I didn't go to the RWA conference in New York last week, but I've been catching up on the news from the event from friends and fellow writers who were there.  One of the big topics they've been talking about is  the new project - the Harlequin Teasury.

This is  the huge undertaking of taking the backlist of many authors - right back to the 1980s  - and bringing them out as new ebooks so that readers can catch up with the first books and backlists titles of their favourite authors.   They will have the original covers with a logo designation which shows which  decade they appeared in. 3000 (!)  of the backlist has been converted so  far.

I didn't know if any of my books were appearing in this  first run of  formatting, and I couldn't track down anything  on Amazon.com so far. But then  Liz Fielding pointed me in the direction of Amazon Germany  and that's where I did find some books - dating back to No Holding Back which came out in 1995.  (Though the picture on Amazon at the moment is a book by Alison Kelly, not mine.)

The other books I found in this format  so far are:
The Groom's Revenge   1997
Flirting With Danger  1997
Hers For A Night   1996
No Holding Back 1995
The Unexpected Child 1997

I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to going through the new ebooks and finding some of my old favourites from  10, 20 years back and downloading copies of them! 

Which past titles would you most like to find again now  in ebook form?

Constantine's Revenge

Last week I blogged about my very first Greek hero.  He appeared in the book Constantine's Revenge which was first published in 2000.  The reason I was talking about it was because Constantine's Revenge has just been re-sissued as an ebook. 

I knew that this book was very popular when it came out and that a lot of people have written to tell me hat ti is one of their favourite - if not the favourite  - of my books but even so I  was stunned to see the speed with which this particular title was rushing  up the bestseller lists of my own ebooks  over on eHarlequin. Starting at the bottom of the 40+ titles I've had issued in ebook form, it raced up first ten and then twenty places in the blink of an eye or so it seemed.

I was delighted but not quite sure why this had happened - but then over on We Write Romance where I'd written my  Kate's Corner blog also last week, someone commented that she ahd been waiting to get hern hands on a reissue of Constantine's Revenge because she had read about it in my 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance  and so wanted to read the book itself.

I'd forgotten that in the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance I had used Constantine's Revenge  as an example of how to use a synopsis to put in the emotional reasons and the emotional changes in  a story, giving first the plain simple facts and then a second version using the emotionas to deepen the story.  When I wrote the original  workshop of the 12 Point Guide of course copies of Constantine's Revenge were more easily available  - now they are less easy to come by. So the renewed interest in the reissue in ebook form.

Funny how I'd never registered that might happen - and I'm so glad that the reissue has created such interest as a result.

Oh, and if you are into ebooks, then don't forget there has been a recent reissue of the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance on KINDLE - and the publisher is working on an edition that will be available on other ebook readers too.

My very first Greek hero

It seems amazing now,  but back in 1999 I had an editor who suggested the I might like to have a Mediterranean hero - for a change! Back then it didn't seem like every single hero you read in a Modern Romance/ Presents novel was  a sheikh, Italian, Spaniard, Greek . . .   My heroes had been Englishmen,  or Irish.  But the Mediterranean hero was really becoming popular and more and more of them were appearing in the novels.

Just after my editor made this suggestion I was in a small hotel in a West Yorkshire town. The Babe Magnet and I were having breakfast in a tiny dinind room - it was in the basement I remember!  Suddenly a couple of men appeared in the doorway, making me look up - as a writer, I'm always curious  - nosey!  These two guys were both  striking but the younger one was absolutely gorgeous.  I later found out that he was  Spanish and his name was Javier something.   My husband had to work that day and I was happily settled in a coffee shop with a notebook and pen - and inspiration for a whole new idea.

Along the way, Javier the Spaniard changed nationality and became Constantine the Greek - and so my very first ever Greek hero - or Mediterranean hero  - was born.  The book was Constantine's Revenge.

I've never know quite what it is abot Constantine but he seemed to grab the imagaination of my readers and never let go. I have had more letters, emails about this one hero than any other. The book has been frequently reprinted, some years ago when I ran a poll of my readers' top ten favourite Kate Walker novels, Constantine's Revenge topped the voting right from the start - and stayed there.

Perhaps it has something to do with the cover art - one of the best covers I've ever had. I loved it so much that I used the cover on my business cards for a time.   Whatever it is,  I'm always grateful for the fact that one unknown man walked into a room over twelve years ago!

