Bandita Booty!

by Anna Sugden

Sorry this is late - life seems to have conspired against me! Anyway, without further ado, I wanted to announce the winners of Kate Walker's fabulous prizes - two lucky winners will receive a copy of both her wonderful books A Proud Wife and The Konstantos Marriage Demand.

Congratulations to ...

Louisa Cornell

and

Sheree!!

Please send your snail mail details to me at Anna@annasugden.com and I will pass them on to Kate!

A Tale of Two (or More) Covers

by Anna Sugden

I'm delighted to welcome back a Lair favourite and a dear friend, the fabulous Kate Walker. Kate is not only here to share details of her latest wonderful book - The Proud Wife - but also to tell us some exciting news .... and give away an extra-special prize to celebrate! So, without further ado, I'll have you over to Kate.

Happy April Banditas – I really do think that Spring has started to arrive here in the UK. The crocuses (crocii?) are flowering, the daffodils are starting to open out in glowing yellow, and my new (well six month old) ginger and white kitten is out chasing flies and bumble bees in the sunshine.

I'm really happy to be able to be back with you to say Hi again and to share my good news about my newest title – and one of my older ones. Every new book that I have published is a real thrill. It’s a delight and an excitement that never goes away – no matter how many titles I have in my backlist. This latest, brand-new, beautiful ‘baby’ is one I’ve never seen in the shops before. It’s a ‘first’ for this title and seeing it in all its untouched beauty in a new cover, new title is a very special thrill.

It’s one of the best things about being an author. That feeling of seeing your work in print is something that never fades – or it hasn’t for me.

But with my latest book, The Proud Wife, a March release in UK, there was an extra edge to the excitement this time around. Because this was my very first paperback edition with the new style UK covers.

I’m assuming that you’ve spotted the new covers on the UK editions of the Mills & Boon books – but just in case you haven’t, here’s an example of how they've changed.

My last UK release, The Good Greek Wife, was out in paperback in this style cover

My current title The Proud Wife is in a UK cover like this.

I’ve had a lot of emails and messages from readers telling me just how much they love this cover – and I have to agree that it is beautiful. Stylish, elegant – and quite a long way from the clichéd clinch covers there used to be. I also love the fact that we now have great new titles – well, some are great and they’re all new titles and a long way away from the Ruthless Greek/Italian/Spaniard/Sheikh’s Blackmail and Revenge on the Innocent Virgin Amnesiac Housekeeper Heroine titles that were used for too long. The Proud Wife is a much better title.

But I have to admit that when I first looked at the cover of The Proud Wife, what I really thought was – huh? This may be a lovely cover - but it isn’t the cover to my book. The heroine on the cover my by lovely – but she’s not my heroine – not the Marina I’ve written about. My heroine is a feisty, voluptuous redhead, a woman of spirit, full of defiance. This woman looks cool, calm and collected - a bit icy perhaps. Can you imagine her throwing the papers containing her divorce settlement in the face of the man she once loved to the point of madness?

No, me neither! So I have to admit that, clichéd as it might be – maybe even a little old-fashioned - but as an author I like the cover of my Presents Extra edition that bit better. At least here my heroine looks as if she has a bit of a spark about her. She also had the red hair that so attracted her hero Pietro when he first met her.

But as a reader, and a buyer, I do like the new covers that Mills & Boon have brought out. I like the way that they have a freshness, a less stylised design. I like the way that the picture of the heroine/heroine/any combination of the two is above the title and underneath the title and the author’s name is another photograph that gives a clue to where the book is set or what happens in it. I love the way that every line – from Modern Romance Medicals, Historicals or the brand new RIVA – all have their own individual looks, designs that tell the reader only too clearly that these books all have their own flavour, they’re own style, they are not just more of the same, ‘cookie-cutter’ stories – which of course they are not.

Thinking about the new covers started me thinking about the way the covers of my books have changed since I started out over 25 years ago. (I was a child author, honest.) My very first cover looked like this (The Chalk Line) and they couldn’t even get the hero’s hair colour right. Then we had the ‘half a heart’ design (Flirting with Danger) The first set of photographic covers , the blue ‘swoosh’ (Good Greek Wife) and now we’re back to photographs again.

Of course, as an author, I have to say I love the emphasis given to the name of the person who wrote the book in the new style covers. And the change in the design of the covers shows how romance writing is a living, growing developing thing. Not just something set in stone and never altering. The new look M&B covers seem fresh and interesting on the bookshop shelves. But then again that Presents cover with it s white cover, the red banner at the top and the image in the circle has become a real icon over time – I know lots of people would hate to have it changed.

