Everybody loves kittens

When I'm busy at my desk, I sometimes need to take a break  - to think or plan something - and  those breaks give me a chance to indulge in a little kitten viewing.

No, we haven't adopted  a new kitten - I wish! - Flora and Charlie are  quite a handful as it is- but there are  virtual kittens - or rather a live stream of real kittens to be found here at Ripley's Kittens.  But be warned it's addictive!

I know it's addictive to cats too because when I had it on the screen and the mother cat was chirruping to her kittens, Flora heard and came leaping on the desk to see where the kittens were.  She started watching, then pressed her nose to the screen when one of the kittens came close.  Then she started patting them if they ran by her.

The problem is that now she's started looking under and behind my computer screen, looking for the kittens and I can't explain to her that they're not there!

I tried to take a photo of her 'playing' with the kittens but all I got was a big fluffy head in the way of the screen - so here's one or two  I took earlier. She was much younger then, and much smaller - and you'll have to imagine that  the racehorses she wants to play with  are  kittens!

Charlie never bothers to watch the TV  but Flora loves it. There is an advert for wild bird food for the garden where there is a long queue  of garden birds (computer generated images)  waiting for a table where the food is served - she loves that one and keeps trying to catch the birds!

PS If you want to help the  Purrfect Pals Cat Shelter  that is caring for Ripley's Kittens, you can vote for them in a contest to win a large grant to help them care for the cats they rescue - just scroll down the page where the livestream is to the link  - or look on the Animal  Rescue Site where the shelter vote can be found.

Writing Article



 
Before Christmas I was contacted by  Sally Quilford who was planning  a  regular column on writing romantic stories in the writers' magazine Writers' Forum.

She asked me some probing questions about writing romantic fiction and how to get started.   The series - called Love Notes -  has just launched today in the current edition of Writers'  Forum with the article 7 Things you always wanted to ask about writing romance.

So if you're in the UK you can find the magazine in WH Smith or you can get more details from the website here.

RNA Awards Shortlists:

The 2013 RoNA AwardsCategory Shortlist Announced for 2013 Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards

The Contemporary Romantic Novel category is for mainstream romantic novels set post-1960 and includes genres such as chick-lit, paranormal and romantic suspense. The shortlist, in alphabetical order by author name, is:
Katie Fforde, Recipe for Love, Arrow
Veronica Henry, The Long Weekend, Orion
Mhairi McFarlane, You Had Me At Hello, Avon
Monica McInerny, The House of Memories, Pan Macmillan
Sue Moorcroft, Dream a Little Dream, Choc Lit
Polly Williams, The Angel at No. 33, Headline

 
The Epic Romantic Novel category contains serious issues or themes, including gritty, multi-generational stories. The shortlist is:
Rowan Coleman, Dearest Rose, Arrow
Dilly Court, The Lady's Maid, Arrow
Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles, Bloomsbury
Kate Morton, The Secret Keeper, Pan Macmillan
Gill Paul, Women and Children First, Avon
Liz Trenow, The Last Telegram, Avon

The Historical Romantic Novel category is for novels set in a period before 1960. The shortlist is:
Charlotte Betts, The Apothecary's Daughter, Piatkus (Little Brown)
Christina Courtenay, The Silent Touch of Shadows, Choc Lit
Kate Furnivall, The White Pearl, Sphere (Little Brown)
Pamela Hartshorne , Time's Echo, Pan Macmillan
Susanna Kearsley, The Rose Garden, Allison & Busby
Mary Nichols, The Kirilov Star, Allison & Busby
 
The Romantic Comedy Novel is for consistently humorous or amusing novels. The shortlist is:
Jenny Colgan, Welcome to Rosie Hopkin's Sweetshop of Dreams, Sphere (Little Brown)
Victoria Connelly, The Runaway Actress, Avon
Jane Costello, All the Single Ladies, Simon & Schuster UK
Nicola Doherty, The Out of Office Girl, Headline
Belinda Jones, Winter Wonderland, Hodder & Stoughton
Jane Wenham-Jones, Prime Time, Accent Press Ltd.

 
The Young Adult Romantic Novel features protagonists who are teenagers or young adults. The shortlist is:
Jo Cotterill, Sweet Hearts: Model Behaviour, Red Fox (RHCP)
Laura Jarratt, Skin Deep, Electric Monkey/Egmont
Marie-Louise Jensen, The Girl in the Mask, OUP
Victoria Lamb, Witchstruck, Corgi (RHCP)
Sarra Manning, Adorkable, Atom (Little Brown)
Susan Waggoner, Neptune's Tears, Piccadilly Press

 
The winners of each of the above categories form the overall shortlist for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award, which will be announced on 16th May.


