Kate's Blog

More covers

I thought I'd put up some of my covers from foreign editions. Here are a few recent ones:




The booksigning at BEA was really fun--I've never signed so many books so quickly! Unfortunately I didn't have time to look around. Just about all my favourite authors were there but I had to zip out to pick up my kids from school. Next time I'll make sure to spend a little more time there!

Labels: BEA, book covers

posted by Kate Hewitt at Friday, May 28, 2010 0 Comments

New cover

I'm always excited to see a new cover, and the UK cover for my book in the Balfour Brides continuity, Zoe's Lesson, is now up at Mills & Boon. The US Presents cover will look the same as the others, but this one is really different... the heroine reminds me of Posh Spice!



So I've started to think about my Emma-inspired book and trying to figure out how to update Emma's matchmaking propensities without it taking away from the central romance of the story. It's kind of tricky! I think this book will have a slightly different feel than my others, although perhaps it will change when I actually start writing it...

As for today, I am off to BEA in a few hours to sign books!!

Labels: BEA, Emily's Match, Zoe's Lesson

posted by Kate Hewitt at Wednesday, May 26, 2010 0 Comments

And his name is...

Jason Kingsley! Thanks everyone who emailed suggestions for my hero's last name. I decided to go with Kingsley, which I believe was suggested by two people--Denise and Amanda. Email me with your choice of backlist title and I'll be happy to send them to you.

I am now just finishing the tweaks on The Tortured Rake before sending it in. Funnily enough, my mind is already starting to wander towards the next book, although I am going to attempt to exercise some self-discipline and not start writing until July. I find I write Presents better if I have a little break between books. The stories are so intense and emotional that I can't give them my all if I'm writing back to back. It also gives me an opportunity to work on another writing project, a single title women's fiction that I've been toiling away at for several years. Maybe one of these days I'll actually finish...

I also have an exciting opportunity this week: I'm signing books at BEA, the Book Expo of America right here in New York! This is very exciting, as there will be hundreds of authors and readers there, and I get to be amidst it all! Not only that, but there is a party that evening for the Harlequin authors, which is also very exciting. 99% of being a writer is sitting at my desk in my kitchen, trying to focus as chaos erupts around me. The other 1% is fun stuff like this, and I can't wait!

Labels: BEA, Emily's Match, The Tortured Rake, writing life

posted by Kate Hewitt at Sunday, May 23, 2010 0 Comments

Winner and ramblings

Thanks to everyone who emailed me with their lists of my matched up heroes and heroines. I was surprised (and of course gratified!) to see that Stefano and Allegra of The Italian's Bought Bride were ranked high among the favorites, because that book was basically completely rewritten. I got to 47,000 words and 2 weeks before my deadline, and realized my marriage of convenience plot did not work. So I had to go back to the drawing board, and was two weeks late with my deadline, which I never have been before or since. But in the end I really loved Stefano and Allegra's story, so I'm glad some of you did too! And Denise, email me with your address details and I'll send you a copy of Count Toussaint's Baby, although unfortunately not yet because the books won't arrive until June. Sorry--this was an early contest! And when they DO arrive, I'll pick some other lucky winners :)

So I've put The Tortured Rake on the back burner for a bit, since it is finished and I generally like to have a week or so to gain some perspective (sometimes a week is a luxury when it comes to a deadline--sometimes it is a day or an hour!!) While I'm waiting, though, I've started thinking about my next book, which is going to be a little different. Its current title is Emily's Match, and it is a retelling of a 'classic' romance--in this case, Jane Austen's 'Emma'. A couple of Presents authors have been asked to retell these classic stories, and I'm guessing they will be out in Spring/Summer 2011. It's really interesting--and challenging--to update a story while of course retaining its timeless themes! I'm trying to come up with character names that relate to the characters of Emma--Emma Wodehouse is Emily Wood, yet I'm stumped for a last name for Mr. Knightley! His first name is Jason, and he won't be budged on that, but can you think of a name that relates to Knightley without being obvious? And if someone makes a suggestion I end up choosing, I'll send you any one book from my backlist!

Labels: contest, Emily's Match, The Tortured Rake, writing life

posted by Kate Hewitt at Tuesday, May 18, 2010 1 Comments

Onwards to Orlando

Yesterday I bit the proverbial bullet, threw caution to the winds, and registered for the RWA conference. I booked my hotel room and bought my plane ticket. I'm going. This is a little alarming to me because a.) All told, it costs a fair bit of money b.) Leaving my kids for 5 days is not a usual occurrence. Yet I did it, mainly because my good friend and fabulous Presents author Jennie Lucas (who is up for a RITA this year!!!) convinced me. She told me that I was a mom 360 days of the year and I should get to be a writer for five. And after battling missing homework, teething baby, whiny kids, rainy weather, sleepless nights, picky eaters, and endless laundry for soooo long, I am inclined to agree with her!