What do you think? Do you like the new-style covers? Would you like to see the Presents design given a make-over? Or would you prefer things to stay the same? And what are your favourite covers? Cover designs you really love – or the opposite? What about the ones you hate? Are you one of the readers that journalists claim are part of the boom in ebook buying because you’re embarrassed by the covers on the books? I’d love to know.

Which sort of brings me to my great news and my cause for celebration. Because one of my books with a cover I don’t like very much at all is The Konstantos Marriage Demand. It’s a cover that just doesn’t appeal to me. But I’m very very fond of that book because, as I’m now finally able to announce, The Konstantos Marriage Demand, has just been awarded Best Presents Extra 2010 in the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Awards. I just wish I could be at the RT convention next week to pick up the award – but I’ll raise a toast to the book – and to everyone who’s going to be there anyway!

And as anyone who knows me knows that when I celebrate I love to share my joy – so to celebrate this award, I’m adding in a copy of The Konstantos Marriage Demand to my giveaway this time. I have two pairs of books – The brand new The Proud Wife and the Award winning Konstantos Marriage Demand - to give away to someone who posts a comment about the covers you like – or not.

You can find out all about Kate's books, and all the latest news by checking out her web site at: http://www.kate-walker.com or her blog at http://kate-walker.blogspot.com/

How Do You Do, How To?

by Anna Campbell

Are you a how-to book fan?

I have to say I'm addicted to reading writing how-to books. Right now they're on my mind in a big way so I thought I'd shoot the breeze about the self-help section of the bookshop. Hmm, perhaps I'd be on millionaire's row if I could just rephrase that sentence as "I'm addicted to writing reading how-to books." I could definitely write a book about reading! And I'd LOVE the research!

How-tos (henceforth to be referred to as H2s) are on my mind because I've just finished reading a really great one - the new edition of Harlequin Mills and Boon author Kate Walker's classic 12-POINT GUIDE TO WRITING ROMANCE. I'm also about to re-read what is probably my favorite writing H2, Dorothea Brande's BECOMING A WRITER so I can review it for my friends at the Romance Dish (check out the review on the 24th March).

I've read H2s for years - there's always some new insight to gather from another writer's experience and sometimes, as in the case of the three books I'll mention today, it's lightbulb moment after lightbulb moment. By the end, I'm dragging out the sunglasses to cut the glare!

I know we have a lot of writers who visit the lair so I thought I'd share a few thoughts about why Kate's book is such a great resource.

Just lately I've judged a stack of writing contests and I must say there's some impressive talent out there! But there are also a lot of aspiring writers who need help with two of the basic building blocks of a great story, conflict (the obstacle/issue keeping the couple apart for 200 or 400 pages so we've actually got, yanno, a STORY!) and motivation (why do these people behave as they do?). The two chapters of Kate's book on these essential elements are masterly - clear, concise and they emphasize that without adequate conflict and motivation a story has the oomph of a piece of cold spagghetti. No offense to all those lovely, oomph-heavy pieces of cold spagghetti who read the blog!


The last of my three H2s that I'd love to mention is BIRD BY BIRD: SOME INSTRUCTIONS ON WRITING AND LIFE by Anne Lamott. This is a book that vies with Dorothea's as my favorite writing H2. I use its advice all the time - especially the story behind the title. The author's brother had to finish a school project about all the birds in America and he left it until the very last minute and fell into a crippling panic at the thought of getting it done. Anne Lamott's father calmed the boy down and said, "Let's do it bird by bird."

When I'm staring down the barrel of a HUGE project like writing a whole book, I remember that. A book is written bird by bird or rather WORD BY WORD. It's a wonderfully calming mantra and it allows me to pick up the tools of my trade (well, turn on the computer at least!) and write my story without being overwhelmed by the task ahead.


Finally, for the non-writers who like to come to the lair to chase the cabana boys and pluck the rooster (no wonder he keeps flying off to Australia!), here are two H2/self-help books that are full of amazing wisdom.

I haven't read WOMEN WHO RUN WITH THE WOLVES: CONTACTING THE POWER OF THE WILD WOMAN by Clarissa Pinkola Estes for years but it's a book that literally changed my life. I read this towards the end of that awful 18 months about 17 years into my pre-publication career when I'd given up writing because I'd decided selling a book was a childish dream that I should relinquish. As you can imagine, that was not a happy time for little Miss Campbell!