Also being presented on 26th February is the RoNA Rose Award , which recognises the best in category/series and shorter romance that focus on a developing love affair between the hero and heroine. The shortlist is:

Fiona Harper, Always the Best Man, Harlequin Mills & Boon Riva
Sarah Mallory, Beneath the Major's Scars, Harlequin Historical
Heidi Rice, The Good, the Bad and the Wild, Harlequin Mills & Boon Riva
Carol Townend, Betrothed to the Barbarian, Harlequin Historical
Scarlet Wilson, West Wing to Maternity Wing, Harlequin Mills & Boon Medical
Scarlet Wilson, Her Christmas Eve Diamond, Harlequin Mills & Boon Medical

Cover images for all of the above novels can be found at:
http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/index.php/activities/photo_galleries
Download a list of the books shortlisted for the 2013 Romantic Novelists' Association Awards, the RoNAs. Take it to the bookstore or library and check them out.
2013 RoNA Awards Reading List. (pdf)
Download descriptions of the of the books shortlisted for the 2013 Romantic Novelists' Association Awards, the RoNAs.
2013 RoNA Awards Books. (pdf)
A list of past winners can be found at http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/index.php/awards

Congratulations to  everyone on the shortlist.
Anyone got any favourites in this list ?

It's a hard job . . .

As a writer of popular genre fiction, part of my job is keeping up to date with what is  currently popular so I've spent this morning working hard - doing research.
My source was the Total Film  survey to find out who had been voted the sexiest  actors for 2012.

Apparently the results are these:

1. Tom Hiddleston
2. Robert Pattinson
3. Ryan Gosling
4. Benedict Cumberbatch
5. Richard Armitage
6. Tom Hardy
7. Alan Rickman
8. Michael Fassbender
9. Robert Downey Jr
10. Chris Hemsworth


So  of course, I had to take my research further and study each and every one of these Top Ten candidates. I worked very hard on my research all morning.

Sometimes  this is a very difficult job.
Oh - and if you want to know the Top Ten female actors, the results were:

1. Jennifer Lawrence

2. Scarlett Johansson

3. Kristen Stewart

4. Emma Stone

5. Mila Kunis6. Emma Watson

7. Anne Hathaway
8. Zooey Deschanel
9. Natalie Portman
10. Charlize Theron

Would you agree?

 

 

Addiction . . .

Well, the winner of the calendar from the We Write Romance blog is Caroline!

Caroline - please can you send me your postal address so that I can get it into the post to you before 2013 gets much older and it's not much use to you! 

The snow is piling up outside and we don't have it anything like as bad as some people - so all me friends in Wales and the North West, keep safe and warm.

It's the perfect excuse to stay indoors and curl up with a good book  - and that's where the addiction comes in!  I was out  in town yesterday and found a book that I really wanted to share with my son (Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn if you're nosy). I'd read it and knew he would like it too - but,  oh dear, the books, normally £7.99 each were  two for £7 - so of course I had to find another title to go with this one - I mean, it's compulsory, isn't it?

I picked up a book I'd heard  a buzz about, and one that had been recommended by the Richard and Judy book club - which is usually an indication of a good read. (Gone Girl's on there too, I see.)  So I thought I'd try that.

Now I have a lot of books waiting to be read - a TBR pile - a Kindle line-up . . .  I even have just received a parcel of RITA books to read and judge . . . I don't need another book!  But to be honest, I've read several of my Christmas stocks of books and been  - underwhelmed.    I've been OK with some, some have really disappointed and two -ghost stories that I was really looking forward top fell as flat as pancakes.  I didn't need distracting, but I was looking for a good read.

I found it.   I was going to put the book I'd bought - The Good Father by Noah Hawley - on the TBR pile and get to it when . . .  but I thought I'd just have a look at the first page . . .  pages . . . Chapters . . . Mistake.

And that's why the title of this post is addiction  - I'm reading this book  - devouring it - like an addict. I want to know how it ends - but I don't want it to end. I'm picking it up whenever I can, and unlike some of my other reads it's not a question of 'it depends on how it ends as to what I think about it'  - I don't care how it ends. I'm hooked. (Don't you love it when that happens?)

So I'm posting this now and I'm going back to my living room - there's a fire, the Babe Magnet - two cats - and my book. Can't wait!  (But the RITA books are going to have to.)

