Christmas was a venture into the unknown for me.

I hosted lunch for seven people, and for the first time cooked a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Don't get me wrong - I have enjoyed my fair share of Christmas dinners, but being Australian, I am more used to prawns, salads and swimming on Christmas day.

Having decided to go all out, I discovered the joys of cooking chestnuts, parsnips, turkey and Christmas pudding. I did, however, draw the line at bread sauce! My failure to understand bread sauce is legendary - and the subject of at least one short story.

Not surprisingly, the gift giving around my table involved a lot of books - everything from romance to fashion design, from history to the wit and wisdom of great thinkers. You can never have too many books!

It's very cold outside now. I have the fire going and my thoughts are drawn back to Australia, which means back to my books.

"The Farmer Needs A Wife" is released in just over a week.

I have finished the first draft of the next book, and am at the point of reading it through, polishing the text before submitting it to my editor.

And in the back of my mind, I can see a little red sports car and two girls with their hair blowing in the breeze. That's book three calling. I'd better get to work...

There's a portal to another dimension in my back garden... near the top of the biggest tree, to be exact.

Whenever I am in the garden, this doorway opens and a princess from another world comes down to talk to me.

Of course, in this dimension, she takes the form of a very sweet silver tabby cat called Habibe, but in her own world, I'm sure she must be a princess.

I think she's a bit keen on my handsome NicNak. I do hope he doesn't follow her back to her world. I would miss him.

I got a book in the mail this morning. My book. With my words in it. Lots and lots of my words.

The cover looks absolutely fab! The whole thing is just beautiful.

After all that hard work, and a wait that seemed to take forever, it's such a great feeling to actually hold it in my hand.

Only 26 days to go until it's released.

And... by Monday I will have finished the first draft of the new book, and the whole thing starts all over again. I just love being a writer.

I'm feeling quite sad after learning that Oliver Postgate has passed away.

Growing up when I did in the Australian bush, we didn't have much in the way of television, so as a child I didn't get to meet any of Oliver's creations.

A few years ago, wandering around a London bookshop, webmaster John pointed out a middle aged man signing things at a small desk. That, he told me with some awe in his voice, was the great Oliver Postgate.

Who?

We immediately purchased the complete Clangers on DVD. I met some small pink people and fell in love.

One of my recent short stories featured Clangers. I wanted to evoke a sense of innocence and delight, and Clangers seemed perfect.

It was published a few weeks ago. I shall post it on my Stories page this weekend - with thanks to Oliver Postgate.

It's not just an excuse to shop. It's not just the lights and the window displays. One of the best things about this time of the year are the Christmas parties that give me a chance to catch up with people I see far to seldom during the rest of the year.

Yesterday it was the London and S-E Chapter of the RNA. We had a lovely lunch and chatted about books and reading and writing, with the occasional sidebar into clothes movies and... all right, books.

The festive season is also a much needed distractions from counting the days until the launch of The Farmer Needs A Wife (32), worrying about the deadline for my next book (January 31st) and getting stressed about how many more words I still have to write (about 25,000).  Eek!

I need another Christmas party.

Last night I was at another RNA function - this time with friends from the Reading chapter.

Special guests at the party were a reporter and photographer from Berkshire Life magazine - who came to find out all about us and what we do. We're getting a double page spread in February or March. Very Cool!

So - romantic novelists...   glossy magazine... What else would that lead to but SHOES!

Ray-Anne Lutener gets the blog's award this week - with fabulous dots (or are they spots?)

But fellow LBD writer Julie Cohen and Jan Sprenger are close second - with the sort of shoes you can wear to walk all over a pile of money!

It was a late night talkfest - which had me running for the last train home.

I sprinted out the door surrounded by offers of a bed for the night if I missed it - that's romance writers for you! Thanks ladies.

I made it with a couple of minutes to spare.

I've just had my Goth phase. It started about nine o'clock last night and lasted for roughly two hours.

I'm not new to Gothic novels. I grew up loving Victoria Holt's dark threatening mansions and dark sexy heroes. Steven King and Peter Straub take up significant space on my bookshelves. And as for movies... I love 'From Dusk Till Dawn' (George Clooney with tats) and 'Van Helsing' (Hugh Jackman with a hat tipped over one eye) and 'Constantine' (Keanu Reeves in a wet shirt)... I guess there is a pattern developing here. Which brings me back to last night.

I was in a glorious Art Deco theatre in East London to see Aussie Goth Rocker Nick Cave. This wasn't black lace and velvet Goth. Nor was it wild makeup and black leather Goth. This was murder and blood, tortured souls and doomed love, all set to a driving rock beat. That sort of thing is not normally my cup of tea. Nick Cave is a tall skinny man with a receding hairline, a bad moustache and a tendency to trip over his mic. cable. BUT... he performs with such passion and talent and is so involved in his music that he is mesmerizing on stage. Hmmm... There's that pattern again.

