Discover May's Best New Reads: Stories to Ignite Your Spring Days.

Kate Walker

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70 comments posted.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:50pm April 9, 2012):

Hi Kimberley and thank you - I'm really pleased to kow this title makes you smile - it makes me smile too and when I was writing the book the idea of The Devil and Miss Jones made me want to tell the story. I just hope that when people read it they enjoy the story as much as they've liked the title!

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:48pm April 9, 2012):

Wow Lisa - Simple Need - that's a great title - it would draw me in too. And I like the other titles you've mentioned too. It's interesting isn't it how some titles draw different people in and others don't

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:44pm April 9, 2012):

Good evening Peggy - thank you for posting. I love your story about picking up 'Roses' - isn't it just great when you find a book so unexpectedly yhat you love. I love finding new authors and then reading all they've written - and then the title just doesn;t matter, it;s the author who does.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:40pm April 9, 2012):

Hi Tracie you sounds like a real reader, someone who loves books no matter what. But I think authors will always try to create a title that wiull make a reader/buyer pick up their book rather than someone elses - at least that's the hope.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:38pm April 9, 2012):

Hello Diane - you're right about the image a title can create and I'm really glad that my title for this book give you the right image - I'm really pleased how much people like it.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:35pm April 9, 2012):

Beth your post made me smile - I love the image of you checking out books at the library and taking aplain brown wrapper to cover it! Some of the titles did make you want to do that didn't they? I hope you enjoy The Devil and MIss Jones as well as it;s title!

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (2:18pm April 9, 2012):

Hi Lisa - thanks for posting. I'm glad you love the title.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (2:17pm April 9, 2012):

Hello Tammy - I'm afraid some of those past Harlequin titles did risk making us laugh rather than grab with intensity. Thank you for saying how much you enjoy my books and I hope you'll enjoy The Devil and Miss Jones too. Charlie sends best purrs to your cats. Our past cats were
rescue cats but Charlie was a special Christmas present from a breeder.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (2:12pm April 9, 2012):

Hi Cheryl - thanks for the congratulations. I'm really hapy to 'be 60'! And I love titles that are a play on words as well

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (2:10pm April 9, 2012):

Good afternoon, Kaelee (well, it's almos evening here in UK) I hoped you'd drop by. And I thought you would prefer the new titles- like me. But that's such a great compliment that my name on a book is what drraw you to it - thank you. I know a lot of people buy by author's name and that's what I do - it's only when I don;t knwo the author that the title really bothers me

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (2:03pm April 9, 2012):

Sorry to leave you for a while - it's a Bank Holiday here in the UK and we have visitors staying so I have been visting the animal park and the gardens at a local hall - in spite of the rain!

Now I'm back and I'll catch up again
Kate

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:59pm April 8, 2012):

Hello Jan - I think that's exactly the way it's planned - that the title will grab you but then the summary on the back should really draw you in. Writing that blurb is a real skill and it's a job my editor usually doesn not me

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:57pm April 8, 2012):

Hi there Anna - I'm glad I made you think about titles and how they draw you to a book - or drive you away! Happy easter to you too.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:56pm April 8, 2012):

Hello Mary Ann that's a great summary of the way a good book title works. And it's one of the reasosn why I never liked the 'buzzword' titles - there wasn't really that hint at something more in them. I prefer my titles to be more intriguing

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:54pm April 8, 2012):

Shirley, your comment post made me smile - that's exactly the reaction I hoped for from this title.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:53pm April 8, 2012):

HI Linda - thank you too for the congrats. Good luck in the prize draw

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:52pm April 8, 2012):

Lovely to 'see' you Colleen. I'm glad you enjoyed the story when you were aqn earlier winner. And thank you for the congratulations

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (3:51pm April 8, 2012):

Hi Roseann - I'm glad you like the title - I do plan to keep it!

