Kate's Blog

UK Cover of Ruthless Boss, Hired Wife

I'm happy with this one :) I like the way the models look and kissing amidst a foaming surf has always been a fantasy of mine--as long as the water's not cold! I'll be offering some free copies in a few days when I update my site, along with the usual newsletter, short story, and an excerpt from my fifth book, The Greek Tycoon's Reluctant Bride. So check back... as soon as I can get myself away from all the DIY I'll be on it!

Labels: book covers, Hired Wife, Ruthless Boss

posted by Kate Hewitt at 5:24 AM 0 Comments

Help

I'm drowning in household chores. We had a realtor come by to assess our house and... the good news? Our neighborhood is one of the few regions of what seems to be the entire world that is still increasing in value. The bad news? Our house is going to be very hard to sell because 1.) It is an old house that has not been gutted and redone by an interior decorator 2.) It is on a shared driveway that apparently is too much of a hassle for most people.

I think the low point of the visit was when she walked into our kitchen and said anyone who buys our house will just rip out and redo the kitchen. Umm... we redid it two years ago!! Cabinets, new sink, dishwasher, and microwave, completely redone plumbing, electricity, heating, and lighting.

And to give you an idea? Here is the kitchen before:





And here is the kitchen after:




Needless to say we're a bit disenheartened. But maybe that's natural, as this is he first time we've actually [tried to] sell a house.

But! Here is the good news. I heard back from my editor on book six and she loved it--even wrote 'I can't tell you how fantastic we think this book is.' Well, that made my day--week--YEAR! Especially as I continue the relentless decluttering [the realtor told us we'd have to store some of our furniture too] and painting. It feels like it's never going to end.

Labels: just life

posted by Kate Hewitt at 4:42 PM 0 Comments

Time consuming activities

High on my current list is painting. We are readying our house for sale (quick, while all the trees and flowers are in blossom!) and so I've been painting a few things that needed freshening up--mainly the hall woodwork that my son crayoned all over about a year ago. I'd been *meaning* to get to it, but now it's obviously urgent. And time consuming. Our front staircase has a wooden banister with 34 spindles (I don't know if that is the correct word, but what I'm talking about is the piece of wood under the railing that goes to the floor--great description, eh? And I call myself a writer!) I painted 17 tonight with a primer coat and that took several hours. My future has a lot of spindles (or whatever) in it.

Needless to say, writing has taken a backseat for the last week. I'm still waiting to hear on my sixth book, and have been mulling over my seventh (another sheikh, due in September) but I'm not going to be starting it until the painting is done (and the house sold--please, God!)

We are enjoying some absolutely gorgeous spring weather though. We've had over a week of warm, balmy, sunny days and the azaleas in our back garden are starting to bloom, along with some gorgeous trees all covered in frothy pink blossoms--have no idea what kind of tree they are, I'm not that kind of person :). All I know is, they're PRETTY.

posted by Kate Hewitt at 7:51 PM 0 Comments

Winner!!

Thanks everyone who entered my contest--my daughter drew a winner, and it was Sue! The book will be winging its way to you shortly, Sue. I'll be holding another contest once I get the paperbacks of Ruthless Boss, Hired Wife, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you've a spare moment, log onto eharlequin.com and post the books you've read recently so they can get to their 100,000 book goal and donate books for literacy. If you click on 'talk' on the main page you can get to the right place--and if you've read my book, why not put it down with the others?!

I sent off my latest book last night and I'm ready to relax!

posted by Kate Hewitt at 4:48 PM 2 Comments

Contest!

I just received the hardbacks of my third book, Ruthless Boss, Hired Wife. The cover is gorgeous--my hero and heroine, Cormac and Lizzie, are kissing on a beach amidst the foaming surf--very 'From Here To Eternity'! This book takes place in the Caribbean, and I loved writing about the tropical breezes (and drinks!) as well as the heated romance between Cormac, a man who has only seen people as objects to be used, and Lizzie, a woman who is looking for love. They both change and grow throughout the story, which I love.

So! If you'd like an advance copy--the book comes out in June/July--delivered to your door, shoot me an e-mail at katehewitt@kate-hewitt.com and I'll draw a winner on Monday. Just put contest in the subject header--easy peasy!

posted by Kate Hewitt at 1:49 PM 0 Comments

I apologize...

For being absent for a little while! Life happens, and it certainly happened this week. For the last year my husband has been looking for a new job, and he finally accepted one on Monday, in--gulp--New York City. So we'll all be moving from our leafy Connecticut suburb with our nice, big house and garden to a teeny tiny apartment in the middle of a noisy, crowded, dirty city.

Can you tell I'm excited?

Actually, I am. Or getting there, at least. All the pieces fell in place for this job, which is leading a church right in the city, and it's hard to argue against that. All three children were accepted to an excellent school with excellent financial aid (very important!). But as soon as we said yes, despite having known this could happen for many, many months, I did something strange.

I burst into tears.

My husband gave me a startled look and said 'we don't have to do this!' 'No, no,' I said, grabbing tissues and trying to control my sobbing, 'I want to.' And I do... but change is hard, and this is a lot of change.

First, moving house. Moving lifestyles. Children starting school (they've been homeschooled till now). New job. New church. And to add something else to the mix, I'm expecting! Yes, another baby. In our teeny, tiny apartment. That's four children! Gulp.

So, that's life news! In writing news, The Greek Tycoon's Convenient Bride is still available this month, so pick it up if you haven't already :)! And I've updated my site with a new short story and monthly newsletter. Even better, I'm about to finally hit send on my sixth book and let it fly away to my editor--this book lagged for awhile because I was lagging with incredible (incredibly horrible, that is) morning sickness and fatigue. But I'm mostly better now (just started my 2nd trimester) and ready to conquer the world, or at least the laundry and revisions.

posted by Kate Hewitt at 2:24 PM 1 Comments

Thoughts on characters

I like writing about wounded people. Damaged people. People with issues. People, in fact, who are healed and made whole through loving and being loved. Yet I'm coming to realise that not everyone likes this. Sometimes people get annoyed with characters that don't have their act together, characters that act like martyrs or victims or jerks because of what happened to them.

I'm realising this from reading blogs and reviews of my books as well as of others'. No one likes to read a dismissive comment about their work--of course not--but those comments actually can help. I read a review of another book that criticised it because 'the characters were defined by their problems'. And you know what? That is a fair point. No one, not even a fictional person, should be defined by their problems. I'm glad I read that, because not only is it food for thought, but it will help me with current and future books.

And speaking of current books, I've finished my sixth book--the sheikh book. And I'm happy with it, which is a great feeling.

What do you think? What's your take on damaged characters in romances?

posted by Kate Hewitt at 6:51 PM 5 Comments