I'm not sure what prompted me to pick up this very thick book - especially as at the time, I really wasn't into self-help books. It might have been a recommendation from a friend. Anyway, this book is about women sticking to their guns and it delivers its message through a series of myths and legends from all over the world. You know what a sucker I am for a fairy tale! By the time I finished it, I was well and truly ready to pick up my six-shooter and have another stab (oops, mixed metaphor there!) at a writing career. I joined Romance Writers of Australia (women who run with the wolves aren't scared of no stinkin' writin' organization, no sirree!) and that set me on the path to eventually seeing my books on the shelves.

So having discovered the wonderful world of self-help books, I began to read widely in the field and stumbled across this next book via James Hillman's pupil Thomas Moore. THE SOUL'S CODE: IN SEARCH OF CHARACTER AND CALLING by James Hillman isn't a religious book although it definitely has a spiritual dimension. What I love about this book is it addresses that sense of vocation as a writer I always felt (and that I denied when I gave up after listening to all the 'sensible' people in the world). This book outlines the acorn theory - we're basically born knowing what we are to become the way an acorn knows to grow into a magnificent tree.

Hmm, not feeling much like a magnificent tree this morning. Perhaps more like an overgrown shrub!

So over to you. Do you like H2s or self-help books? If you do, do you have any favorites you'd like to share? If you're a writer, did you get any invaluable insights or advice from an H2? Let's let it all hang out! Groovy, man!

Bandita Christmas Booty!

by Anna Sugden

Thanks for all the Christmas movie suggestions - I look forward to checking some of them out!

Jersey Girl and CC have dipped their paws into the hat and pulled out the winner for my prizes!

Congratulations to Pissenlit who wins the 12 Days of Christmas prize and the copy of Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance.

Please send me your snail mail details at anna@annasugden.com and I will ensure your prizes are despatched asap.

****UPDATE** Pissenlit has generously offered up the writer's craft book - Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance - to any writer who would like it - so, the first writer to email me at the above addy will win the copy!

Bandita Booty!

by Anna Sugden


It's time to announce the winners of the prizes from Kate Walker's visit! The handsome Sid has done his duty and selected two lucky commenters to win a copy of Kate's latest fabulous book A Good Greek Wife? (don't forget that question mark!)

So without further ado ...

Congratulations to:

Gillian Layne

and

Karyn Goode

Please send your snail mail details to me at anna@annasugden.com and I will forward them to Kate.

Kate Walker talks about A Good Greek Wife?

By Anna Sugden

I'm delighted to welcome back a Lair favourite - the fabulous Kate Walker. We always have so much fun with Kate and I know today will be no different.

So without further ado, here's Kate

It’s so good to be back in the lair with the Banditas – it feels like I’ve never been away.

No – honestly. It really does. Have you had one of those years? One where you’re sure someone has got hold of the timing mechanism on the days and has wound it up so hard and so tight that spinning at speed and there’s this ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ feeling about everything.

This year has seemed like that. I’ve been celebrating 25 years as a published author. I hit a milestone birthday ( I was a child author so you’ll not be surprised that I’m now hitting 30 – again!) I’m sure it was only two seconds ago when I was hugging Anna S for real in the burning heat of the summer at the RNA Conference (and it was hot wasn’t it Anna? Extremely, and with no air conditioning too! Anna) Now the scene outside my window is cool and wet and foggy – all the things that make it a real autumn (or Fall) day.

But around this time I start to think in terms of a New Year, much more than in January. January is too bleak and cold and dark (well, it is here in Lincolnshire). And October with its new term, new school year appeals much more. So it’s sort of appropriate that right now I’m rounding off the celebrations for my 25th year in publishing and looking forward to the new and 26th year of this writing career of mine.

And things have changed so much since my very first book ever (The Chalk Line) was published in 1984. The covers for one thing. When I had my first book out the covers were just picked from a selection the Art Department had in stock , not commissioned for the book itself. Which is why my black haired, rough-edged hero turned into a smooth, sleek blond! Last month Mills & Boon started bringing out their new look covers and they are very different. Unfortunately I don’t have a new cover on any of my titles yet (that will come in March ’11) but I’m looking forward to seeing it. But I have to say that I do love the cover for my latest book – The Good Greek Wife? It represents the story well too, with the big carved bed and the sea out beyond the room. They’re both very important in the story.

I said this book was different – so why is that? Well, for one it’s my first book with one of the new-style titles. M&B Have published their last Greek Billionaire’s Blackmailed Amnesiac Virgin (Did you hear the cheers back in the summer when editorial announced it? That really brightened up every author’s day, I can tell you.) Secondly, this book is the result of something of a challenge.