And I was thrilled to discover this week that as part of their programme of reissuing my backlist in ebook form,  Harlequin have reissued Constantine's Revenge as a brand-new ebook out this month.

His plan was to make her his mistress...
When Constantine Kiriazis reappeared after two years, Grace thought he'd finally forgiven her for her lack of trust in him - and for canceling their wedding. Certainly Constantine's desire for her had not waned. But neither had his desire for revenge...
He fully intended to seduce Grace, but vowed she'd only be his mistress - never his wife. It was only when she melted in his arms that Constantine began to wonder who was exacting the revenge and who was paying the price!

Another backlist book is also coming out in ebook form in June  this one has an Irish hero - not that that gets mentioned much! Ronan Guerin appears in Wife For A Day - and this is a book that I always remember with a blend of horror and relief. I had such a struggle to get this one accepted! But since it came out I've had a lot or response from  readers and again it often appears in Top Ten Favourite Kate Walker booklists. So I'm glad to see that Wife For  Day  reissued as well.

What about you? Do you have a favourite of my books?  And in heroes - do you prefer the Mediterranean hero? Or would you like more  Englishmen, Irishmen . . ?

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!

Coming up . . . .

It's April so that means that my American Presents Extra edition of The Proud Wife will soon be in the shops. The official publication date is  - er well,  when is it in the shops?  Amazon has April 5th but I think the official date is April 12th. 

But the again  many bookshops put them out early anyway. So keep your eyes open  - look for this cover and you'll find it!   The Proud Wife is also out in Australia in the M&B Sexy line and I really love that full-length version of the cover.

I said that I would share the Romantic Times  review with it as soon as I'd found it. Well, thanks to the lovely  Abby Green, I've now got my hands on a copy of that review -   Thanks Abby!

THE PROUD WIFE (4.5) by Kate Walker: Pietro D’Inzeo summons his estranged wife Marina to Sicily to discuss their divorce. Marina, not happy about returning to the place where her dreams for a happy future were shattered, arms herself with a plan to refuse to accept a single penny from her arrogant soon-to-be ex. But she’s caught off guard when Pietro demands an immediate renegotiation … starting with a kiss. This is an emotionally charged page-turner with plenty of tension and passion.

Oh and while I'm talking about reviews - here's a great one from Joanna of the Romance Angels Network. Thank you so much for this Joanna - it's a fabulous  review becaiuse it's so understanding of what I was trying to do in the book

The fire burning beneath the ashes.
When Pietro officially ‘summons’ Marina back to Sicily with the excuse of discussing the terms of their divorce, she attends, only to have the satisfaction to tell him she wants nothing from him, but to send their short marriage into oblivion. None of them imagine the attraction that brought them together is still there. And the passion is burning hotter than ever. Unexpectedly, they are facing each other and their painful past.


A past where everything happened so fast and it was so painful that they didn’t have time to develop a relationship. The Proud Wife by Kate Walker is about finding closure for the painful experiences shared and connecting as a real couple.

My favorite part is when they finally talk about the death of their baby. The biggest misunderstanding in their relationship. Marina breaks down, Pietro gives her the sympathy and soothing he couldn’t before, and somehow they find closure. However, Pietro and Marina still have too many pending issues. Pietro’s idea of intimacy is making love. He thinks he is doing what she wants, but Marina needs much more. He has been emotionally unavailable in the past. While Marina was feeling used as a breeder to produce an heir, never truly loved and inadequate as a princess.

 

The Proud Wife is one of the books that I’d read where the characters’ emotions convey to the page the best. Kate Walker did a great job channeling their adversities, the emotional portion of the story is deeply touching, there were moments I was teary-eyed.

And in extra good news, there's another couple of my books that are being republished and brought out as ebooks - these were  published  on April 1st so they are available now from the eHarlequin site  and they are:

Fiancée By Mistake - orignally published   December 2000

Driving home for Christmas, Leah's car landed in a snow-filled ditch—and she was rescued by Sean Gallagher, who took her to his home to recover.
Leah couldn't believe it! Sean was convinced that Leah had got engaged to his brother, then run away. It was as if he hated her...and desired her. As the burning need between them grew more intense, Leah fought to resist: Sean seemed determined to prove she was a wanton...by seducing her into his bed...