Next week's concert is different ... folk music. Protest songs performed with such passion and belief that it's easy to forget the singer is an aging Essex lad with a receding hairline...

Last night, the Romantic Novelists took on the world in fine style at the Coleman Getty PEN Quiz.

The quiz is all about raising funds for PEN's work promoting literature and defending freedom of expression around the world. It's also about good company and friendly competition, and when you have romantic novelists involved involved, there is glamour as well.

Team Captain Liz Harris bravely boned up on Booker Prize winners. As it's the 40th anniversary this year, we were sure there'd be some questions - sadly, not a one. But she did save us with Schubert's unfinished symphony.

The team featured Liz Bailey, Catherine King, Phillipa Ashley and Louise Allen. Literature is obviously our forte - and after the first two rounds, we were in 8th place out of 30 teams... which was cause for celebration. Perhaps that was our downfall.

Sarah Duncan shone in the picture round. I got the Led Zeppelin question right - but the Star Trek question wrong (to my everlasting shame). Audrey Willsher and Pia Tapper-Fenton kept us focussed - but we began to slip backwards, despite Katie Fforde's brilliant Fred Astaire answer.

We didn't come last. We had a fabulous time, and all in a good cause.The bonus came during the raffle - Katie won a wonderful holiday in an 18th century Devon Longhouse.

After the event, we retired to the hotel where the out-of-towners were staying. The night porter was more than willing to provide copious quantites of tea to lubricate our throats as we talked into the wee small hours.

The blog's shoe award goes to Pia - for tartan and black patent leather - with matching handbag.

Roll on next year!

Mechanical engineering and romance don't immediately seem to go hand in hand.... but last night the RNA held their winter party in the library of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in Westminster. It's a lovely venue, even if the books on the shelves were more high tension cables than sexual tension.

Noise levels were pretty high too...

We were all met at the door by Jan Jones and Roger Sanderson who do such a great job of organising our RNA functions...

Roger's gorgeous tie, by the way, comes from San Louis Obispo which is half way between LA and San Francisco. We should have guessed that by just looking at it.

It was great to catch up with friends from near and far - including Liz Fenwick, who regularly flies in from Dubai for RNA events...

The London chapter was well represented...

RNA Chair Catherine Jones predicted a cheery future for romantic fiction as we raised a glass to the holiday season.

As always - glamour was the order of the evening. These killer heels score Cat Marsters a second shoe appearance on this blog.

While all this was going on, webmaster John was handing out "Farmer Needs a Wife" bookmarks in the mosh pit of a heavy metal concert. Romance knows no bounds!

I was shopping in Windsor, when the police closed the road in front of the castle to allow for a parade of castle guards. Despite many, many shopping trips to Windsor, I've never seen the changing of the guard, so I thought I'd watch. Nothing like men in red uniforms with gold braid and bear skin hats to cheer a girl on a gloomy day.

With a flourish of trumpets they emerged from the gate... The leader was resplendent in gold braid and the rest were wearing... long grey overcoats.

It wasn't raining and it wasn't that cold - surely these elite servicemen could manage without the overcoats, just for the pleasure of watching romantic novelists! It was a bit of a disappointment.

The high heeled black boots I bought a few minutes later, however, are not a disappointment.

I have another 61 days until The Farmer Needs A Wife is released.  I'm going mad with anticipation... that's on top of the going crazy working so hard on the new book.

A touch of sanity crept in this week when I joined some friends and fellow writers at the Reading chapter of the RNA for a good chat. We talked about the books we are writing and reading, the US election - and I seem to remember some mention of party clothes for the festive season.

The next day - a box arrived on my doorstep, filled with goodies. There were bookmarks with my gorgeous new cover on them - and likewise my new business cards. They look great!

I got 1,000 bookmarks made - here's hoping there are that many people out there who'll want one.

I was (note the past tense) 50,000 words into my new novel, and thinking it was going all right.

A fellow writer who is a good friend, a great writer and an equally great teacher and critic read the first four chapters last week - and found it to be... well... not the best thing I have done.

Aaaaggghhh!

I re-read it and instantly saw the flaws. She was right - and now I'm busy re-writing. It's working too. I have tossed a gorgeous rogue into my heroine's path, burned down the school teacher's house and added a dark secret into another character's past. And that's just in the first three chapters. This is so much fun!

My deadline for this book is January - so I'm going to have to work pretty hard for the next few weeks - but this time it really is going very well.

I need to keep focused as the release date for The Farmer Needs A Wife draws closer.

The cover of my first book for Little Black Dress has arrived. It's fabulous.

The tractor is so cute. It looks just like one I used to drive when I was growing up in Australia. On the back of the book, it says...

"Helen Woodley, editor of Australia's top magazine, had no idea how successful her new column would be. Who knew that if the country's lovelorn farmers were profiled each week, readers would queue up to date them?