My editor rang me up one day and said she hoped I’d like to write a book for a brand-new mini series they were planning. A series of books based on the stories of the ancient Greek Myths, bringing them right up to date and modernising them. I really wanted to be involved but first I had to find the right story to bring modernise. Weren’t all Greek Myths about monsters and battles and sword fights? But then I remembered 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. That was just the inspiration I needed.

And that’s the reason why this title has that intriguing question mark at the end . I have to keep remembering to put it in as I’m always tempted to write just The Good Greek Wife, with no ? And that’s something very different. Because the story of The Good Greek Wife? (I remembered that time) is one of two people who don’t really know each other well enough. They married in haste, in a red haze of passion, and were just beginning to learn about each other when tragedy struck and tore them apart. For years Penny believed that her husband was dead but now he’s back . . . and she doesn’t know if he’s the man she married. Or have the years in between and all that he’s been through changed him – for better or for worse? Zarek, her husband, needs to get to know his wife too, all over again. But has she waited for him faithfully, like Penelope, Odysseus’ wife in the old legend - or has she sided with his enemies, to take over his company? Is she still – or does she still want to be – a Good Greek Wife?

I loved writing this book – it was as I said, a real challenge. And it involved some heavy duty research - like watching the movie Troy once or twice (Brad Pitt, Eric Bana . . it’s a tough job, research!) It was as I was writing this story that I got a new insight into why Harlequin romances are so consistently popular and have been for so long. The emotions and the passions that the authors write about are truly the ‘classic’ emotions - feelings that are as old as time and never change fundamentally, no matter what era or place the book is set in. Whether the hero is an ancient Greek warrior or a Modern Greek Billionaire, the central core of the story – that love conquers all – is always essentially the same. And that’s what makes a classic love story. And a classic love-story is what I hope I've created in A Good Greek Wife?

And I’m so happy to have this book to round off the celebrations for my 25th year as a romance writer. I’m ending this special year on some very happy notes. There’s the publication of A Good Greek Wife? and I just got the news that the book has actually sold out since it was published over here in the UK. So I really hope that it has the same success when it appears in Presents Extra in America. Another sell-out book has been my second edition of the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance. My publisher tells me there isn’t a single copy left in the warehouse and he’s busy reprinting a 3rd edition which will hopefully be out at the end of this month. I have a new book coming out in March and right now I’m just finishing a new story – another of those ‘challenge’ books ready for another series coming out next year.

It’s been a great 25 years and I’m really looking forward to what’s coming next. And to round of this year I’m running a big contest over on my web site (www.kate-walker.com). This time I’m giving away not just a couple of prizes but 25 prize giveaways, one to mark each year of publication. I can tell you that Sid the Cat who of course helps me pick all the winners to my contests is feeling pretty happy at the thought of having to choose 25 cat crunchies to give me the names of my winners. Of course so that he can do this, I'll need at the very least 25 entries. So I hope you’ll come along and enter. But just for the Romance Bandits I have a special giveaway - I have two signed copies of The Good Greek Wife? and one of my special Kate Walker tote bags to give away to someone who comments today.

Just tell me if you had to modernise a story and turn it into a modern romance – which one would you choose? Would it be another Greek myth – or one of the fairy tales and fables? Or perhaps a tale from Shakespeare or even a nursery rhyme? You never know – you might inspire yourself – or me!

I’ll try to drop in and chat with you as often as I can but I’m travelling today – teaching a workshop in Halifax (that’s Halifax West Yorkshire, not Halifax Nova Scotia) at the weekend and I’m doing a series of 1to1s today. But I’ll hope to connect with the internet – and you all – along the way.

Bandita Booty!!

by Anna Sugden

Kate Walker's handsome cat, Sid, has picked his winner. Actually, he must have been very hungry (see the picture of Sid picking winners on Kate's post!) because he picked several winners!

So ...

The winner of the main prize - a copy of both Kate's RT Top Picks - The Konstantos Marriage Demand and Bedded by the Greek Billionaire is ...

Di R!!


And the runners up are:

Karyn aka Drew

Suzanne

You get your pick of one of these Kate Walker books:

At the Sheikh's Command

The Italian's Forced Bride

Sicilian Husband Blackmailed Bride

The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge

The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife

Cordero's Forced Bride

Bedded by the Greek Billionaire

Kept For Her Baby

Please email Kate with your snail mail details (and book choice) at Kate@Kate-Walker.com

Ideas and Family Feuds (no, not mine – my characters’!)

By Anna Sugden

I'm delighted to welcome back a Lair favourite, my dear friend, the fabulous Kate Walker. As always, Kate will give us a peek at her latest wonderful release and share some great news too.

So, without further ado, I'll hand you over to Kate.

