A Day in the Life of Kate Walker

I used to be a night owl – someone who worked late and got up even later. But since I had my son – who always woke as soon as dawn broke – I’ve been more of an early riser. And I love it. I enjoy the peace and quiet of the morning when no one else is around and I can get on with things without any disturbance. My son may have grown up and moved into his own home but now his place is taken by a large black tabby called Sid who yells outside my bedroom window if I’m not up to let him in.

Once I am up my routine follows the pattern of the path from the bedroom to my office – downstairs, open door, let cat in, fill the kettle, switch on computer, feed cat while it is booting up. Then back to make a pot of tea – one for me, one for my husband, and it’s time to trawl through the blogs I visit regularly. Those of author friends and the Pink Heart Society always come first while I’m thinking of a theme for my own blog. Posting something almost every day gets me into the swing of writing, so that I’m ‘warmed up’, ready for work. But at the moment I’m able to take life a little easier as I’m running a Great Big Blog Party for The Sicilian’s Red-Hot Revenge which is my 50th title for Harlequin Mills & Boon.

At this stage I have to be careful that I remember to get dressed! Often I will read blogs, write my post, answer emails while still in my dressing gown –and while waiting for my turn in the shower and if it’s one of my husband’s days working away from home (he lectures in Writing and is a Writer in Residence in a prison) then I can get busy and involved and suddenly realise that I should have put some proper clothes on an hour or more ago. But that’s one of the great bonuses of working from home – it doesn’t matter very much what you’re wearing. Sid doesn’t mind either – he sleeps on my desk, curled around my keyboard while I write and he doesn’t care what I’m wearing.

I’m what I call an ‘all or nothing’ writer so when I’m deeply involved in a book I tend to work ridiculous hours. I’ve been known to start at 6am and work through until 10 pm when the ideas are flowing – but then, when they’re not, I’ll work on my web site or perhaps my teaching commitments. Since I wrote Kate Walker’s 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance, I’m often asked to run workshops or weekend courses – I have two coming up in the next 6 months – and I need to prepare timetables and handouts for those. In fact, I’m often so busy that I have to remind myself to actually get out of the house or I could be hibernating totally. I do try to switch off for a while – either reading or, more often, with a long phone chat with my special friends Michelle Reid or Anne McAllister – but these are still ‘work’ as we talk about writing, the books we’re creating and ones we’ve read. If we worked in an office or some other place where we could actually meet then we’d be able to talk over coffee or lunch break – but separated by hundreds of miles, we have to use the phone or the internet.

If my DH is out of the house then I continue working till he comes home. If he’s writing (he writes true crime books/local history/poetry ) then it will depend on who’s on a deadline or what other commitments we have to make us decide when to stop. Though, of course if I work too late then there will be a loud protest from Sid because his tea must be served at precisely 6pm or there will be trouble. Luckily my DH is less demanding – and we take it in turns to make the evening meal.

Evenings tend to be quiet – time with the TV (I’m a ‘soap’ addict) or a book – I need a story fix to feed my imagination so that I have plenty of inspiration for the next book and the next. The quiet routine of life suits me for so long and then every now and the DH and I break away completely – we head for London, or Wales, visit friends in America or Australia – again to refresh my mind and fill up those imagination banks. That’s when I’m between books and deadlines though. When a book is growing and a deadline looming, I’ll go to sleep with my head full of the characters and the plot, letting problems untangle themselves overnight so that my mind will be clear and the next scene ready to write just as soon as Sid wakes me by wailing outside the window the next morning.

Kate Walker’s Web Site

The Reviews are in:

The Sicilian’s Red-Hot Revenge

Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride

Kate is ready to celebrate her 50th book release by giving away two books, Sicilian Husband and the Sicilian Red Hot Revenge.  It is easy to win, just enter below! Good Luck!