New cover!
So today was a bit of banner day on the internet: new Amazon covers on both the UK and the US sites! Here is the cover of The Secret Baby Scandal, a 2-in-1 with the lovely Jennie Lucas.
What do you think? I like the energy of their kiss; the encounter in my story, The Sandoval Baby, was rather urgent and desperate, so it fits!
Labels: book covers, The Sandoval Baby
posted by Kate Hewitt at
New look
You might have noticed the new colors of my blog and website, along with a revamped book page. This is kind of a mini makeover for my website, and I have to say I really like it. After four years, it needed a facelift!
I've turned in my 19th book, currently titled The Self-Made Millionaire and The Spoilt Princess, although I have a feeling that title will change. I haven't heard back yet on this book, but I have to say--and I totally appreciate that saying this could completely jinx me--but I feel really good about this book. There! I said it. *lets out big breath* I had a really good time writing this book, and after angsting about my spoiled princess heroine (talk about unlikable!), I ended up loving her. Really, really loving her sharp wit and her courage and her hidden vulnerabilities. I think she is, hands down, my favorite heroine that I've written so far.
But my second favorite heroine--Anamaria Viale, tall, big-boned, and even mannish--is out now on
eharlequin in a Presents Extra, The Man Who Could Never Love. Just so you don't go and buy the same book twice, this book came out in September last year as The Bride's Awakening. This story is one of my favorites. I love Anamaria and Vittorio, love how their emotions and senses are awakened by one another. I hope you enjoy it too.
And lastly, I've roused myself enough to blog a bit across the blogosphere, and I have a list of places and dates:
Blogging at
Novel Thoughts, June 1
Interview at
Romance Reviews Today, June 6
Blogging at
Harlequin Presents Authors' blog, June 6
Blogging at
IheartPresents, June 13
So hopefully you'll see me around!
Labels: blogging, the bride's awakening, the man who could never love
posted by Kate Hewitt at
Winner & writing without a safety net
So if you read romance you probably know what a Big Black Moment is. Even if you've never heard that term, you probably can guess what it is. You read a book waiting for it at the end, for that moment when everything between the hero and heroine goes wrong, and the happily-ever-after seems truly impossible. The darkest moment before the dawn, when the characters man(or woman) up and realize they're going to fight for their happily-ever-after, and they're going to get it. I have always wanted my big black moments (or BBMs, which sounds like something unpleasantly related to the excretory system)to come from the characters and their flaws rather than an external plot development or misunderstanding. Something that has always stuck with me is a workshop I attended at RWA in 2000, when Deb Dixon said that the reader should be able to predict what the BBM is going to be from the first page. And she didn't mean predict in a bad way, like its all so formulaic and obvious, but rather in a GOOD way, because from page one you are showing who the characters are and what the nature of their big problem is going to be.
So what does this have to do with writing and safety nets? Well, for me, knowing what the BBM is at the end of my manuscript is my safety net. If I know what Niagara Falls these characters are headed for, then I can manage the rapids leading up to it. I have an end point in sight. Well, the last few books I have not known what my big black moment is going to be. I think I know my characters, and then they surprise me. They show me that something else is going on, something that is keeping them from each other. And I feel like I'm being rushed along the rapids of the story, and I'm going over the falls with them. Not how I normally like to write. But I'm learning to accept it, and even enjoy it, because hey? You know what? It's a heck of a ride.
Thank you to everyone who emailed or commented for a copy of Mr and Mischief. My daughter picked a winner and it was Erin! Erin, email me with your contact details and I'll send you the book!
And meanwhile The Man Who Could Not Love is for sale on eharlequin--it's a Presents Extra and it came out in the UK as The Bride's Awakening. I love this story, because the heroine is tall, and at nearly six feet myself I loved writing a tall heroine! I also loved writing how her convenient groom starts to see her as the truly beautiful woman she is--it is as much about his awakening as hers. Enjoy!
Labels: the bride's awakening, the man who could not love, writing life
posted by Kate Hewitt at
Enjoying It
The title of this post isn't meant to be particularly provocative, although perhaps it sounds like it, but something hit me today--and it's not the first time I've thought this, although it always
feels like the first time, but... why write if I don't enjoy it?!
Now, hold on, I DO enjoy it. I love the thrill of a new idea, the energy of words flowing onto the page, the awe and joy of typing THE END and then, admittedly about a year later, seeing the book in my hands. It's all wonderful, and what's not to enjoy?
Well... hold on again. I am not going to complain. This is not a rant. This is me telling myself to slow down and breathe and savor what I am doing. I think this happens to writers all over the spectrum, no matter what you write or if you're published or if you're a New York Times' bestseller or if you're... well, not. We all get bogged down by the days when the words aren't flowing, when you obsess about whether your books will sell or people will enjoy or even read them, and what happens if reality television takes over the world and no one reads anymore (am I the only who envisions a dystopian future of nonreaders?) And writing starts to feel if not an actual chore, than something fairly laborious. And I hate that, because if I wanted to do chores, I'd wash my kitchen floor and have something to show for it--well, for about five minutes before my children make a mess of it again (Note: Do not rent an apartment with white tile flooring in the kitchen).
So how do you capture the joy and wonder and excitement of writing again? Well, I do a couple of different things. I take a break--not too long a break, but enough that coming back to the computer feels refreshing and necessary. I take walks by myself, without strollers or children or errands to be done. I read. I read books that I've read before and loved, and new books that have been burning up on my nook. I read things I've written myself that I really like. I start working on my current manuscript and write for at least twenty minutes without self-editing, revising, or even rereading what I've wrote, James Joyce style.
And most of all? I remind myself that even if I wasn't getting published or paid, I'd STILL be doing this. Writing this. Because I love it. And then I write from that place.
To celebrate all that I enjoy about writing, I'm giving away ONE copy of my latest UK release, Mr and Mischief, to someone who comments or shoots me an email at katehewitt@kate-hewitt.com. I'd like to give the book away to someone who has never received a free book from me before, or better yet, who has never read one of my books (Wait... does that person exist?! Ha--most assuredly!) So drop me a line and I'll pick a random winner and in the meantime... ENJOY!
Labels: mr and mischief, writing craft, writing life
posted by Kate Hewitt at