It’s great to be back here with the lovely Romance Bandits. I’ve had such a wonderful time on my previous visits so I’m always happy to be back here. It’s funny, Anna S and I tried so hard to make this happen for over a year – but emails kept going missing and then Anna was moving from one country to another. But when we finally got it together it’s been so easy ever since. And here I am back again just looking forward to that wonderful Bandita welcome.

And I’m pretty excited about the reason for my being here. I don’t know any author who isn’t thrilled to know that she has a new book out. Even if this is my – hang –count them . . .56th title, it’s still a wonderful moment to know that the latest story is published and on the bookshop shelves and that people are actually buying it. (Well - fingers crossed that they are!)

But this book – The Konstantos Marriage Demand (Presents Extra out March 16th) - is extra special for me. That’s because I just discovered that Romantic Times has given this particular book 4.5 stars and has chosen it as one of their Top Picks for March. Can I say – I’m celebrating! Double celebrating. As I mentioned when I was first guest-blogging here with you all, this year I’m celebrating 25 years of being published. And when I started out – and all through most of those 25 years, it was my ambition, my dream, to win the accolade of my book being a Romantic Times Top Pick. I finally achieved it with my 2008 book Bedded By the Greek Billionaire and that made my day (my year!) Now I’ve managed it a second time with The Konstantos Marriage Demand and I’ve every bit as excited as the first time. It’s funny though – these Top Picks seem to be like buses. You know what they say – you wait for ever and then two come along at once! Anyway, as most people know, when I’m celebrating I like to have others celebrate with me. And this time is no different. So at the end of this post, there’s a chance for you to join me in my celebrations.

But first –the real blog I was going to write was going to be something of a response to the question that I get asked all the time. You know the one. The ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ question.

This is what everyone seems to want to know and it’s really such a very hard question to answer. I usually fudge my answer by saying ‘well I have a very vivid imagination.’ Or ‘ Where do I get my ideas from? From life.’ And it’s true, ideas are all around you if you just know where to look. They’re in the newspapers, the magazines, on TV. In conversations overheard in coffee shops . . . I once told my accountant that really life was a ‘viable expense’ that I could claim for because everything was ‘research’ for an author but he wasn’t having that.

The truth is that you only really need a tiny ‘seed’ that sparks off all sorts of questions and ideas and then I start asking the question ‘Why. . .?’ and I end up with a story.

And that’s how it was with The Konstantos Marriage Demand. A long time ago, in my ideas notebook, I wrote down ‘family feud – Eastenders’. I was watching the UK ‘soap’ Eastenders at the time and there was a storyline running through the episode about a family feud. I just noted the idea and never used it. Then last year on one of my courses I was teaching about conflict – internal and external conflict and illustrating external conflict with the story of Romeo and Juliet. And there was that word again ‘feud’. The feud between the Montagues and the Capulets.

And that started me thinking . . . How could a feud come about in the 21st century? What effect would it have on my hero and heroine . . .

So that’s how the book that turned into The Konstantos Marriage Demand got started. I loved working in the ‘feud’ part of the story – it gave an added edge to the whole plot. And when I thought out a reason why the feud had really become so bad as to tear Nikos and Sadie apart, I felt I had a something that gave it al the emotional punch I had been looking for. And it seems that the Romantic Times reviewer agreed when she wrote : Misunderstandings and family betrayals propel this terrifically well-paced and fiery romance to its very rewarding conclusion.

So now as I said, I’m going to share the celebrations. Seeing as two of my books have won that coveted RT Top Pick accolade, I’m going to give away a set of the two winning books – Bedded By The Greek Billionaire and The Konstantos Marriage Demand – to someone who leaves a comment. (Well – you know me – I’ll get Sid the Cat on the job and have him pick out the winner for me.)

So you know what I’m celebrating – what are you celebrating this year? Big or small – a new home, a new job, getting over the flu, the fact that the sun’s come out again? Let’s cheer up the cold days of March and look at the good things in life. Tell me something you’ll celebrate and I’ll put your name out with a cat treat on it for Sid to pick a winner.

Bandita Booty!!

by Anna Sugden

Thanks everyone for helping to make Kate Walker's 25th Anniversary celebration such a wonderful success. Kate had such a good time that she is giving away some stocking stuffer prizes as well as her main prize!

The winner of the Grand Prize "12 Point Guide to Writing Romance" is ...

Linda Rader!

Congratulations Linda, I know you'll love this book and find it incredibly useful!

Stocking Stuffer prizes go to:

Keira
Jo
Gillian
Deb

Congratuations to all of you!!

Please send Kate your snail mail details at Kate at Katewalker dot com and she will send out your prizes!

