Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Catching up and Finding Books

Well - that was a busy time!  I just checked out my last post on my blog and find that it was on April 13th!

Really? I can't  think where the time went -   Well I can - sort of . .
Concentrating on revisions for the latest book  -  why are editors always right? Well,my current one is, anyway and she pointed out some important  things that needed 'tweaking'  so I had to get on with those as we have a tight turnaround deadline on this one. This wasn't helped by the fact that the Babe Magnet generously shared his horrible cold/cough with me !

Also had a tight turnaround for me personally as I wanted the revisions done before the Babe Magnet and I went  away for a short break.  We were staying in one of our favourite places in the whole world - the beautiful city of York.  I made the revisions deadline with moments to spare - sending them off  just in time to throw some things in a case  and set off. The couple  of days in York were just glorious and we had a wonderful time.  Afternoon tea in Bettys was a special treat too.

Since I was away,  the Mills & Boon web site still reads 'Sold Out' for  April's release Olivero's Outrageous Proposal,  which is amazing!  I've had some enquiries about ways to find it seeing as the M&B site  doesn't have it available  so - checking things through today, I see that Amazon.co.uk  has just got a new batch in  so  are copies there. And  of course there's always kindle.   The Book Depository still has copies  - and  they have copies of another book I've been asked about - the new   edition of the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance.  The great thing about  Book Depository of course is the fact that they also offer free delivery  worldwide

So.  that's where you can find Olivero. I have to say that  I've also been thrilled to see the fabulous reviews this book has been getting. My hunt on the M&B site led me to this lovely  review by Desere Steenberg - it made my day so much to read it!   I just wanted to thank  all the lovely people who've posted reviews letting me know that they've enjoyed this book.   My only worry is that as Desere says that this is' the number one Kate Walker book' - I'm going to have to work hard to match it with my next novel!  (Fingers tightly crossed that my sexy sheikh and his marriage of convenience also hits the right spot!)

So now I'm catching up - sorting out the absolute tip my workroom has become as I focused on Nabil and Aziza's story, planning  the courses coming up -
Next one is Beginning, Middle End - Planning Your Novel. That's in June  Details on the Events page 

And of course in July there's the fabulous Writers' Holiday in Fishguard  when I'm teaching The Complete Contemporary Romance Writing Course.

Then I have some time helping the Babe Magnet with publicity for his book Uncle Albert - that will involve more travel . . .

And of course I'm planning out the next book!

But I shall be blogging again soon about another book that readers have found to hard to  find -   that's Wife For Real   from The Alcolar Family collection.  Watch this space  for more  details when everything is sorted out.,


Monday, April 13, 2015

Today's my day to  wear a different hat (if I ever wore a hat! ) Today I am acting as the Babe Magnet's PA  as we go to a meeting with his publisher about the launch of Uncle Albert.   But as the meeting is in one of my favourite places in all the world - Haworth village where  Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte grew up, I'm perfectly happy with the prospect.

While I'm away there should be a post about Olivero's Outrageous Proposal over on I Heart Presents . Not sure exactly when it will go up as it will be when Elissa gets a chance to post it - but it will be there!

Meanwhile I'll be hoping the sunshine lasts - I love Wutherin Heights as a book  but I don't fancy braving the sort of cold, snowy weather Heathcliff and Cathy endured.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Tote Bags Blogging Day

Today's my day for blogging over on Tote Bags 'N' Blogs - so that's where you'll find me.

Small point  -  some people  have been trying to get hold of copies of the UK paperback  Olivero's Outrageous Proposal from the Mills & Boon  web site -  and it seems the paperback's  not available on there any more!

I didn't think that could be possible so I went for a look and sure enough, it says here   that the paperback is out of stock.   No idea how that happened - but it's great news for me!

Not so good for people who've been looking for it though! I'll check with my editor on Monday if there will be any more copies in  anytime - but in the meantime there's always Amazon, the Book Depository  or even the old-fashioned way  of buying in WH Smith!

Thank you to everyone who has bought a copy to create this result!  I hope the rest of you find a copy elsewhere.

Thursday, April 09, 2015

Pink Heart Day

Today's  my day for blogging over on the Pink Heart Society blog.

As I mentioned earlier on this blog that my DH is a published writer too, lots of people wanted to now more about what he writes - and how we manage to combine two careers and two very different approaches to writing.  So today on the Pink Hearts I've talked  more about that.


Tuesday, April 07, 2015

A lovely post to mark 30 years!

