Friday, July 20, 2007

Kate’s 25th party – first day of summer holidays and last prize(s)…

All righty. Today really IS the last day of my blog party. I had originally planned more guests – but as I’m on holiday tomorrow and won’t have internet access for a week, it would’ve meant a hiatus in the party. Which would’ve been a bit sad, especially as we’ve already had the hiccup of having to move blog providers in the first week! Plus things such as conferences, round the world trips, babies and life in general got in the way for some of my proposed guests, and time just ran out. (They know who they are. :o) But am I going to make them feel guilty? Course not. Given my week or so of being dopey on painkillers and toothache, I know what it’s like to be up against an impossible deadline. I’m sending them a hug instead.)

I would like to thank all the guests who came and took part, and let me borrow pictures of beautiful dogs (all right, Mrs Walker and Mrs Parkin, and two cats) and ducklings. And thank you to everyone who came and joined in, whether you posted a comment or were shy and lurked in a corner with the cyber-cookies. (Cookie recipe is at http://www.katehardy.com/recipes.html - ditto the cheese stars and the lemon cake.)

Remember we still have three competitions going on, to win books by Anne McAllister, Fiona Harper and me...

Actually, I hate the end of a party. I don’t mind the clearing up bit; what I REALLY don’t like is saying goodbye. (This is also the reason why I loathe writing the end of a book. I hate saying goodbye to my characters.) I’m disappearing to Herefordshire tomorrow, but please don’t go away! I will be back in just over a week with photographs and tales of our adventures with Dr Who. And in the meantime, I have the final competition of the party for you.

GIVEAWAY: Breakfast at Giovanni’s is my fifth Modern Extra. So I think an appropriate finale would be to offer five prizes of a copy each. You have ages and ages to answer this because I’m going to draw the five prizewinners when I return from holiday. (I know I keep mentioning the H word – it’s to stop certain people nagging me about overdoing things. As if I ever overdo things. And I’m going to prove it on the Pink Heart Society next month…)

GIVEAWAY QUESTION: What is it that draws you to Italian heroes? If you’re not swept off your feet by Italians, then please argue your case for Spaniards (I’d definitely argue for Mr Banderas) or Englishmen or Americans or Aussies - in other words, tell me what you look for in the hero of a romance novel. I’ll pick the winners when I get back.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Kate, popping in to wish you bon voyage.
The party's been a blast and I was honoured to be the inagural blogger.
Hope you have a lovely time away and that hassles with the t@#$h are way behind you.
Take care,

Amy Andrews

Kate Hardy said...

Thank you, Amy! Sadly, hassles with the tooth are not behind me - but I'm going to be sedated so I won't know a thing about it *g*

Minna said...

I'm not picky. Italian, Spaniards Englishmen, Americans or Aussies... I like them all! *g*

robynl said...

The party has been fun and thanks.
In a hero I look for caring, gentleness at the right times, humor, sharing his soul with the heroine, protective and enjoys the simple things in life such as walks, movie night at home with popcorn, drives in the rain, etc.
He has honor and will protect those he loves.

Kammie said...

It doesn't matter what nationality he is as long as he's tall, dark and very, very good looking. I like it when they have an accent and being a bit charming and a little mysterious is a plus, too.

Have a great holiday! You deserve a break. Thanks for the party.

Becky said...

Thank you so much for holding this blog party Kate! I enjoyed it immensely.

The reason I love Itailians and Spaniards the most is the sexy accent they have, the exoticness and muscularness of their skin and bodies, the sexual appeal they have, the confidence and strength they exude physically, sexually, and emotionally, the ability to run a country, company, family, etc., and the protectiveness, warmth and love he gives to his wife so much that you wish that you could take her place, even for an hour, just to feel that protection, warmth, and love that you envy her for having so much.

Diane said...

It'll be the Italian in me that picks out the Italian in him.

Tinkerdelle said...

My preference is very simple: hot bod and spine-tingling accent. If the hero has blue/green eyes and knows how to play any musical instrument.. i'm already melting!

Intangibe said...

ahhh...what do i see in a hero? *stares of dreamily into the distance* heart tugging smile, bright observant eyes, tall, comfortable within himself, caring... but above all it's his mind: intelligent & witty, with the ability to laugh at himself, an interest in the world, ambition - and a commitment to his family, friends, the people and things he loves.

nationality pales into insignificace when someone believes in themselves and the people around them ... although I'm a total sucker for the scottish & irish lilts and there's something to be said for our homegrown aussie boys =)

enjoy your holiday & keep bringing to life our heroes!!

Annabel