CORRECTION!!! this should be Kate at kate-walker dot com!!!

Let's Celebrate with Kate!!

by Anna Sugden

I'm delighted to welcome back my very dear friend, the fabulous Mills & Boon author, Kate Walker, for another fun-filled day in the Lair. This time, we're going to give Kate a celebration to remember, as she's joining us during a very special anniversary!

So bring on the cabana boys, gladiators and hockey hunks and let the fun begin! May I be the first to raise a glass of bubbly and say "Congratulations, Kate - may you have many more years of giving us wonderful books! And thank you for all the help and advice you've given us over the years."

Thank you, Anna and Banditas. It's a real pleasure to be back with you all.

It’s very nearly Christmas and everyone is rushing around looking for gifts to give to loved ones, choosing them, buying them, wrapping them up and either putting them in the post or delivering them in person. Christmas is all about giving and sharing with those we care about. But the gifts we give don’t have to be just material things. (Though those are always nice – and a few brand new books in my Christmas stocking will always go down a treat!) We can share help and advice and support and encouragement. And that’s what I love to do with those not-yet-published authors who are aiming and hoping top get their books published some time soon.

But not everyone understands this. A couple of years ago, I was at an event with a lot of other Harlequin Mills &Boon authors. One of them was an elderly, long-established writer who told me to my face that she ‘didn’t approve’ of all the things I did like giving workshops, running courses, teaching and advising ‘wannabes’ (her term). And she really didn’t approve of the fact that I had written the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance. I was, she said, encouraging them to think that getting published was easy and that all you had to do was to follow a few rules, knock together several thousand words, and you would be heading for the best-seller lists in no time! Hmm! She also wanted to know what I was doing, ‘training up the opposition’, helping new authors who would get published, move in, grab all the sales, and, apparently, ruin my position, knocking me – and other older established authors out of the market altogether.

Huh? I didn’t get it then – still don’t get it now. How could helping a ‘trainee’ author polish and hone her skills so that she sees how things have to be in a romance novel and more importantly why they have to be that way ruin my own career and those of many other like me? How could saying that there are no ‘rules’ but there are things you need to look out for, things you need to focus on, things you need to think about damage the reputation I’ve built up over the years?

[Anna: Trust me, Kate's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance is invaluable for any wannabes!]

Perhaps I should add in something here. Over on my own blog, as well as celebrating Christmas, I’m marking a very special anniversary. This December 2009 I have been a published romance writer for 25 years since my very first book, The Chalk Line was published in December 1984. In that time I have had over 50 books published, with titles number 56 and 57 coming up in 2010. It’s a very special time for me and an achievement I’m so very proud of.

25 years ago when having a book published was just a dream - one that no one ever seemed to think I was going to achieve – there was just one person who believed in me and thought I might actually make it. She was a friend of my mothers, a woman called Marguerite Lees who wrote for Mills & Boon way back then when I was growing up. Her simple comment ‘You can write,’ when she read my childhood writings gave me faith in myself and sustained me when I thought I’d never make it. My success never damaged hers – so why should I ever think that helping anyone else would harm mine? Could it take away the 57 titles I’ve had accepted?

Some months ago I went to a concert by a favourite singer, Michael Ball. He has had huge success as a recording artist, on stage in musicals, and had won many awards. I’ve seen him on stage many times. This time he had a slightly different show because it included performances by several new young singers who had appeared with him in productions of Hairspray etc. Giving these young - and hugely talented singers – a break by letting them appear on stage with him did nothing to reduce the singing power and presence of the star . Instead their new voices added a different depth and richness to songs I had heard many times before, allowing for different and original arrangements, extending the range and scope of the music.

That’s what I hope for when new authors are signed with Harlequin – in the Presents line I write for, or for any line at all. In fact any genre at all., Every line, every genre, needs new blood to stay alive, stay fresh. Any form of fiction needs to grow and develop, to change and adapt to new years, new trends, new types of societies so that it will always be relevant and never ever become a stuffy old dinosaur that no one wants to read.

And that’s why I love helping what the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association calls ‘New Writers’ those who aren’t yet published but with a little help and adv ice and encouragement might yet be the new Lynne Graham, the new Jennifer Cruisie, or even the new Nora Roberts. That’s why I run the courses etc and that’s why I wrote the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance. This book has already sold out one edition completely and the second, much expanded and updated edition was brought out in an American edition for the first time this year. Since it was published, I’ve heard from at least seven brand new novelists who have been helped on their way to publication by reading this book – and believe me that’s one of the best presents I’ve ever had. Almost – though not quite as good as that very first published book that I held in my hand this time 25 years ago.