And

Rafael's Love-Child  Originally published   February 2001

When Serena wakes up in hospital with amnesia, her only visitors are Rafael Cordoba and his baby son, Tonio. Following docotr's orders. Rafeal tells her nothing except that she had an accident in his car - but that he doesn't know her.
Rafael insists Serena recuperates at his home and, already having strong feelings for the sexy Spaniard, and adoring his son, she accepts. But what is Rafael not telling her - and where is his baby's mother?


His baby - he's sexy, he's successful . . . And he's facing up to fatherhood.

It's great to see these older books coming back with a new lease of life as ebooks.

Backlist Titles

I've just learned that a couple more of my backlist titles are going to be rereleased in eHarlequin's ebook programme. It's great to see the books being given a new lease of life in this way.

So if you missed these the first time round then these new editions will be rereleased in November 1st.

The Sicilian's Wife
He gave her marriage - but not his love!

Marriage to Cesare Santorino is all Megan has ever wanted, although never like this! She's in deep trouble and, with no other choice, agrees to Cesare's offer of a mutually beneficial. convenient marriage.

Cesare makes no secret of his desire for her. But what about love? Megan can only hope that her proud Sicilian Husband might eventually come to see his young wife with more than just passion . . .
The story of The Sicilian's Wife is linked to A Sicilian Husband which is the story of Cesare's half-brother Gio.

(Anyone who prefers their books in print - this is reprinted in the 3 in 1 Claimed by the Sicilian which is still on sale in the UK)

And

The Hostage Bride (2001)

To hold and to have!

Fliss's father has been embezzling from Argentine billionaire Ricardo Valeron. She knows Rico is ruthless in his business dealings and will stop at nothing to ruin her father if he should uncover the truth. To save her father, Fliss agrees to marry an old friend - and in return, he'll pay her father's debt.
But before the ceremony takes place, Rico arrives and whisks Fliss away. Has he discovered the missing money. Is he out for revenge? Just what are Rico's intentions toward his hostage bride?

EBooks

I've just discovered that Harlequin are bringing out a couple of my backlist books as new ebook. Which is rather nice. And unexpected. I wouldn't have known anything about them if I hadn't needed to check something on Amazon.com and found the details there arranged by publication date.

The books in question are:

The Married Mistress (2006)

Gorgeous Greek tycoon Damon Nicolaides is always in the news...so when the paparazzi get a tip-off about his new mistress, they come banging on her door!
Actually, Sarah and Damon were married a year ago! Sarah left him, thinking their marriage was a lie. Now Damon's come back to claim the wife he truly loves. But first he must protect her from the press by pretending that Sarah is merely his mistress...and to do that, he tells her, they'll have to make their love affair real!

and Bound By Blackmail (2005)

Jake Taverner has never wanted a woman as he wants Mercedes Alcolar. So when she rejects him, Jake's hurt pride demands revenge!
Jake traps Mercedes into a fake engagement as he embarks on a skillful seduction. She'll share his bed for one passionate month, bound to him by blackmail....

Not quite sure why they've chosen these two to republish now. But it's good to see both of them back again - though if you have The Alcolar Family Trilogy bundle, then you'll already have Bound By Blackmail.

Hopefully this means that for those of you who buy your books now in ebook format, this will be a great way to collect backlist titles.

The weekend that wasn't

What can I say except that dreadlines and migraines don't mix. In fact migraines don't mix with anything. So the weekend didn't really exist very much.

Oh well - I'm going to cheer myself up with sticking to good news - let's see. . .

My workshop in Hull is now fully booked up (that's in just about two weeks) - so I'm looking forward to meeting everyone there next Monday

I've been receiving chapters and synopses from the students at my Fishguard writing weekend. I am so looking forward to that and to meeting up with friends I already know and making new friends from the students I've not yet met. (There are still some places on this workshop if anyone is interested - or for the one in Southampton in April. Details on my events page) And this time I'm getting there a day early so that I can actually see some more of Fishguard itself. (Note to self - get some sleep too, before then. I don't get much during the course itself!)

My March Presents EXTRA title -The Konstantos Marriage Demand is now on presale in both print and ebook form on eHarlequin.com

Some lovely reader has used the new ratings system on the Mills & Boon website to give The Knostantos Marriage Demand 5 stars. Thank you whoever you are! And in the couple of shops I visited today the UK edition had sold out. (And of course I'm still smiling a bout that 4.5 star Top Pick review)

The sun is shining. That's always a bonus.