Over at We Write Romance

It's the 15th of January  - can you believe it? It seems like only two minutes ago it was  New Year's Day and already January is half over.

Anyway,  the 15th of the month is my day for blogging over on We Write Romance in my regular Kate's Corner spot - so that's where you can find me today.

I'm talking about diaries and calendars - and as I've just found an extra calendar that I bought - one with lovely photographs of England on it - I'm offering this as a prize for someone who comments on my Kate's Corner blog - Charlie has been missing the chance to pick winners and have extra treats - so why not make him happy and give him lots of chances to enjoy himself!   (I know it's  a bit late for the start of January - but there are plenty more months left  for 2013!)

Busy week

'Oh the weather outside is frightful . . . '

There is snow on the ground, piled up by inches, and more comuing down all the time. The cats are refusing to go outside at all unless they absolutely have to.  But apart from my walk this morning, that I got in before the snow started coming down I  have so much to do that I’m  not worried about being inside.  

I’ve just spent a busy week organising my Advanced Romance Writing course for the Fishguard Writers and Artists’ Weekend.  One person had  dropped out of this so  I had thought that I was going to be able to announce that there was one place left if anyone wanted it, but as soon as  a space appeared, someone else booked – so the weekend is fully booked again.  Hopefully it will be back  on again next year . . . or there’s always  the Writers’ Holiday  at Caerleon in July. (So pleased that the concerns that Caerleon might not run this year have proved to be unfounded.  I’m already looking forward to being there in the summer.  And if you want to join the Advanced course, my basic Complete Introduction to Writing Romance is the perfect foundation for the Fishguard weekend.)

I also had a fabulous trip to the theatre on Saturday - luckily before the snow started.  With the Babe Magnet, the Offspring and his fiancée went  to the Sheffield Crucible to see a brilliant production of My Fair Lady, starring Dominic West (The Wire, The Hour) as Professor Higgins and Carly Bawden  as Eliza Dolittle. But it wasn’t just the stars of this show who made it such a great night (though they were both brilliant)  - the whole cast, the staging, the singing, dancing and production were fantastic.  No wonder the production got  so many 5 star reviews.  And no wonder it’s now sold out.  It’s moving to the West End  after Sheffield so hopefully a lot more people will get to enjoy this treat.

And of course it’s great inspiration and research for a romance writer as  the alpha Professor Higgins meets his match in the feisty and  brave Eliza.

It's the first Sunday of the month - and of 2013 -  so as always I'm over on the Tote Bags 'N' Blogs  site where I've a post on my thoughts as to how I'm looking forward to  2013 - but not looking too far forward!

See you there?

Pink Heart Society

Today is the first Friday of January  - the first Friday of 2013 - so that means that today's my day for my regular blog post over on the Pink Heart Society blog in my  Date With Kate column.

So that's where I am today - and  I'm talking about starting the New Year off right with - not resolutions - but a lot  of resolution.

Romantic Novelists' Association

The very first non Christmas post to arrive at this house between Christmas  and New Year was my brand new membership card for the Romantic Novelists' Association. It was  great to see all the meetings planned for the coming year  - from the January Industry Panel on Erotic Romance  to the Annual Conference in Sheffield in  July. I hope to be there.

I've always said that one of the best things an unpublished writer can do for learning their craft and working on their career is to get a place on the RNA's New Writers' Scheme  - if you can, because these 250 places are like gold dust!  Applications for  the NWS open at 12.02 am (UK time) on January 2nd. Applicants should e-mail the Membership Secretary AFTER that time to reserve a place on the New Writers Scheme. 

Today I have a post over on the RNA's blog for the 12 days of Christmas where I'm talking about one of my favourite personal ornanments on my own Christmas tree.  Regular Christmas visitors to this blog will recognise my now rather elderly little angel. Scary to think she's seen some 30 Christmases!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone.

 

I hope 2013 is  a truly lovely year for you, filled with love, warmth, happiness and success with your family and friends around you so that you can build up shining memories to take with you everyday from the first January to the very last day of December.

Thank you for being my readers and my friends - for sharing my books and visiting here. I hope I'll 'see' more of you in the coming year and that you'll enjoy the books I have coming up.

Happy 2013!

Couting down the Days of 2012

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas.  Ours was  very quiet, very peaceful - thankfully - just what we needed - and with warmth, family and friends - what more do yo need?