Get ready to meet:

The Artistic farmer: Greg, who'd rather be doing something creative with his time.

The Confused Farmer: Peter, expecting a nanny for his twins, not a pretty girl wanting romance!

The Unsuspecting Farmer: Matt, who has no idea his photo's been published... yet.

And finally, Leigh, the beautiful wine grower, who deserves a new chance at romance.

It's not all haystacks and pitchforks, girls - get ready for a scorching outback read."

Wow. I just love what LBD have done with my book. And there's only 75 days to go till it's out there.

I can hardly wait.

I finished my project in Leeuwarden this week.

I've been working with a team at Omrop Fryslân - the Frisian language broadcaster.

To celebrate the successful end to the project, and to say goodbye, they gave me some lovely flowers - and some gifts, including some traditional Frisian foods.

What a great way to end the project.

Thanks everyone for all your help and hard work.

I'm home now - settling down for some writing time. The characters in my new book are calling me to get on with their stories.

I am finishing off my project in Leeuwarden.

On Thursday evening, determined to have a bit of a break, I picked up a book, put down my mobile phone, and went for a long slow meal. After some fine food, a glass of wine and a couple of chapters of Kathy Reichs, I went back to my room to find four missed calls from my editor at Little Black Dress ... and a long voice mail message about last minute checks.

There was an even longer e-mail.

It was after 9 PM local time, and she needed an answer the next day.

I want The Farmer Needs A Wife to be the best book it can possibly be - so I sat down for some late night spell checking. I'm so glad there are online dictionaries, because I didn't have one with me.

By midnight I was done, and my e-mail was winging its way back to the Headline offices in London.

I confess that on Friday, I dozed off during the three hour train journey from Leeuwarden back to Amsterdam airport for my flight home.

I've got another week in Leeuwarden... then I have several weeks at home, just writing. What fun that will be. Writing... and trying not to count days (88).

I have sent the copy edits for "The Farmer Needs A Wife" to my editor. There's nothing left for me to do now. My part in the book is done - from here, it's in the hands of the publisher and printer.

I've been working on this for such a long time, it's a bit hard to let it go, but I've had book two on hold while I did the edits - and it's calling me back.

I'm still waiting with breath bated to see the cover for "The Farmer Needs A Wife".

In the meantime my friend Nell Dixon has just got her new LBD cover... have a look.

It's just lovely. The parrot's name is Dave.

I'm suffering from hyphen-related-anxiety.

I've spent this week going through the page proofs of The Farmer Needs A Wife.

A very patient copy editor has been through it line by line, checking my punctuation and spelling - and we disagree on the subject of hyphens.

Here's a sneak preview of the novel...  There's a character, young and handsome of course, who lives and works on - you guessed it - a farm. He grows sugarcane. Or maybe sugar-cane. Or possibly even sugar cane.

So - is he a sugar cane grower? A sugar-cane grower? A sugar-cane-grower? Or a canegrower?

What do you think?

Whatever I end up doing with the hyphens - Greg is kind and gorgeous and falling in love - and that's the most important thing.

I'm still waiting to see the cover art... but my friend and fellow LBD author Julie Cohen has just got the cover art for her new book. Go and have a look at it - it's just great.

As soon as I get my cover - you'll see it here.

I'm back from Galway. The journey took forever - knowing what was waiting for me when I got home.

I confess - I did shed a happy tear or two. It's starting to feel like a real book now.

I'm spending my evenings now checking it.

Next step - the cover art!

Hi, John the webmaster here - Janet is still in Galway.

This came in the post this morning...

I'm still in Ireland - and its looking lovely now.

I found a tiny cemetery overlooking the water.

Many of the crosses were carved with celtic design.

It was a truly beautiful place.

I'm in Galway on the west coast of Ireland. It's beautiful. Wild and rugged. Impossibly green fields with grey stone walls and white cottages overlooking rugged rocky shorelines.

Each day I drive for an hour along the shores of Galway Bay to get to where I'm working. On my first day here, it was a lovely sunny day, and I decided I had to take some photos. I didn't have my camera.  Never mind, I thought, I'll do it tomorrow. Or the next day.

It hasn't stopped raining since.

The locals tell me one sunny day a week is about the best I can hope for. I'm here for another week - so I might get lucky.

In the meantime, rain or no rain, I'll have to go looking for a newsagent later in the week. I don't know if People's Friend is sold over here - but it would be nice to see one of my stories on sale while I am still here.

After my rant yesterday about how long I have to wait for the release of "The Farmer Needs A Wife", the pre-publication copy of one of my short stories dropped onto the mat with the mail today.

For those with a long memory, or a passion for cult children's TV - "Close Encounters" features Clangers.

It is in the issue of People's Friend dated September 20th - and should be on sale a couple of days before that.

And now there are only 122 days to go...

A year is a very long time- and this year is proving a lot longer than most.

