Walking The Wall

This time two weeks ago I was walking - make that slipping and sliding down the Great Wall of China for the final time. And at the end of it we were all presented with a medal.

The whole week was amazing from start to finish. My fellow trekkers were brilliant and we had such fun getting to know one another as we took on the Great Wall. The trek was run by Charity Challenge and the both the UK team members and the local guides made the week, ensuring we were challenged but safe.

 Here we all are - full of laughter on the first morning and that laughter continued all week!

We trekked along overgrown sections of the wall that had us battling to stay on our feet as we went down hill.

Climbed endless and very steep steps up.

Negotiated tricky parts which tested anyone's fear of heights.

Took on the Stairway to Heaven and it's notoriously steep steps which was shrouded in mist - probably a good thing!

Enjoyed fantastic views.

Even being on the wall as the sun began to set.

But most important of all, as a group of twenty eight we raised over £52,000 for British Heart Foundation and I made some fantastic new friends. If only we could do it all over again!

There's still time to support our efforts on my Just Giving page.

Now I'm back to reality and at my desk working on revisions.

Rachael
xx

Thanks to British Heart Foundation's Flicker page of the trip and the use of the photos.

Cover Love

One of the fun things about being a Harlequin Mills and Boon author is all the translated copies of my books that are available and seeing the variations of the covers always makes me smile. Here are some to them.

These are my latest deliveries of author copies.

These Manga copies of A Deal Before the Altar are just fabulous!

Rachael
xx

Pen Y Fan

Last weekend, my daughter and I did something different. We headed for the Brecon Beacons National Park to walk to the peak of Pen Y Fan, which at 886m is the highest peak in South Wales and Southern England.

We began the long climb up of our 8km walk and I couldn't resist stopping to take photographs - well that's my excuse!

The stone path stretches into the distance as we come to the brow of the first hill but there is still a long way to go.

A rock pile that walkers added to as they passed gave another photo opportunity and a chance to catch  my breath.

Another chance to pause and and look at the stunning view.

Finally we can see the characteristic flat top of our destination - Pen Y Fan.

And the proof that I made it to the top.

After a sit down and time to take in the stunning views we started our way back down.

We had just walked up the hard route to Pen Y Fan and the path we chose to go back down would have been easier, but as I am in training for a trek on The Great Wall of China in aid of the British Heart Foundation it was the obvious choice.

Almost back and time to take in the waterfall.

Finally we reached the car park and were relieved to see an ice-cream van and as we enjoyed a refreshing ice lolly we watched other walkers on the path we'd just come down.

If you would like to sponsor me on my trek in October you can do so here. Thank you!


Rachael
xx

Conference Time Again!

It's July, which means my annual visit to Romantic Novelists' Association's conference. This year it was home from home for me as it was held at Harper Adams University near Telford, which is an agricultural university. So what did I seek out other than fabulous writing friends and books. Cows of course!

The conference was as usual a weekend full of useful sessions and lots of writing friends, although this year I arrived a day early to take advantage of an event at Wellington Library where authors Nicola Cornick, Sarah Morgan, Kate Walker, Freda Lightfoot and Bernadine Kennedy talked of their writing and books.

Authors from Right to left Kate Walker, Bernadine Kennedy, Freda Lightfoot, Sarah Morgan and Nicola Cornick

Before I left, I had a look in the Mills and Boon section and found my first book, A Deal Before the Altar - and had to have my photo taken with it!

The most useful sessions I attended during the conference were Nicola Cornick and Sarah Morgan's social media session, Fiona Harper's Building Characters from the inside out and of course, Mills and Boon's session, this year on creating the perfect heroine for a selection of heroes, which in turn created great stories. Now I just need to keep in mind all the useful tips from all these sessions.

All too soon it was time to go home and for me that meant returning to my cows and calves which gives me another opportunity to post a farm photo!

Rachael

xx

November 2017 - Cover Reveal

Seeing my new cover for the first time is always exciting and my next book, Valdez's Bartered Bride, to be released in November 2017 doesn't disappoint. It's just as I imagined when writing the book.