You might remember that some months ago,  I celebrated the publication of Nicole Locke's very first book. This was after I had met her at the Mills & Boon Author Party in London back in September.

I was delighted to share the news of her book with everyone - I so remember the excitement of the very first title to be published.

 At the time I had also asked Nicole if, as  a way to mark my 30 years of publication (that first book  The Chalk Line came out in December 1984)  she would write me a little bit about her favourite Kate Walker novel.  I know that she said she'd find it too hard to pick one title so I left that alone and said if she ever did want to write about a favourite to let me know.

Today she has done just that - and more !  Because to mark the publication of Olivero's Outrageous Proposal, Nicole has written the most lovely blog post about my writing, not here on this blog, but over on the official Mills & Boon blog on the Mills & Boon web site.  If I'm honest, I had to go away and blow my nose and blink rather hard when I read it. It is such a lovely post and  to say that I'm honoured is an understatement.   I'm so touched and complimented to think that a fellow writer has enjoyed my work like this for so long - it's the greatest compliment someone can pay to an author.

So all I can say is Thank you Nicole - thank you so much. You've made my day - week - month -year!  And I hope I'll see you again at AMBA this year so I can give you a big hug to say thank you in person.

And this has me wondering - do you have a special Kate Wallker title that you've loved and really enjoyed?  If anyone wants to write and let me know of a story that sticks in your memory, I'd love to share with every one else - after all, you don't get to celebrate 30 years of publication every day!






Monday, April 06, 2015

Spotlight on Harlequin Presents

Do you  love the Harlequin Presents line ? Well, as you're reading my blog, I'm sort of expecting that you do!

So you might like to know that there is a special Spotlight on Harlequin Presents over on the eHarlequin web site this week.

There are authors to chat with and ask questions of - and fellow readers  there to talk about your favourite books  and writers.

Maybe I'll see you there?

Friday, April 03, 2015

Another craft post

So - special thanks go to Nas Dean who has  found me places to chat with readers  and fellow writers.

Again, to mark the publication of the new paperback  edition of the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance -  here is another craft post on the Revising and Editing Site

This time I'm talking about training yourself as a plotter  - a different sort of answer to those 'where do you get your ideas from' sort of questions. Here's how I get - and work through - some of my ideas.

Ideas are all around you if you just look.

Oh - and there's a giveaway of Olivero's Outrageous Proposal as well.

Thursday, April 02, 2015

Double Publication Day!

 As I announced yesterday - April 1st is the official publication date of my latest book Olivero's Outrageous Proposal. But,  as I'm sure so many of you know, I'm not the only writer in this  house.  My husband, Stephen Wade, also known as the Babe Magnet is also a multi-published author.
Usually he writes non-fiction, local history, true crime, biographies,  but April 1st is also the ;publication date of his collection of Yorkshire based short stories  -  Uncle Albert. (Priory Press) 

So, to mark this double publication date,  I thought we'd  do a double blog post with each of us talking about our own new titles - but there's a twist. I've interviewed  the author Stephen Wade -   and he's interviewed the author Kate Walker  -  so here's the result:



Kate Walker to Stephen Wade on Uncle Albert

What is the book about?
I wanted to go back to my childhood –in fact I think my best writing has always been on that theme. The stories are an exaggeration of people and events from a Yorkshire village in the 1950s. I wanted to make it larger than life, very much influenced by Peter Tinniswood, who used to write about a northern family, or maybe a bit like Carla Lane’s Bread.

What made you write these stories?

I decided I’d had enough of miserable tales about crime and decided that I wanted to encourage people to smile at a thoroughly daft character.

    Is Uncle Albert  based on someone real?
      Only in a very small way – about 2 % of Albert is actually my real Uncle Albert, from Churwell, near Leeds.  He and Aunt Ivy never had children, and they looked after me when I was little, as Mam went out to work as a dressmaker in a clothes factory. Later, they gave a home to three boys – sons of my Uncle Harry Medd.

  Is the village where the stories are set a real  one?

Gawpham is vaguely Churwell but there is something mythic about the lace- it’s locked into my DNA. There are key locations such as the cottage garden, the working men’s club and the small-holding.

  Did you use the local dialect words when you were a kid? (the ones you have to explain in a glossary for non Yorkshire tykes!)

I was a dialect speaker until the age of 7. So I asked my mates, ‘Are tha laikin’ aht toneet?’
‘Are you coming out to play tonight?’