In late January this year, I got THE call - that Little Black Dress wanted to publish my first novel.

It will be released in early January next year - 351 days later.

At first, I was busy. I had to finish the book and do some re-writes. Then I handed it over to my editor at LBD - now all I can do is wait.

That's the hard part. I'm sure each week has eight or nine days. Each month has at least six weeks, and 2009 will never get here.

In the meantime, I am having a fab time writing the next book - tentatively titled "The Bachelor and Spinster Ball".

You can see it's going well - compare the number of Post-It notes around the screen now with when I started!

BUT, there are still 123 days to go...

Sigh.

I had four days to write this week - I did 8,375 words of the new book.

Some of them were pretty good words too... I think.

It really is the greatest job in the world!!!

Janet

Heading for breakfast, in the hotel foyer I bumped into (well - almost) an elderly couple who had their dog staying with them in the hotel.

It was small and cute and well behaved - and had brought its own bed.

I suppose you just have to ask for - one room, non-smoking, dog friendly.

When we go on holidays, Nic Nak the cat stays at a cattery - which he really doesn't like.

He'd much rather be indulging his new-found love of climbing the biggest tree in the garden.

Janet

I love shopping in a new country. New shops. New brands. New STUFF!

I'm working in the Netherlands, and yesterday I indulged one of my favourite pastimes.

There are a lot of names that appear everywhere you go - not just McDonalds, but other international companies - and the clothes and make-up and shoes on sale are the same everywhere.  But in a new country, there are also shops and brands that I've never seen before - and I love it.

Leeurwarden has a really pretty city centre, with a canal running down the middle. There was an old fashioned organ on the back of a small lorry driving around playing music. I thought it was pretty cool - but I imagine for the shop keepers must get very sick of hearing the same tunes over and over again.

Cafes line the canal. When I stopped for lunch, I couldn't resist the cranberry beer (I love cranberry juice). What can I say except - I didn't have a second.

As for the shopping - well, a shopping trip isn't a success without at least one small purchase. However, there were no shoes involved. I did have some trouble with my English credit card - but there's always a way around that when there's a pair of fab black pants in the balance!

I really won't need to buy an extra suitcase to come home - at least, I don't think I will.

Janet

I've had a busy few days!

First - to Stratford-Upon-Avon to see David Tennant (Dr Who) and Patrick Stewart (Cpt. Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise) in the RSC's production of Hamlet. Two of my favourite actors on stage together - it was mesmerizing!

Then it was off to Norfolk for a touch of touristing. I went underground in Grimes Graves - actually a neolithic flint mine, with lichen that gave it a lovely Borg-green glow.

Then to Castle Acre Priory - one of the religious orders dissolved and destroyed by Henry VIII. I'll say this - Henry left us with some facinating ruins. On the ceiling of the private rooms of one of the priors, you can still see the painted roses of the houses of York and Lancaster, which Henry united as the Tudor rose.

And finally - a few days sitting in the rain listening to music at Fairport Convention's Cropredy Festival. Something I witnessed at Cropredy 2006 inspired me to write a short story - which has recently been published. It's here if you'd like to read it.

The highlight of this year's festival, for me, was the moving tribute to Sandy Denny - with her music performed by those who worked with her before her tragic death 30 years ago. Sandy was the only woman ever to sing on a Led Zeppelin record - not bad for a folk singer. Zep's Robert Plant was the surprise guest for the night, where he sang "The Battle of Evermore" - the track he sang with Sandy. Wow! He still sounds great.

Now - back to work.

Janet

We are heading up to Statford upon Avon next week - for a little Shakespeare.

We have tickets for Hamlet - starring the gorgeous David Tennent - otherwise known as Dr Who.

The bard made an appearance in an old TV series I am currently watching on DVD. Beauty and the Beast is based on the fairy tale - but is set in modern New York. Well, I should say the New York of the 1980s, when it was made. One of the key writers was George R. R. Martin; I think he is one of THE greatest fantasy writers - ever. I'd pay to read his shopping list!

In an episode I recently watched, one of the characters is given the line - "Shakespeare knew everything."

George - I think you're right.

Janet

Some of my friends think my writing life is easy. That I just sit at the computer and words somehow magically find their way onto the page. They are almost right.  There is magic in writing, but there's also a lot of hard work - mostly to make sure the words on that page are all good words.

It takes a long time to write a book. At best, a few months. Sometimes a year or more. Then the exhausted writer sends it off to her editor - waiting for her to reply that it is wonderful, and exciting and funny and the readers will love it.

When I sent The Farmer Needs a Wife to my editor at Little Black Dress - she said all those things. BUT... (Why is there always a BUT?)...

The editor's job is to spot the things a writer never sees, because she is too close to her work. It's called the revision letter - pointing out where the writer may have gone a little off track. We all get them - and our books are all the better because of them.

I've sent my revised manuscript off to my editor, and am now waiting for her reply - which hopefully this time won't have a BUT...