I know what people think I need - books! I have  received so many books as gifts that I will be reading all year! It's a good thing that I did some much-needed catching up on reducing my TBR pile before the big day because  since Christmas Day, the to be read pile has grown again and I think it's even larger than before.  Luckily some of the books I was give are very short or quick and easy to read - Simon's Cat cartoons for one - so I have managed to deal with a couple of those.

And notebooks - I received some gorgeous notebooks . . .now I wonder what I'll be writing in those in 2012!

Anyway, 2012 is coming to a close and 2013 looms on the horizon - but before we step out into the brand new year, there are some things that need tidying up from  2012.  The Advent Calendar for one.

There are some give aways to  announce and send out - some prizes that haven't been collected -  and there are some  little extras to finish.

So -  the winner of one of my oldest books - First Man  - was Maria

Prizes not claimed;

The Konstantos Marriage Demand  was won by  N'digo_anjel

Chey wins a copy of  The Good Greek Wife.

Debby G who won Mediterranean Tycoons -

Please claim your books, ladies or they will go back into the box for next time.

And there are some books here that I have brought out of the storage boxes but I don't want to have to go and put them back in  so  I got Flora on the job of picking  and  the result was:

Desere  - The Return of the Stranger

Mary Preston  - Kept for Her Baby

Kaelee   and Rita -  you win  your choice of my back list

Please contact me with your postal addresses  using the link below.

I'll hope to get organised now  - and I'll wish you all a very very happy New Year, hoping that 2013 will be a gentle year for everyone - with love and  warmth and happiness.

See you then!

 

 

Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas to all my friends and readers.

I hope you have a truly happy day with warmth, love and joy surrounding you.

Are you a Kate Walker collector? I know some of you are trying to collect up all my titles written over the years - so how are you doing?

How many books do you have in your Kate Walker collections right now? What books are you missing - which ones are you hunting for?

Do you have special titles that you just  can't  find - or a book that you read years ago and would love to know  which one it was - and maybe have a chance to find  it again?

For the penultimate Advent calendar give away I've hunted out some of the older titles in my book  boxes.

 A couple of days ago, I  gave away an elderly copy of  Game of Hazard   to one collector  but I know there are a few more of you out there  - so  if you let me know what special title you are hunting for, I might just have it.

I know I have  some from very early on in my publishing career -  1986 - 1991  - 1994  (one was never published in America!)

And some more recent but not easy to find . . .  a couple of titles from 2006  and there might be more, I need to check through the boxes!

Anyway  - there are some of these golden oldies to give away - if you're looking for them.

So you know what to do - post a message in the comments, telling me what books you're hunting for and  why - or the past books you'd most love to read  - and I'll see what I can do.

If you want some inspiration - or a reminder of what titles are in my past! - check out my Backlist Titles page here and you'll see everything listed.

Let me know what is the oldest Kate Walker title you already own

And let me know Vintage Kate Walker's you'd most like to find.

Advent Calendar Day 22

It's raining - again!

I just opened the door to let in the cats after their early morning dash outside and they were SO happy to be let back in. They are soaked to the skin and Charlie is leaving wet footprints wherever he goes.  He was also so hungry, so he's happy  and more than ready to pick a winner for the latest giveaway.

So he has picked a name - and the name he has picked is Chey.

Chey wins a copy of  The Good Greek Wife.

Chey please send me your postal address and I'll get your prize in the mail to you.

Today's  giveaway is to win a copy of The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife. This book came out in 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 today's question is - well, I think it's time we looked at  some special treats coming up seeing as Christmas is nearly here. So  I'd like you to tell me about what you're lookiung forward to eating and drinking over the holidays.

Yes, I know there's the traditional Christmas dinner -  but what else do you have as as real treat while you're relaxing and enjoying yourselves  over Christmas?

Do you love mince pies - and  do you have them cold or warm? With cream ?  Ice cream?
Egg nog or perhaps some mulled wine?
Are you like my  DH who loves nuts  and actually enjoys cracking them and picking them out of the shells himself?  (I love nuts  - but I prefer it when someone else  has done the work!)
Do you buy in lots of chocolates and sweet things - or do you prefer the savouries like crisps,  cheeses,  spicy things?

I have to admit that I don't enjoy the dried fruit mixtures that are so much a tradion  at this time of year - so I don't have a single mince pie, Christmas cake - or even a Christmas pudding  - in the house.  But I do have homemade shaortbread and oaty cookies  made with golden syrup.   There will be cheesy biscuits too - and lots of different cheeses  with chutney and pickles. Those are always part of  our  meal on Christmas Eve - lots of variety and taste, but little cooking!

