Happy 25th book -- Kate Hardy

Many of you know that we've been celebrating Kate Walker's 50th book which came out last month. And I've sent that Kate my blog piece so it should be turning up some time in the next week or two.

But today we are celebrating another Kate's milestone. Kate Hardy aka "Scary Kate" is celebrating the publication of her 25th Mills & Boon title this month.

That's 25 books in FIVE years! You see why we call her "Scary Kate." And that isn't the whole of it, either.

She also writes non-fiction books -- books of local history and house history under the name Pamela Brooks. They are excellent guides to how one can track down the history of one's house or one's village or some other aspect of British regional history. The principles in these books actually go beyond the UK and can be applied to all sorts of research all over the world. They are the first books of Kate's that I read.

Then I began reading her fiction and discovered this woman has TALENT. She can get right to the heart of a character without so much as a by-your-leave. She has an instinct for people which amazes me. Since I sometimes feel as if I take five years to write ONE BOOK, I'm in awe of Kate's speed, but more than that I'm impressed by her ability to read people, to bring her characters to life so speedily. What I wouldn't give for such an ability to zero right on them.

I met Kate somewhere sometime (I think it was last year at the Association of Mills & Boon Authors luncheon) but it seemed like I already knew her because I'd read so much she'd written. She's not at all scary in person -- she's simply delightful. And inspiring.

And so when she asked me to write a blog piece for her 25th, I was delighted to do so. She's putting it up in the morning she tells me (which should be a couple of hours from now her time). So please go check it out. And check out her amazing back list of titles while you're there. Read a few. Read all of them. You won't be sorry.