In the meantime, she tells me the designers are working on the cover of the book. It might take them a few weeks to get to just right - no BUTS this time.

As soon as I can, I'll post it here to show you.

Janet

I hate airports. I know I'm not the first person to say this - but I REALLY hate airports.

There's something about them that turns normally polite and happy people into psychotic demons. Maybe it's fear of flying - or suddenly not flying any more. Maybe it's fear of who might be sitting next to you talking at you for the next three hours.

On Friday evening, I was flying home from Dublin. I made it to the airport with plenty of time for my 7.50 flight. But through a combination of broken airport radar, broken aeroplanes and bad weather - my flight was delayed.. and delayed... and delayed again.

I could feel myself turning into the Wicked Witch of the West on a bad hair day - so I headed for the DVD shop, where - joy of joys - I found a three-disc set of Julia Roberts chick flicks for just 10 Euro.

I settled into a chair, inserted "America's Sweethearts" into my laptop and plugged in the headphones from my ipod. The best part of two hours passed pleasantly enough. The movie finished just as they called for passengers to head for the boarding gate.

I finally got back to London a bit after midnight - better than some of my fellow travellers who didn't get home at all that night. I do hope they had a DVD in their bags.

Janet

I've just returned from the Romantic Novelists' Association's annual conference - held this year at Chichester University.

The conference is one of the most important - and enjoyable - weekends of the year. More than 100 novelists gather to talk about writing, our books, other people's books and the publishing industry in general. Any suggestion that there is merrymaking, drinking and even possibly some late night singing is entirely true.

Some of those attending are best selling writers, with a long list of successful novels. Others are just starting out - including those who are not yet published. The important thing is we all love  what we do - and we all support each other.  We share tips and experiences, commiserate when things go wrong and celebrate when they go well.

The undoubted highlight of the conference were the shoes worn by Cat Marsters for Saturday night's dinner...

Now that's romance!

Janet

I was right! The pandas at Washington Zoo were even cuter than I had imagined.

Everyone who went near them had a smile on their face.

Can you blame us? I bet you're smiling now too.

Janet

In Warsaw all last week, I was greeted by a giant panda every morning outside my hotel.

It was a blow up Kung Fu Panda promoting the movie.

It was kinda cool - brought a smile to my face.

In Washington this week - I'll be meeting pandas of a different kind... these will be smaller and furrier I expect they will be amazing.

Stay tuned

Janet

I am working this week in Warsaw (sorry about the excessive alliteration - I'll stop now).

My favourite building in the city is the Palace of Culture and Science - the tallest building in Poland.

It was a gift from the Soviet Union to their Polish comrades during the communist era. The locals hate it, probably because it reminds them of a difficult part of their history.

I like it for much the same reason.

It used to completely dominate the city skyline, but now it has competition from gleaming high rise hotels and office blocks.

The huge square around the building is now littered with outdoor bars and cafes featuring umbrellas with beer ads on them.

There's also a supermarket in the car park and a multiplex cinema inside the building, which is now one of the city's premier tourist attractions.

I think that says it all.

Janet.

Years ago, a friend and I were discussing music. She said she thought Bruce Springsteen was really sexy. I disagreed. I liked his music - but he didn't do it for me.

On Saturday, I saw him in concert - and boy - was I wrong!

On stage he was dynamic, and entertaining and sexy. He owned the stage and had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.

But... the gig was at the Arsenal football stadium, and the sound was terrible. Probably the worst sound I have ever heard at a concert. It was such a disappointment. Bruce deserved better. I hope I'll see him again some day with better sound - but I doubt I'll go to another concert at that stadium. And as I hate football, I guess that was my first and last appearance at Arsenal.

On a happier note -

I have just received my copy of 'That's Life Fast Fiction - the 2008 Winter Special with my short story in it. I can see those of you who live in the UK raising an eyebrow - Winter Special? It's an Australian publication and south of the equator temperatures are dropping.

When I wrote the story, I called it "Fairy Godmother's Need Not Apply" - because it's a twist on a fairy tale. It's now been published twice, in different hemispheres - and both times the title has been changed. In Australia it's called "The Family Thing". You'll see why when I post it on the stories page on this site in a few weeks.

I still like the original title - it might just end up being the title of a future novel.On the subject of novels and changes - I have also just received my revision notes for "The Farmer Needs a Wife". The editor really loved it, but has found a couple of places where she thinks it needs just a touch more work. Polish a scene here. Change the dialogue somewhere else. This is all part of the process of getting the book ready for publication. I want to produce the best book I can - so the revision process will start on Monday.

Janet

I have been working at Pinewood Studios this week.

There are always a couple of movies in some stage of production there. At the moment - one of them is B22.  That's Bond 22 - otherwise known as Quantum of Solace.

Yes - the gorgeous Daniel Craig is on the site. While walking to and from the car park every day, I kept my eyes peeled. Nothing.