Oh and of c ourse there ios a bag of special treats for the cats - tasty dinners and some bags  of catnip to drive them crazy with delight in front of the fire!

So tell me the special treats in food or drink that you enjoy and your name will go into the prize draw for the giveaway book.

And now I must go and get dressed - and DH and I will be heading out for our traditional Saturday morning  - it might be nearly Christmas but  we still have a large coffee and the cryptic crossword puzzle  waiting for us.  WE've completed it every week  for 5 months now - we can't let it beat us before Christmas!

Advent Calendar Day 20

Charlie was easy to get in today - it's been pouring with rain from the moment I woke at 5am to the sounds of the rain  pounding down on the roof till now when the evenining has  closed in  - and the rain is still lashing down.
So Charlie  came in  fast when I called him for his teatime - and for  a chance to pick a winner.

And that winner is yadkny who wins a copy of Claimed by The Sicilian.

Yadkny - you know the drill - send me your postal address  via the link below and I'll put the book in the mail to you.

Today's book  was part of the mini series based on the ancient Greek myths

 The Good Greek Wife? was published in  2010  and was losely inspired by the story  of   Odysseus. A man who goes missing for years and whose wife waits at home, never knowing if he is coming back or not.

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?

You can win a copy of this title by joining in and answering  today's question -

Well, seeing as the hero of this story, Zareki Michaelis, went missing when he was travelling away from home - today;s question is  about travelling - or staying right where you are.

This coming weekend will be the most busy time on the roads, trains and planes as people travel to visit and stay with family or friends. So what about you?

Last week the babe Magnet and I went to visit friends in Yorkshire and we stayed  with them for a while.  I've just spent today sharing an early Christmas lunch with some other friends who live nearby.   For Christmas Day itself  we will be staying at home, apart from a short walk round to The Offspring's house to wish him and his fiancée a Happy Christmas.

Will you be getting into the car or on to a plane  and travelling to a different part of the country - or maybe even a different country  - to share your  Christmas with family or friends?

Or will you be staying safe and warm  in you own home?

Or perhpas  you have family travelling to visit you and spend the holidays in your home?

You know the drill - let me know what you'll be doing and you'll be in with a chance of winning  the story of my wandering Greek hero  and what happened when he found his way home.

Advent Calendar - Catching up again!

Well, that was something I didn't need. Just whehn I thought I was catching  up with the  Advent Calendar, I came to post a new blog and - no internet access!!
Great  - so I've been sitting here, waiting, frustrated - hoping to be able to post  - and not been able to log on. At last, things seem to be sorted,  and I'm able to post again. Let's hope it lasts.

Ok  - so - winners -

Charlie has picked  two names  who will win their choice of books -  and they are:

Marcy who wins  Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife
and
Catherine who wins Kept for Her Baby

Marcy and Catherine please email me (see the link  at the bottom of the page) and send me your postal address and I'll get your prize in the post to you.
I'll be doing another post with your choice of my backlist as a prize  in a couple of days - but there will be a different question.

And today's choice? 
Well today has another 3 in 1 collection on offer as a prize, but  this time, all three books in the collection are my titles - The whole collection is called
Claimed By The Sicilian

And the books in it are:

Sicilian Husband Blackmailed Bride

The Sicilian’s Red-Hot Revenge

The Sicilian’s Wife

And the question -

I spent this weekend writing cards as well as wrapping presents - so when you pick Christmas cards, do you  like to  buy traditional  ones - with a Christmas scene, ths stable and the manger  or perhaps the 3 kings?

Candles Robins and Holly and things like that?

Modern bright colours?

Funny cards - with cartoons on?  ( I just received a great card with Simon's Cat on it - if you like cats and haven't seen some of these videos you will enjoy them"!)

Or gold and glittery images?
Personally I buy a variety and choose ones that I think will suit the person I'm sending it to. But I do always buy cards from charities so that I hope I can help a little bit as well.

You know the drill - just post a message in the comments section  and I'll get Kate's Cat aka Charlie on the job of picking a winner.

Now I just hope I still have an internet connection to post this!

 

Advent Calendar Day 17

Hang on !  I could have sworn that there were 2 days in the weekend - in that case, I blinked and I missed one!  I was  so occupied with wrapping and packing  parcels and writing cards  . . .
All parcels have gone in the mail today and that means that I have at least caught up with posting out prizes - and so I need to get Flora on the job of picking some more winners.
Yes, Flora  is the winner  picker today - Charlie is out  dealing with his latest 'toy '  - a dead magpie . Yuck.
 So his big sister Flora is the cat indoors at the moment - and we don;t want Charlie back in until he's finished playing with black and white feathers.

