Saturday, June 03, 2006

Celebrating Writing Friendships

Two of my friends have made me cry this week – in the nicest possible way. One of them I can’t yet share I’ll wait for that story to unfold - but the other is a very special writerly sort of pleasure.

My dear friend and fellow M&B author Kate Hardy sent me a copy of her latest book – well, her latest book in one line! Kate is a prolific and hardworking author who not only writes for M&B Medicals and HMB Modern Extra but creates factual, local history books and ‘how to’ guides – as ‘relaxation’!!! So this was her newest Modern Extra – Strictly Legal.

(Okay - there was supposed to be a picture of the cover here but each time I try to upload it, it failed - so if I can come back later and do it, I will. ) :-(


I was told to look at page six – which is where then tears started. This book is dedicated to me. What a thrill – and honour – and a delight to know that a friendship that has been brought to me by this crazy job that I do has become so special. Thank you Kate!

This is not the only book that I've had dedicated to me by a dear friend. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows about my friendship with American author Anne McAllister. Her book McGillivray's Mistress is dedicated to me and the BM. Okay - yes - it's also dedicated to Sid the cat and his Fellow Felines Bob, Spiff and Dylan. But I would like to point out to Sir Sidney that he may had muscled in to try to take over this friendship but I was the one who met Anne first and introduced 'the finest of feline' to the Lady Across the Pond.

(There's also supposed to be a picture of the cover of McGillivray's Mistress here - but that won't upload either. Oh well! - you can see it here. )

All of which started me thinking back again over my rant on the subject of workshops. I was recently given a card that said what you give out you get back ten times over, and in my experience, giving in the world of writing has very much that effect. Forget the finances earned by my books – in terms of what writing, talking about writing, giving workshops etc has earned me in friendship and other much more valuable (to me) terms - I’m a very wealthy woman.

Which is why, if you’re interested in the possibility of winning good books to read, you might like to know about my latest contest, now running on my web site. This contest is a way that you have a chance to benefit from some of these friendships I've made in the romance writing world.

The prize is a bag of books for summer reading. And some of these special friends of mine have joined me in this to help make the prize extra special. Each of these friends is someone I admire as a writer as well as love as a person, and each one of them has donated copies of one of their books to the Bag of Books – books that I personally have read and enjoyed and would like to share with the winners of this contest.

Over the next few posts, I’ll be writing about the individual authors and their particular books so that you can get more acquainted with them – but for now, here, in alphabetical order, are the authors whose books will be joining mine in the Bag of Books prize, and the titles of the books they’ve donated

Anne McAllister Lessons from a Latin Lover
Julie Cohen Delicious
Kate Hardy
The Cinderella Project
Liz Fielding The Marriage Miracle
Michelle Reid The Brazilian’s Blackmailed Bride
Michelle Styles
The Gladiator’s Honour

You might like to check out some of their web sites and take a look at the other books they’ve written.

If you want to check out the Bag of Books Contest then the details are on my web site Contest Page. The only condition of entry is that you are either on my mailing list or allow your name to be put on the mailing list with this entry.

So why not try entering? There are 3 runners’ up prizes of signed copies of my books too. And Sid the Cat says the more the merrier - as he gets to choose the winners, the more cat treats on more names for him to snarf up, the better.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kate, it was my pleasure. I can still remember the time I met you: at my first M&B authors' lunch, and we all had to swap places for pudding, and I was talking to this lovely woman when I suddenly realised that I was yakking away to a Very Famous Big Name M&B Author... who was completely down-to-earth and thoroughly nice rather than being a prima donna with airs and graces.

And you've given me some very wise advice over the years. I just wanted to let you know how much your friendship is appreciated.

Anonymous said...

I remember the first time *we* met, Kate W--I recall walking into a very busy dining room full of about a hundred and fifty strangers, and these women suddenly yelling out, "It's another virgin!"

I'd like to claim the tone of our friendship has become more decorous since then, but I'm a lousy liar.

Big hugs to you, sweetie.

 

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