Description

Everyone has an Uncle Albert somewhere in their family tree and he's usually the one having a quick smoke around the back while trying to think up a new get-rich-quick scheme that doesn't actually involve work. The sort of uncle who is wonderful to talk about unless he actually turns up on your doorstep carrying a still-moving sack and wearing a furtive look.
Uncle Albert is a nostalgic look at life in a small Yorkshire village when Tetley's Yorkshire Bitter was still made in Yorkshire and a pie and a pint with ketchup was at least two of your five-a-day.
A wonderful collection of Yorkshire-voiced short stories by Stephen Wade which will appeal to young and old alike.





Stephen  Wade to Kate Walker  on Olivero's Outrageous Proposal.


  Was the title difficult to create? – or do you find satisfactory titles always to be a tough ask?

  I rarely get to keep a title that I've come up with - usually my editor chooses one that fits the book in the  Presents line-up.  The last title I had used as a working title for my book was the previous book - A Question of Honour so I was pleased to keep that. But when I was writing this, to me it was  just 'Alyse and Dario's story' and my editor rechristened it Olivero's Outrageous Proposal. She's good at thinking up good titles - and the one she has for my next book is just fabulous. (But I can't reveal that until it's all signed and sorted and officially scheduled)

       Would you say it has the Kate Walker hallmark – and if so, what exactly is that key element that makes a Kate Walker story?

      Oh that's a tricky one -  I'm not sure authors are the best at describing their 'hallmarks'.  I did have an editor once who said she loved my dark heroes (and she wasn't just talking about tall dark and handsome)  so there's that of course. And there's an intensity of focus on the  emotional journey of the hero and heroine.  And  there's also an intensity of passion! I'd have to go with the way Romantic Times described it: This couple heats up the pages with their battle-worthy banter and sensual conversations. 


Is the hero a personal favourite? (Where does he stand vis a vis the long line of heroes in all the books?)  

       Dario was fun to write    and I fell in love with him as I wrote his story. But then I'd have to say that about every hero I write.  They're all my favourite when  I've just finished writing there story (not so much when I'm battling with them to get the story written!) 
       I'm loving having Dario's story in my hands - but I'm afraid I have to confess that I'm now being unfaithful to him with Nabil my new, sexy, scarred sheikh hero!  

 Do you still get a thrill when your new book drops through the letter-box?
 
   Oh yes! That's one of the best bits of being a published author - seeing the new book, with a shiny cover and   somehow the words look so different in printed form.
            Even when I'm not so keen on the cover it's still a special feeling- and then seeing the book in the shops is always a thrill

  If you compared yourself to Him Indoors, what differences would you find – that is, in the kinds of writers  you are?

I think the different sort of writers we both are just proves the truth of the fact that there is no right way to write a book - we all have our own processes, we go about this writing business in  very different ways and neither is better than the other we both end up with published books in the end.

I write in silence and  the books take time to put together - thinking of the emotional story and the motivations of the characters etc. And my characters get very serious and intent about things - there's none of the humor that Albert brings to the page,  This Stephen Wade person writes fast  - specially with Uncle Albert! and  always has music playing  while he's at the keyboard - often jazz which I can't stand. So it's just as well that we have managed to set ourselves up in separate studies so we can each work in our own way. 

What's that they say about opposites attract? It certainly seems to be so with two such very different writers. 

Description:

One problem...
Dario Olivero, Alyse Gregory was supposed to be a way to reap revenge against his estranged half brother. But Alyse carries the key to the family acceptance he's always craved and, realizing just how much trouble she's in, he can't turn away.

One solution!
A marriage proposal is not what Alyse was expecting. But this deliciously sexy Italian will resolve her family's debts if she becomes his convenient wife... Her head says no but her body begs her to say yes.

With an intensity rivaling the Tuscan sun, their mutual desire soon escalates to something inconvenient, creating a whole new dilemma!

Wednesday, April 01, 2015

Goodreads Giveaway



Goodreads Book Giveaway

Olivero's Outrageous Proposal by Kate Walker

Olivero's Outrageous Proposal

by Kate Walker

Giveaway ends April 10, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win
www.goodreads.com www.goodreads.com

It's publication day  !
Well, it's the official publication date for Olivero's Outrageous Proposal.  I know it's been around in the shops and on the M&B site earlier  - but this is the official  date!


So  to celebrate I'm running a special Goodreads  Book Giveaway.

There are five copies of Olivero's Outrageous Proposal on offer here - so just click the link above to be in with a chance of winning one.

The giveaway ends on April 10th.

And no, this is not an April Fool  Trick!
 

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