On Friday, a colleague (male) left the building where we were working quite early to catch a plane. A little later - I got a text. He had walked past Daniel Craig just outside our door.

He described him as 'a blonde bloke in a nice suit'. Nice suit? I personally prefer those swimming trunks!

We are not allowed to take photos at Pinewood, but here is a link to a publicity shot that looks very much like it was taken at Pinewood.

I won't be back there for a few weeks - by which time the shooting might all be over.

Oh well - there's always B23.

Janet

I spent last week in Warsaw, and walking through the old city one evening, I stumbled across more than 100 bears in the square outside the Royal Palace.

Each bear was identical - but totally individual.

The bears have been decorated by artists from many different countries - and are on a world tour to promote understanding and friendship between peoples and raise money for charity.

The results were both beautiful and thought provoking, reflecting images from so many different cultures.

The bear from Australia had been decorated by Ken Done. The design was not dissimilar to Ken Done fabric I made into curtains for my bathroom some years ago. Not that I mean that to imply anything about the design!!

I have to confess to embarrassing myself in the restaurant of the Warsaw Hilton hotel. I was reading Pandora's Box, the novel by my friend Giselle Green (mentioned in last week's blog). There was a moment in the book which I found profoundly sad, but at the same time very uplifting and I shed a few tears into my continental breakfast. The businessmen all around were giving me curious looks as they talked into their mobile phones. Honestly - I thought I probably had a far more enjoyable breakfast than they did.

AND - Giselle has just won the Joan Hessayon NWS Award presented by the Romantic Novelists Association for a debut novel that has been reviewed under the New Writers Scheme.

It's well deserved - the book is delightful, and I do recommend it.

Janet

On Saturday I had the great pleasure of attending a party to celebrate the launch of Pandora's Box - the first novel by my friend Giselle Green.

Like me, Giselle is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association, and quite a few friends from the RNA joined Giselle to celebrate her big event.

Writing is a solitary business - many, many hours sitting alone at a computer. It's also very hard work. It's important to have support from friends and family. Some of the best support comes from other writers, who understand the journey we face when we start to write a book.

Several of my friends at the RNA were, like me, unpublished when we first met. It was wonderful to realise yesterday how far many of us have come since then.

Henriette Gyland (left, with Giselle and me) has just won the Katie Fforde Bursary.

Victoria Connelly has had several books published, and a German movie studio is about to starting shooting the film of her first book.

I am flying to Warsaw on Monday and working there for a few days. I shall take "Pandora's Box" to read on the plane.

And I am so looking forward to inviting Giselle and my other RNA friends to join my big day, when "The Farmer Needs A Wife" is published in January.

Janet

I've been waiting a long time to tell you about the publication of my novel 'The Farmer needs A Wife'.

The book will be published very early next year (probably January) by Little Black Dress - an imprint of Headline books.

The journey started in July last year, when I attended the Romantic Novelists' Association's conference at Leicester University.

One of the speakers was Cat Cobain, the editor of Little Black Dress.

Cat talked about the new line, and it seemed to be just the sort of thing I like to read - and to write. I had a meeting with Cat, and told her about a book I was just starting to write. Set in Australia, I thought it might be what she was looking for. She agreed and asked me to send her the first chapter.

Editors are busy people - and it was some time (not to mention a couple of lost e-mails) before Cat and I talked again. By this time, the book had grown - and she asked to see some more.

Four nerve wracking (for me at least) days later, Cat called. She loved the book, and wanted to publish it as part of the Little Black Dress line. I was overjoyed - and terrified, partly because the book still wasn't finished.

It is now - Cat has it and it has started the long journey that will lead to a place in the romance section of a bookshop.

I'll tell you a bit about that journey in this blog over the coming months... and give you some hints about the book, which will be just the first. I hope my second novel will be published later next year.

Janet

I remember the first science fiction book I ever read. It was Farmer in the Sky by the great Robert Heinlein.

         The book told the story of a young boy growing up on a farming community on Ganymede - one of the moons of Jupiter.

At the time, I was growing up in a farming community on the Darling Downs in Queensland. It wasn't quite as remote as Jupiter - but at times, to the teenage me, it felt like it.

Like all the best Sci Fi, Heinlein's book wasn't about science - it was about people. The science simply created the world in which they lived, the problems they faced and the journey they had to make.

I kept the book and re-read it many, many times.

When I first started seriously writing short stories, I tried to write Science Fiction. Those stories were pretty bad, and none were ever published.

I moved on to women's fiction and romance and discovered I was much better at that. However, I have always retained a love of Sci Fi and fantasy.

I started writing fantasy stories last year. Several of those have been published, or will soon be. This week, the first 'real' Sci Fi story I have written for many years was accepted by My Weekly magazine, who are now including Sci Fi and fantasy in their new look publication.