So as part of my ‘Silver Anniversary’ celebrations I’m giving away a signed copy of the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance to one lucky commenter. (Or if you’ve already got it – or you’re not actually trying to get published – then I’ll send you a copy of my most recent Presents novel Kept For Her Baby instead. Your choice.)

I’ve been talking about giving and if you’ve ever visited my blog you’ll know that two years ago my husband (the renowned Babe Magnet) gave me one of the best presents ever when he found me a beautiful and adorable Maine Coon kitten who has now grown into an even more beautiful and more adorable Queen . Her real name is Flora but she’s also known as Flora the Floozie. So Flora and the very first edition of The Chalk Line all those years ago have to come into the category of the Best Presents I Ever Received.

What would be your best present ever? One you’ve been given or one you’d just dream of ever finding under the tree on Christmas morning? I’d love to know. And I’ll get Sid the cat on the job to pick one poster as a winner of a copy of whichever book you want!

And can I add a special request here too – with another chance to win a prize as I have 25 of them to give away to mark this very special Silver Anniversary for me. I’ve been asking readers to let me know which of my books was the very first title they ever read. And perhaps tell me a little bit about how they found it, when it came into their life. And I’m also sunning a vote for the top 5 favourite Kate Walker titles – just send me (kate AT Kate-walker.com) a list with your favourites numbered one to five and I’ll add them to the voting. And if I post your story on my blog, or Sid the Cat picks your name out of the voting you’ll win a signed copy of one of my back list titles together with a little extra gift to share the celebrations of the 25th anniversary. Details are on the Contest page of my web site – and on the home page there you’ll also find my special Christmas ‘card’ to all my readers.

I’ll just end by wishing everyone the happiest of holiday seasons – whatever you’re celebrating. I hope you have a truly special and loving time with your family and friends. And I hope that the new year when it comes brings lots of wonderful joys and maybe even a dream or two coming true. Thank you all Banditas for having me over to visit and I hope to see you all again in 2010.

Bandita Booty!!

by Anna Sugden

Time to announce the lucky winner of Kate Walker's fabulous book, Kept For Her Baby!

As Sid was still sulking about not being able to get his paws on that pesky rooster, my cat CC decided to take over the reins for prize selcetion. Her muddy paw landed on ...

Michelle!!

Congratulations, Michelle. Please send your snail mail details to me at Anna@annasugden.com and I will pass them on to Kate.

Romance as a Deep Tissue Massage

by Anna Sugden

I'm thrilled to welcome to the Lair one of category romance's top authors, my dear friend and fellow Brit, the fabulous Kate Walker.

Kate has been writing for Harlequin Presents since 1984. In that time she has over 54 novels published in over thirty-five countries and total sales amount to over twelve million copies of her books. Kate is also the author of the award-winning 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance. Her latest book, Kept For Her Baby is out now.

You can find out more about Kate at her website http://www.kate-walker.com/ and on her blog http://kate-walker.blogspot.com/ .

So, without further ado, I'll hand you over to Kate.

Hello Banditas – thank you so much for inviting me on to your blog. I’ve visited often, but only as a reader, never actually as a blogger before, so it’s wonderful to be here at last.

I really sympathised with a recent posting on this blog. When I was reading through all the fantastic Romance Bandits blogs that have appeared over the last week or so the one by Christie Kelley really rang bells for me. What can I blog about, she asked – just as I was wondering exactly the same. The point is that I’ve been invited on to a lot of different blogs just lately. The reason for that is pretty obvious. It’s October and I have a brand-new book out in October . Kept For Her Baby was published in Harlequin Presents Extra on October 13th and so lots of places have wanted me to guest on their blogs and talk about my latest novel.

And they all want something different. I know I could make it easy on myself and simply say that’ I have a new book out – the title is . . . and it’s about . . . Please buy it.’ But that just doesn’t seem right. I’ve never been a fan of the hard sell, and I really think that if wonderful people like the Romance Bandits are kind enough to invite me to join them, the least I can do is to chat with you a while. But that means that I have to find something to chat about. Specially for this occasion - my very first visit with the Banditas.

I could tell you just how many months – er – years – this visit has been in the planning. With Anna and I trying so hard to connect up and arrange for me to come and visit, ISP problems and email providers that just wouldn’t talk to each other meant that I thought Anna hadn’t sent an invitation and she thought I was ignoring her message. But we got there in the end and here I am – and can you just guess that I’m prevaricating like crazy and rambling on about nothing because I still haven’t thought of something to talk about?