And the all important back cover blurb ..

Blackmailed into marriage... by Christmas!

Genealogist Lydia Carter-Wilson is horrified by the debts her father has run up in her name. Then magnate Raul Valdez approaches her with an outrageous proposition. If she helps him claim his inheritance, he'll pay off her debts and save her tarnished reputations. But there's a catch. If she fails, she will marry Raul on Christmas Eve!

No matter their instant and electrifying attraction, Lydia knows Raul's proposal amounts to blackmail. Yer faced with an impossible choice - risking ruin or becoming Raul's bartered bride - Lydia finds she cannot resist her desire to make a deal with the dark-hearted billionaire!

You can pre-order your copy here.

Rachael

xx

London Again!

At the beginning of last week I was heading to London again. This time to meet up with Nas Dean who does a wonderful job promoting mine and many other authors books.

One of my last blog posts for her was on travelling to Pisa in Italy, which was one of the destinations on Nas's travels.

Nas lives in Fiji and has been travelling around Europe and has been to so many destinations I haven't been able to keep up with her! I did arrange one special trip whilst she was in London and that was to the Mills and Boon offices.

Here we are with Flo Nicoll and Joanne Grant.

The next morning, I took an early morning walk around Hyde Park and had fun posting the images to Instagram as I went. You can see more of my Instagram photos at rachaelthomasromanceauthor

All too soon it was time to make the long train journey home during which I began working on my next book. I was in the fun situation of being on the train heading to Wales and on a Greek Island at the same time! I also indulged in a bit of longhand writing. I love going back to pencil and paper.

When I returned home, I completed revisions for my latest sheikh story and returned them to my editor. Now I'm back at my desk typing up all those pages I scribbled over on the train!

If you have a long journey to make, how do you pass the time?

Rachael
xx

At Mills and Boon

At the end of last week I was in London for the Romantic Novelists' Association's summer party and the announcement of the winner of the Joan Hessayon award, which this year was won by Kate Field with her debut novel The Magic of Ramblings.

This time my trip to London held much more excitement than catching up with friends at the Summer Party as I visited Mills and Boon's offices.

Whilst there, I took part in a live Ask the Author session which can be watched again on the Mills and Boon Facebook page. If you have any other questions you'd like to ask, leave a comment for me there!

Sadly it was soon time to head back to Wales but there was just time to enjoy a walk in Hyde Park and make the most of the sunshine!

There seemed to be an abundance of ducks, geese and swans with their little families. Too good a photo opportunity to miss.

I'm now back at my desk working on the revisions of my latest book - and, of course, thinking about the next story!

Rachael
xx

Ask the Author

Do you have a burning question you'd like to ask me about writing or my books? Now is your chance!

Join me on Friday 19th May at 2.30pm BST

Rachael
xx

The Secret Billionaires

I'm really excited to see my next book, Di Marcello's Secret Son, out in store. It's the first book in the Secret Billionaires series which Dani Collins, Jennifer Hayward and I created.

Antonio Di Marcello thrives on challenges and accepts the latest challenge laid down by his friend and along with Stavros Xenikis and Alejandro Salazar he prepares to put aside his wealth and go under cover to live the life of an ordinary guy. Antonio is sent to a motor garage in Milan, the city his estranged parents live in. At first he believes his handpicked challenge is to mend bridges with his parents - until he see's Sadie Parker.

Sadie is unnerved by the uncanny resemblance new mechanic Toni has to the man she gave her heart to four years ago when he arrives at the motor garage she works at in accounts. He unlocks the flood of memories of a passionate weekend fling with billionaire Antonio Di Marcello, the father of her young son! What she has dreaded yet wished for finally happens, when Antonio himself comes to claim his heir.

The release of this book is doubly exciting as it's my tenth book. I can hardly believe I am living the dream of writing Presents, but I am absolutely loving it! I'd just like to say a big thank you to all my readers for making it happen. 

Right now there is a giveaway on Goodreads to win one of four signed copies. Entry closes on 14th April 2017.

Rachael

xx