I have had my hair done so I now look less like a haystack and a bit more human

At the weekend I will be meeting up with my dear friend and fabulous writer Julie Cohen and her small son and we will be going to see the dinosaurs in Oxford (in the museum of course - they won't be wandering around the city!)

There - that's made me feel a lot better . . . .

Now to see if I can get my Sicilian hero to co-operate. That will make the rest of today even nicer.

Free books . . .

Now there's a phrase to excite any reader - Free books.

The books in question are 10 free Mills & Boon ebooks.

To celebrate Mills & Boon 1st anniversary of producing ebooks in Britain, they are giving away 10 free books -- one from each series.

The full list is:

INTRIGUE: Diagnosis: Danger by Marie Fariella

MODERN: Mistress Hired for the Billionaire's Pleasure by India Grey

HISTORICAL: The Rake's Unconventional Mistress by Juliet Landon

MODERN HEAT: Pleasure, Pregnancy and a Proposal by Heidi Rice

MEDICAL: The Midwife's Little Miracle by Fiona McArthur

ROMANCE: Adopted Outback Baby by Barbara Hannay (a 2009 Rita finalist)

SPECIAL MOMENTS: Father Material by Kimberley Van Meter

MIRA: Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

BLAZE: The Player by Rhonda Nelson

DESIRE:The Billionaire's Baby Negotiation by Day Leclaire

You can find out more at: http://www.everyonesreading.com/

There is also competition to win a Sony Itouch reader.

And don't forget that the special free books download offer to mark Harlequin's 60th celebration is still on - with a set of completely different books to grab.

You can find the details of that offer here

Friends, Furries, Expeditions and English Ebooks

i

By the time you read this I will be heading for Manchester Airport to meet Anne McAllister who is coming to visit. She wants to spend quality time with Sid of course and to help celebrate Madame Flora's first birthday.

But first we will be heading for Michelle Reid's lovely home in Cumbria to spend a night there. I'm so looking forward to that. One of the delights of being in London last week was meeting up with Michelle and her husband and I expect that we will spend the day talking about books, writing, heroes, writing, books and more books.

Then on Saturday we will head home, bringing Anne with us, and organise the important birthday party. I can't quite believe that Flora is a year old. It's a poignant anniversary because she was born just as my dear old friend the ginger alpha Robert Redford (Bob to his friends of whom Anne was one) died. But the Floozie has helped to fill the hole that he left. So we will celebrate and I know that Anne will have packed special treats just for the occasion (and plenty for Sid and Dylan of course). I hope that The Heck family of hedgehogs will put in a nocturnal appearence - but it is getting close to hibernation time now that the evenings are growing colder.

Talking about pets - over on Publisher's Weekly Beyond Her Book, Barbara Vey is running a special Saturday post where authors/publishers/agents/editors are sending in pictures of their pets and a separate picture of themselves. Readers will then try to match the pet and the owner. I've sent over a pic of A Cat of Superior Breeding - so regular readers of this blog will have an advantage with one set of pics anyway!

On Saturday I'm taking part in the Harlequin September Blog Bash where 30 authors have been asked to blog about their favourite Harlequin Moments. So although I probably won't be blogging here on Saturday as I'll be driving across the country from west to east, my Harlequin Moments post will be up at eHarlequin for you to read.

And ebooks - one of the things I learned at the AMBA lunch last week is that Mills & Boon books will now be available as ebooks. The books can be bought from Waterstones right now and there are plans for them to be sold on the Mills & Boon site soon. They are only just beginning to put the monthly books out in this format but I was delighted to see that The Alcolar Family Trilogy is one of the first to be made available this way. So this means that it will always be available in this format in the future. like the ebook bundle for sale on eHarlequin.

Other good news there is that the M&B site will be keeping books in stock for longer than the basic 3 months they've had them on sale up to now. So if they have copies in stock you will be able to buy from an auhtor's backlist until they sell out.

And if you buy a Sony ebook reader, then 3 M&B books come preloaded - including Fiona Harper's book. English Lord, Ordinary Lady . There were several Sony readers on show at the lunch and the size and compactness did seem tempting - but I so love real books!

What do you think?

Oh - and talking of ebooks - when I was checking on The Alcolar Family on eHarlequin just now, I discovered that Bedded By The Greek Billionaire is already on sale in its ebook form - and in the Top Ten Bestsellers even thought it's not out in book form until November.

Another plus for ebooks.