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (12:39pm April 8, 2012):

Thank you for the congratulations, Stacie - I think you like the sort of titles that appeal to me, so I'm glad you found The Devil and Miss Jones an intriguing title. I think a lot of people who have written to me about it would agree with you

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (12:37pm April 8, 2012):

Hello Chia - picing titles can be fun - or difficult - or problematic . .depends on the book really. It can sometimnes be hard to come up with the right title for the story. After all, as you've vommented - one title , like 30 Pieces of Silver, can mean different things to different people - it's not a pirate book though!

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (12:35pm April 8, 2012):

Hi Denise - thanks for the congratulations. Thanks for joining in and commenting - good luck with the prize draw

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (12:33pm April 8, 2012):

Thanks Nancy - I hope you find it is a great read if you read it

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (12:33pm April 8, 2012):

Nice to 'see' you here Pam - and yes, although the title is important - and intriguing - that 'blurb' on the back is often what grabs a reader as makes them want to read the book

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (12:32pm April 8, 2012):

Thank you Ann - it can be difficult when the author doesn't het to keep her own title - it means that marketing have decided what title will make a book sell - and that doesn;t always reflect the story the author has created. So glad you like it anyway.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (12:30pm April 8, 2012):

I'm glad you like this title Kelly. I was so glad that I could get to choose my own title for this one - jot sure if that will last! And like you, i need to read the blurb on the back of the book to decide whether I want to read it or not

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (12:26pm April 8, 2012):

Hmm yes, Elaine you're right! I did change that working title more that 'slightly'! I suppose I should have mentioned that the second title wss more of a progression from The Black Sheep Prince - into a developement I thought worked well for the story! It is good to be able to keep my own titles, but I don't expect it will always happen.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (12:24pm April 8, 2012):

Hello Becky - it's true isn't it that you shouldn't judge a book by the coer - or the title - but it does help one to choose which boko to buy/read/listen to if the title appeals. How great that you found an unexpectedly great book that you enjoyed

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (11:56am April 8, 2012):

Hi Debby I'm glad you enjoyed the post - and I'll agree that some title will really turn me off. But I love the idea of a book just titled Reckles or something similar.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (11:55am April 8, 2012):

Hello Maria - I thought I'd see you here. I'll admit - between us! - that I wasn't fond of the title Bedded By The Greek Billionaire either. After all, it really said nothign about the book or revealed much of the actual story, did it? And I wasn't exactly comfortable when people asked what my latest book was called and I had to say 'BBTGB'! So lets hope the 'new style' titles stay aroudn long enough to become old style - and more. I hope you enjoy The Devil and Miss jones when you read it.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (11:52am April 8, 2012):

Hi Marhorie - I'm a real cat lover too - as you'll see from the picture of Charlie my youngest Maine Coon. Ialso have an older female - Flora - so I understand how animals names can draw you to a book title - and there's nothig wrong with a sexy title either!

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (6:24am April 8, 2012):

Good morning Susie- I'm so happy you like this title. I love it myself and yes, I agree the newer titles are so much fresher and interesting - at last that's what I think.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (6:23am April 8, 2012):

I'm going to have to agree with you, Fiona. Tose 'buzzword' titles did tell readers what was in the book - ut only in simplified terms. And if you started to wonder which ones you'd read - I almost got to the point of wondering which ones I'd written! I think a lot of people got tired of them very quickly.

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (6:17am April 8, 2012):

Good morning Kathleen. Yes - a deceptive title can be a problem when you think you're geting one thing and find it's another. But isn't To Kill a Mickingbird a great title? It's one that lingers ion your mind after you hear it

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (6:15am April 8, 2012):

Hello Susan - I'm glad you like the title. Sexy and intense is what I was aiming for - so that works well!

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (6:14am April 8, 2012):

Hi Mary - I agree that a title needs to grab your attention and I'm glad that you think The Devil and Miss Jones does that. I hope it also give that glimpse of what yo expect that you like

Re: The Devil and Miss Jones (6:13am April 8, 2012):

Good morning everyone - well it is morning in the UK - and Happy Easter to all who are celebrating it. I hope you've had lots of lovely chocolate eggs to brighten your day.