So Flora has picked these winners -
The winner of the Golden Oldie Game of Hazard is Laney
The winner of  The Konstantos Marriage Demand  is N'digo_anjel
And the winner of Kept For Her Baby over on We Write Romance is  Catherine McT
. .  . And Tracy - Flora was so pleased to be picking treats that she grabbed 2 before I could breathe.

So would Laney
N'digo_anjel 
Catherine McT and
Tracy
 all please email me - use the link at the bottom of  the page - and send me would postal addresses. Thanks!

Today - well today I have two days to catch up on, Sunday and  Monday

 - so today I'm going to have 2 winners who can each pick their choice of books from my backlist -

The Devil and Miss Jones
The Return of the Stranger
The Good Greek Wife?
The Proud Wife
Kept For Her Baby
The Antonakos Marriage Demand
Bedded By The Greek Billionaire
The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife
Spanish Billionaire Innocent Wife
Cordero's Forced Bride
Sicilian Husband, BlackmailedBride
The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge

And today's question . . .   one question but Charlie will pick two prizes (if he's stopped playing with magpie feathers)


Because I'm interested -   you can let me know which of these books you'd like to win  and why?
What's your choice?
Or if you've read some of these which is your favourite?

I'd love to know

Advent Calendar Day 15

Today's the 15th December which means that it's the day I have my regular blog post over on We Write Romance where I have my usual Kate's Corner.

So that's where you'll find me today - and where you'll find the question for today's Advent Calendar giveaway.

Today's  book that I'm giving away is the 2009 title 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...



To be in with a chance to win this book you need to go over the WWR and answer the question in the comments there. (If you have any problems, then just come back here and post an answer. I'll be checking both blogs anyway.)

Advent Calendar Day 14

Well that was another busy day - are there any other sorts of days in the run up to Christmas?  Today was  a day I had to be out and about, shopping for groceries,

buying cat food – very important in the opinion of Charlie and Flora.  Cat treats are all very well when they are picking the prize-winners for this giveaway, but  they need real food as well!  Luckily their food  cupboard is well stocked now.   The bitter freeze that was making things very slippery over the past couple of days has melted and we are back with rain,  rain and more rain so it was a very soggy set of shopping expeditions.  I’m glad to be back home, with a warm fire and  now I plan to wrap some gifts and get them ready for the mail.

Amongst the packages going to the post office tomorrow will  be the prizes that I have announced so far. So, hopefully most of these will reach people before Christmas – I hope so anyway.

I’m still waiting for Charlie to come in to pick the winner of the copy of Game of Hazard.  (He spent most of the afternoon staring at the rain with a ‘you must be joking!’ look on his face when I opened the door for him to go out. But now the downpour has eased a little so he has gone out roaming for a while. I’ll get him on to picking  a winner when he comes back in.

So today’s question – well,  the fact that I have these packages to wrap and get in the mail made me wonder about how you all do this. Are you someone who loves to wrap parcels, create mini works of art with bows and glitter and specially colour co-ordinated ribbons and decorations?

Or are you someone who just puts a basic wrapping paper on the parcel and that’s that?

Or perhaps you’re one of these clever and original people who do fancy wrapping with pretty material or even ecologically sound wrapping in news.

Personally,  I love the idea  of really pretty parcels,  beautifully wrapped and decorated. I always start out with lots of great intentions  - and plenty of pretty paper etc. But somehow the enthusiasm never lasts quite long enough and even when I plan to get ahead and do things is good time, I always seem to be rushing to wrap the last of the gifts on Christmas Eve so that the parcels are barely finished before they’re being ripped open.

What about you?

Today’s give away is a signed copy of  The Konstantos Marriage Demand

The Greek's ruthless reunion.

Sadie Carteret and Nikos Konstantos were once blissfully in love. They planned the wedding of the year, and their union would create a powerful dynasty.

But business and pleasure should never be mixed. Nikos was accused of scheming for Sadie's money and title, and was systematically destroyed by her family. The wedding was cancelled, the relationship in tatters.

Now the ruthless billionaire has built himself back up from scratch. He will clear his name and demand what was rightfully his...

Sadie must love, honour and...obey....

The Konstantos Marriage Demand was awarded Romantic Times Best Presents Extra 2010.

Tomorrow is the 15th of December, so my blog post  - and the Advent Calendar  - will be over on We Write Romance  in my Kate's Corner.  See you there!