I don't think I'll ever be a Sci Fi writer, but it is nice to think that in a very, very small way, I am a part of the genre that I have always loved so much.

Janet

I just received in the mail a preview copy of my next short story to be published in The People's Friend.

It's called "Do You Believe in Fairies?"

People sometimes ask where I get the ideas for my stories. I usually say anywhere and everywhere.

This story grew from a moment at a music festival last year. The festival at Cropredy in Oxfordshire is staged by the band Fairport Convention, who have been playing and recording folk music since 1967.

We go to the festival every year and join a few thousand other people for three days of relaxing on a hillside, eating and drinking and listening to some really great music.

In 2007, while queuing for food, I saw a very pretty young blonde girl dart through the crowd, to kiss a started young boy on the cheek before running away again. It was a picture that just stayed in my mind.

"Do You believe in Fairies" isn't their story. It's the story of a two totally different people. But I hope the experience is the same.

You can read the story in the May 3rd edition of People's Friend - which should actually be on the shelves of your nearest newsagent or supermarket on May 1st.

Janet

I have just finished reading 'Blaze' - a recently published book by Stephen King.  Recently published - but not recently written. In his foreword, King says it was written from late 1972 to early 1973, when he was writing as Richard Bachman.

It's what he calls a trunk book. I would call it a bottom drawer book.

Every writer has them - the things we write that never see the light of day. It could be that the idea doesn't pan out. Or that we don't finish them. Or we like them, but our editors don't.

They get consigned to old trunks (to use King's expression) or to cardboard boxes or to the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet.

The most important thing is that they never get thrown away.

Mine sit on my computer in a folder called - strangely enough - bottom drawer. It holds odd short stories and books from the last ten years.

Those folders are home to some characters and stories that I rather like.

A young female archaeologist with a passion for all things Egyptian discovers a great treasure - and a great love.

A woman travels to Iceland to unlock secrets from her father's past.

There's a story about a granddaughter's love for her dying grandfather - they just both happen to be dragons.

There's also some old attempts at writing horror - inspired by Stephen King. The genre might not be for me - I am much happier writing romances - but I have always admired King's ability to tell a tale.

Maybe some day one of my bottom drawer stories will find a home. I can only hope that my readers will enjoy that story just as I enjoyed reading a piece of King's literary past.

Janet

I set out on Saturday morning to go to London, to a meeting of the South East Chapter of the Romantic Novelists Association . I didn't get very far. A technical fault at Waterloo Station left trains stacked up at the stations. I made it about four stops toward London, before giving up and coming home. It was a shame. The group is great fun. I hope I get to the next meeting in June.

Like most people, I woke up on Sunday morning to snow.

The garden looked amazing.

I hadn't seen any snow at all this winter - until today. The flakes were so big and fluffy.

We didn't get a lot of snow in Queensland, Australia when I was growing up, so I still feel a bit like a kid when it snows.

I want to get out and play in it.

The cat, however, has a very different idea.

He didn't venture outside until it had stopped snowing, and most of the white stuff had melted.

The other big achievement this week was to get tickets to Glastonbury Festival . Yes - the one with all the mud.

I've been to three Glasto festivals. Twice the weather was good, but last year - well the photo says it all.

Despite the mud, I still had a great time.

The music was amazing, and the whole festival atmosphere is great.

For a long time, I've been thinking out setting a novel there.

I will one day - but first there's the one I'm currently working on, and the one after that, and...

Janet

I e-mailed my novel to my editor a week ago. She'll look at it and let me know where I've gone wrong - what needs fixing or changing. But not for a while yet. She has other books to edit and she's on holiday for the next two weeks.

So - now what? That novel has taken just over a year of my life to write. Suddenly, there's nothing else I can do to it for three or four weeks./p>

Three or four weeks without writing is just not an option. So I have started writing the next book./p>

Starting a new book is an exciting time - and a little bit scary. The idea has been wandering around the back of my mind for a while, now its time to give it some shape. The characters too have been talking to me for a while and now they need names and faces so they can tell their story./p>

This is how my desk looks as I start the new book./p>

It will get messier as I go along./p>

The number of post-it notes stuck to the screen grows rapidly as I get new ideas, and write them down quickly before I forget. To the right side of the keyboard is the sketch pad on which I am drawing a map. This new book is set in one small Australian outback town. The map will help me keep track of what is where in the town, and who can see whose front door from their kitchen window./p>

As well as the essential dictionaries and punctuation guides, I have a book of baby names - that helps me find names for my characters./p>

The mug of tea is essential, as are the CDs I listen to as I write./p>

The silver cup on top of the CD player is the Elizabeth Goudge trophy awarded to me at the R.N.A. conference last year. It continues to inspire me./p>

I've got less than a year to write this one - time I set to it./p>

Janet

I confess to taking the Easter long weekend off - well, almost. I did take my laptop with me to the Gosport and Fareham Easter Festival - and I did get some work done on the new novel.