Off to catch up with everyone's comments
Kate

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:15am November 22, 2011):

Hello May - I've been really happy to find that so many people who say, like you, that they loved Wuthering Heights, but were upset at that sad ending, have loved a chacne to see Heathcliff and Cathy happy for once in my story. I hope you enjoy it too

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:01am November 22, 2011):

Good Morning Carla - I think it's the sign of a true classic that a book can be reworkd, 'tweaked' and the power of the original still stays. I've been writing for 25+ years and seen so many very similar plots and themes- but they've all been written so differently depending on who writes them and the dates at which they were written

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (2:58am November 22, 2011):

HI Renee - you're right there. I was fascinated to see what the other authors in the Powerful and The Pure mini series did with the books they reworked in this way

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:36am November 21, 2011):

Hello Mary - here you are stalking me again! Thank you for dropping by and keeping me company on my blog tour round the internet!

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:35am November 21, 2011):

Hello Jennifer - the covers are good on this one, are't they - but the UK cover is really something special. Everyone seems to love that one - except for one lady who didn't approve of the beard!

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:34am November 21, 2011):

Good morning Chris - now you have me intrigued. I'm wondering what book of mine is in your TBR pile. I do hope you enjoy it wheen it reaches thetop - and thank you for buying it. Hope you enjoy Return of the Stranger too

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:32am November 21, 2011):

Hi Christine - I can't take credit for the idea though! That came from the editors and Emily Bronte! But the book influenced me so much so I know I've included elements from such books in some of the ones I write. I hope you do get to read it - and that you enjoy it

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:30am November 21, 2011):

Hi Sigrun - romance is always so popular isn't it - but for me it's the characters who make a book different, even if the plot sometimes is so much the same. About that title - the trouble with titles is that my editor chooses then and she came up with this one. It's sort of intriguing - and sort of confusing. I think she meant that when Heath comes back he is now a stranger to Kat and not the childhood friend she had - at least that's my interpretation of it!

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:26am November 21, 2011):

Hello Molly - yes, Clueless is a great example of one of the remakes and a modernisation of a classic. It just goes to show that a plot can be reworked and so recreated.

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:25am November 21, 2011):

Hello Diane - well, of course you don't need to read Wuthering Heights to enjoy The Return of The Stranger - but it would be interesting to know what you think of the classic book if you did. It's much darker and deeper than my story and as you can see from these posts one you either love or hate.

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:23am November 21, 2011):

Hello Tammy - lovely to see you. You've started my day of so well by saying you always love my books - thank you so much for that!

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:21am November 21, 2011):

Hi Beth - revenge is a great theme isn't it? As long as the person taking their revenge only aims it at the people who deserve it and not at anyone who is innocent.

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:03am November 21, 2011):

Hello Diane - you and me, both! I always wanted an happy ending to Wuthering Heights - though I knew from the characters that it couldn't. I was so happy to be able to create one for The Return of the Stranger

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (2:59am November 21, 2011):

Good Morining Morgay - I love stories that linger in your mind after you've finished reading them - the only trouble is that then they can spoil you for the next book you try to read! I hope that Return of the Stranger has this effect on you.

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (2:58am November 21, 2011):

Hello Alyson, nice to see you here, You summed it up perfectly - looking at a classic in a new way. That's not copying and a really great book can be viewed in so many different ways. Add in a dark and brooding hero - and again as you said a lady who gets stronger and I'm hooked too! That was why this was so much fun to write

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (2:44am November 21, 2011):

Hello Kai - yes, Heathcliff and Cathy had a love/hate relationship but their feelings were so powerful that it ended in tragedy and no one was happy - except their children in the second generation. My book had to be different to give them that happy ending. I hope you feel it works

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (2:31am November 21, 2011):

Connie - one of the great things about planning writing The Return of The Stranger is that I got to watch some of the older films of the book to remind myself of scenes in it - I had a wonderful time. Some of them dated a bit but others were just great

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (2:29am November 21, 2011):

Good Morning Alice - another Wuthering Heigths fan! I think you've read Wuthering Heights more than me! Fir fans of the original like you, I always hope that you'll enjoy my take on the story.