Well no, that’s not really true. I thought of several things – like discussing the difference between Presents and Presents Extra (there isn’t one – it’s the Modern Heat books in the main Presents line-up that are different) . But I did that for Tote Bags. Or there’s imprisoning my characters – that was on I heart Presents. I was running out of ideas. But then I spent a couple of days away when I was doing a library talk and so was my husband, and the hotel we had an overnight stay in had a spa and as a special treat I booked myself in for a massage and . . . well inspiration struck.

I’d write about why writing Presents is like having a deep tissue massage.

Huh? I can hear you all saying that even as I write those words and yes, it does need a bit of an explanation. So bear with me and I’ll tell you what I mean. You see, a deep tissue massage is quite unlike the other massages this spa had on offer. You could have an aromatherapy massage, a ‘serenity’ massage or a ‘feel good’ massage – all of which were tempting. But I knew that life had been so fraught lately that I needed a really deep, strong pressure massage, one that dug deep and helped to get all the kinks and the knots out of my muscles. And I was right. It was amazing – it was partly painful, partly sensuous, partly curative - and it left me knocked for six and yet wonderfully relaxed at the same time.

And that is really why I write for the romance line that I do – why I write for Presents. It isn’t easy. Sometimes by the end of a book (OK, who am I kidding – by the middle of a book.) I feel as if I’ve gone three rounds with the emotional equivalent of the heavyweight champion of the world. Because the vital part of writing a Presents novel is digging deep into the emotional intensity that makes these stories work. Yes, I know, they also have a reputation for being sexy and sophisticated – the tag line ‘seduction and passion guaranteed’ wasn’t invented for the classic Presents stories for nothing. But it’s the emotional intensity, the powerful conflicts that create such emotional responses that are really at the heart of writing a Presents book. And that’s what takes the effort and the concentration when I’m writing.

Because the conflicts have to be so intense then the characters have to have really good reasons why they are behaving as they do. To me, it’s important not just to write about a ‘Greek Billionaire’ who’s out for revenge because that’s what the line demands. I have to give my hero – and my heroine – really deep, intense, truthful motivations for their actions. And the worse, the more dramatic, the more intense those actions are, the deeper and more involving those motivations have to be.


And that’s why my latest book, Kept for her Baby was a difficult, a powerful, a complicated book to write. I set out to do what my dear friend and wonderful Presents writer Michelle Reid describes as ‘digging myself – and my characters – into a hole.’ And the deeper you dig, the harder you have to work to get them out of it. So I started Kept For Her Baby with a premise that really needed justification if it was not to alienate every reader right from the start. Because my heroine does what might look like the unforgivable – she runs away and abandons her very young baby, leaving him behind with his father while she . . .

Ah but no I’m not going to tell you that. Because that’s what the whole book hinges on. The reasons why Lucy, my heroine acts as she does. The reasons why she thinks she has no alternative but to go. She can’t think of any other possible choice of action – and it’s when I put my hero or heroine into a situation where they really have no possible other choice and they have to behave as I want them to, then I know I’ve succeeded. That’s when (hopefully) the book has that vital ‘deep tissue massage effect.’ It digs deep and exposes uncomfortable feelings to the sunlight. When it reaches out and grabs the reader and just won’t let go.

I had to do a lot of research for Kept For Her Baby. I had to get my facts right – medical facts. But most of all I had to get my emotional facts right so that readers not only sympathised with Lucy but understood exactly why she behaved as she did. And if the emails and letters I’ve been getting from readers have been anything to go by that I’ve succeeded – and I’m really proud that I have. One reviewer called it “a powerful tale imbued with sensuality and pathos that had me reaching for the tissues and kept me engrossed and frantically turning the pages in the early hours of the morning.”

That’s the reason why I write classic Presents stories. So that I can dig deep into those emotions and bring out the stories that I hope will touch my readers hearts and keep them reading and reading until they find out just how the story will be resolved in the end. As a reader and as a writer, I like my romances deep and intense, I like them to wring my heart, to tug on my nerves, to be both painful and wonderful - like the very best sort of massage - so that at the end you feel wrung out, almost a little bit bruised, but so strongly affected that you were glad you went through the experience in order to get through to the other side.

And what about you? Do you like your romances sweet and gentle or powerful, intense and deeply emotional? Do you love to have your heartstrings tugged? Do you really enjoy a ‘weepie’ – a story that has you reaching for the tissues as you read? And what books have you read recently that have really moved you emotionally and had you dabbing away the tears as you turned the pages? I’d love to know

I have a signed copy of my Presents Extra title Kept For Her Baby to give away to one of the people who leave a comment to this post.