So yeah. I'm going. And once my head stops spinning, it will feel good.

I've officially written 'The End' on my latest book. Usually I am so very ready to write those words and see the last of a manuscript. Yet surprisingly, for the first time, or at least the first time in a long time, I was reluctant to finish this book. I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. And even though I still have revisions (oh, joy) I'm a little sad I've finished all the fresh first-draft stuff.

Whenever I finish a book, I think about all the other couples I've brought together in my other books--I'm a veritable matchmaker. So I thought I'd play a little game and list all my heroes and heroines and see if you can match them together! And if you shoot me an email or leave a comment with a couple of answers (say three, because I know there are a lot!) I'll enter you in a drawing to win my August release, Count Toussaint's Baby! Here they are, in NO particular order:

Heroes

Lukas
Stefano
Aarif
Larenz
Cormac
Alessandro
Khaled
Vittorio
Luc
Jacob
Max
Leandro
Jace
Leo
Demos

Heroines

Megan
Lizzie
Mollie
Zoe
Zoe
Rhiannon
Kalila
Phoebe
Lucy
Ellery
Eleanor
Allegra
Althea
Ana
Abby
So who belongs to who (or whom?) Take your best guess!

Labels: contest, RWA, The Tortured Rake

posted by Kate Hewitt at Saturday, May 15, 2010 0 Comments

Steps in the dark

Writing a book, for me, is like taking steps in the dark. Or not quite the dark, but perhaps holding one of those very little pen flashlights. So I can see just a tiny bit in front of me, but not much else. This is hard, because in general I like to know things. Like the ending. Or the big black moment. Or just a general sense of how it's all going to play out. I'm not what they say in the trade is a pantser. Or is it pantster? In any case, I don't like to fly by the seat of 'em.

Except, I'm coming to discover, my muse does. Or my subconscious. Or just... me. The last 4 books I've written have turned out differently than I thought, and I only found that out as I've been writing. And, amazingly, the writing has been if not easy, then at least enjoyable. Each scene reveals itself at the proper time, which is right when I'm about to write it. And the big moment at the end reveals itself right about then, too. That is, as I need to write it.

So, after 15 books, I'm learning to trust this process of mine, even though it wasn't the one I'd necessarily choose. And isn't that a little bit like life? Not to get all philosophical, because that is generally my husband's department, but in my life I've generally wanted to know the next 5 or 6 steps of whatever is going to happen. My mind jumps ahead so I'm half-living in the future rather than the present, and I think there is a reason why God keeps me mainly in the dark--in both life and books!

I'm coming to the end of my latest book, The Tortured Rake, and it's been really good to write. My hero is indeed a tortured rake. He has to go through a lot of tough stuff, probably more than any other hero I've written (and whoa, that's saying something!) to come out to the other side. I just read a review of a book [not mine] and the reviewer praised the author for not giving the characters any 'issues'. And being the insecure writer that I am, I immediately thought 'But ALL my characters have issues!' After reflecting on it for a bit, though, I realized that was okay. I write romance because I love writing (and reading) about how love redeems and heals us. I like to write about a HEA that came with blood, sweat, and tears [mine as well as my characters'!] because I feel then it's earned and it's real. So maybe my books won't go over well with that one reviewer [in fact they don't--she reviewed one of my books and wasn't too pleased with it!] but I hope they resonate with other readers.

So... back to The Tortured Rake. I'm on the last chapter where everything is wrapping up and wow, what a ride it's been!

Labels: The Tortured Rake, writing life

posted by Kate Hewitt at Thursday, May 13, 2010 2 Comments

Nearing the finish line

So I'm at 40,000 words of my current book, and am feeling everything start to come to a boil for that big scene that has to happen at the end of the book. Considering I still have 3 and 1/2 weeks until my deadline, I'm doing pretty well. My last two books were written nail-bitingly close to the deadline, as in the first draft was finished 3 days before. Hence some substantial revisions. I'm hoping this book goes through a BIT more easier... but you never know in this business.

Meanwhile I've enjoyed reading some books outside of the romance genre. Two of my favorites so far have been 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett and 'Portrait of an Unknown Woman' by Vanora Bennett. I'm now onto 'Olive Kitteredge' by Elizabeth Strout which has been giving to me with glowing reviews. I'm always slightly wary of glowing reviews; perhaps it is my secretly cynical nature. In any case, the more someone tells me how great a book this is, the less likely I am to read it. This is a running joke in my family because my mother gave me a book when I was 19 years old and I still haven't read it. What can I say?

posted by Kate Hewitt at Wednesday, May 05, 2010 0 Comments