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (2:27am November 21, 2011):

Hi Linda - I agree with you about so many authors taking ideas and reworking them - but it's disappointing if they are really just straight copies and there is nothing new added. I tried to make my version of this story have different elements but the same atmosphere and 'brooding' mood! And of course I gave it a happy ending - I'm like you - a sad ending or not resolved leaves me rather unsatisfied.

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (2:24am November 21, 2011):

Hi Cheryl - great to seee you here. Thank you so much for saying you enjoy my books - I hope you enjoy this one too

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (2:23am November 21, 2011):

Hello Lisa - I love dark and dangerous too - a hero like that helps to create a really good story as they fight their feelings almost all the way through

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (2:21am November 21, 2011):

Good morning Silvana - well, it is morning here! Good luck in the draw to win

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (2:20am November 21, 2011):

Hello everyone - the difference in time zones got me yesterday and I didn't manage to respond to everyone. But I'm back now and I'll be able to say hello properly to all of you.

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (4:01pm November 20, 2011):

Hi Sue - I'm nodding agreement here. I found that each time I reread Wuthering Heights I find something new in it. And the first time I read it I couldn't put it down. I just hope that if you do try Return of the Stranger too, you'll have the same feeling. Of course a short, 55,000 word romance can't match the complexity and power of the original - but I hope that it workd as a romance for you

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:30pm November 20, 2011):

Hello Patti - I'll let you into a secret - I prefer the UK cover too! I think it's amazing. I was so so pleased when I saw it - and lots and lots of readers have written to me to say that they agree with me - and you!

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:23pm November 20, 2011):

Hello Marjorie - lovely to 'meet' you here. You are so right, some stories can be told over and over again with a new slant on the basic plot of the original to make them seem fresh and new - I hope that I've succeded in doing that with Return of The Stranger

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:21pm November 20, 2011):

Hi Lynn -Ooops! How di that happen? You are right - this post really did need a red pen through that date! I don't know how it slipped through - I know only too well that Wuthering Heights was published in 1847. My typing fingers must have slipped. Thank you for picking up my mistake and pointing it out.

To correct myself -
Wuthering Heights was published in 1847

I know plenty of people who don't enjoy the Brontë sisters' books and I've been happy that some of those have written to me to let me know how much they enjoyed The Return of the Stranger - so I'd love to hope you might too.

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:10pm November 20, 2011):

Hi Darci - I loved taking a fresh look at a classic romance myself. It made me go back to the original and read it, looking at it with fresh eyes. My sympathy to you on the closing of your local Borders - it was a shock when they closed all those shops, even here in the UK. Thank heaven there are the internet book shops - though you can browse so easily!

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:08pm November 20, 2011):

Hello Anna and thank you for joining in. I really hope that someone in the group will enjoy the book

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:06pm November 20, 2011):

Hi Colleen I'm so pleased that you've enjoyed some of my books in the past and if you do read The Return of The Stranger, then I hope you will enjoy that too

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (3:05pm November 20, 2011):

Peggy - I so agree with. As the dark evenings draw in, for me it's the perfect time to curl up by the fire and read. And yes, The Return of The Stranger is an old-fashioned love story. So I realy hope that if you get your hands on a copy that you will enjoy it - I'd really love to think that you'll fall madly in love with it! (fingers crossed)

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (10:35am November 20, 2011):

Hello Pam - you're right, many books have been inspired by other books and writers - there are a lot of authors who have written sequels to famous books like Pride and Prehudice and others. I uderstand that some authors are currently working on a series based on Jane Austen's novels.

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (10:31am November 20, 2011):

Hi Diane - I totally agree with your that Wuthering Heights " intrigues readers with its dark passion and
misguided characters" - that's just how I see it but it does make it difficult to make it into a real 'love story'.As you say both Heathcliff and Cathy are flawed characters and those flaws keep them from finding real love in their 'dark passion'

Re: The Return Of The Stranger (4:27am November 20, 2011):

Hi Joan Thanks for coming by to visit - I hope you enjoy any of my books that you do read.