Most of the time, however, I spent listening to folk music and I even tapped my toe with some Morris dancers. Although I write contemporary fiction, I am a history buff, and I will now openly confess to having a bit of a soft spot for Morris Dancing.

When I was at primary school back in Australia (age 8-9 I guess), we had 'folk dancing' sessions. The boys in the class hated them, but the girls loved them. For me, it was a chance to hold hands with a boy I was sweet on. I didn't know it at the time, but the folk dances they were teaching us were actually Morris Dances. We were not allowed to take great swipes at each other with sticks - but the moves and tunes were much the same.

So I joined the shoppers in the streets of Fareham to watch and applaud the Morris Dancers - hardy people that they are - who even braved a bit of sleet for their art.

Inside the somewhat warmer confines of the Ferneham Hall, I was treated to some excellent music. The festival featured some wonderful singers of traditional songs. It was a treat to listen to the Young Coppers. This is the latest generation of a family that has been collecting and singing traditional English songs for hundreds of years. The Young Coppers present their songs presented exactly as they were sung four centuries ago. I strongly recommend them to any lover of English tradition.

I'm back home now. I rescued Nic Nak the cat from the boarding cattery where he'd spent the Easter break. They take good care of him, but he's very happy to be home.

While I work this week, he'll be indulging in that most feline of pastimes - sleeping and being excessively cute.

Janet

My first piece of fiction published in Australia is out this month - in That's Life! Fiction Special.

I won't see it for a while - the magazine isn't published in the U.K. Until one of my friends sends me a copy via snail mail, I won't know what it looks like.

When I sent the story to them, it was titled "The Romance Writer", but I don't know if they will keep that title.

When a magazine buys a story, the writer usually has to grant them the right to do minor edits - mostly for length. They may need to trim a few words that don't fit on a page. Some magazines also change the story title. You can see some of mine that have had the titles changed on my published stories page.

Sometimes my response is - That's so good! Why didn't I think of that? Sometimes I like my own title better.

I once had an editor change the name of two characters in the story for no reason that I could see. And the worst thing that has happened - so far at least - is that one magazine spelled my name wrong when they published the story. I was so disappointed.

I am, however, never disappointed to see my words on the page, and to know that people are reading my stories. That's why I keep writing them, and why I'll keep posting them on this site after they are published.

And this week, the That's Life! decided they wanted to use another of my stories in their Winter Fiction Special. I will be asking my friends in Oz to buy some more postage stamps.

Janet

When do you finish writing a book? It should be when you type "The End" after the last line of the last page of the last chapter, but it's not.

I have written the last line of the last chapter - but I can't stop there. Immediately after, I printed out the whole book - and it's sitting in on my bookshelf.

On Monday, I will start at word 1 and read the whole thing - all the way to word 84,978.

By the time I am done, I expect the word count will have changed somewhat, as I find errors and things I want to change. Like most writers, I can always find something I want to improve in any piece of my work. But at some point, I do have to type THE END. I have an editor waiting for the manuscript - and she can't have it until after those two small words are on the page.

It's hard to let go of something that has consumed your thoughts for so long. You have to say goodbye to characters you have come to know, and leave them to get on with their lives - while you start the next book.

I needed a bit of distraction after the last chapter, so I drove down to the South Downs, to the Footlights Folk Club - to see Steve Knightley perform.

Steve is best known as one half of the popular duo "Show of Hands". I first listened to them a couple of years ago, and now have 13 CDs and 2 DVDs of their music.

Steve is the songwriter - and his songs tell stories. Some of them will bring a tear to the eye. He is also one of the sexiest men I have ever seen behind a microphone - if you are into the unshaven, passionate and angry West Country guitar player look... Sigh!

Short stories have always been one of my favourite forms of fiction.  The first short story I ever read was in a school English book. It was called 'The Maltese Cat', and written by the great Rudyard Kipling. The Cat of the title is a polo pony, and the story still brings a lump to my throat when I re-read it. I do recommend you give it a try.

The Cat got me started and I've been reading and writing short stories ever since.

The Romantic Novelists Association is planning an anthology of short stories to mark its 50th anniversary in 2010. The aim is to showcase the diverse range of talent within the organisation, and to promote the genre of romantic fiction. I have just been told that one of my stories is on the long list for inclusion in that anthology. The list includes some wonderful and successful writers, and it it an honour to share it with them. The story is 'Waiting For A Wish'. It's the story which won the Elizabeth Goudge Award at the RNA conference last year. I won't know for a while if I am going to make the final cut. The anthology is expected to be published late 2009 or early 2010.

In the meantime, another of my stories will be published in March - this time in Australia. It's a piece inspired, in part, by the rather gorgeous Hugh Jackman, and an early film of his called Paperback Hero. For those in Oz, the That's Life Fiction special will go on sale on March 17th. Look for the story called The Romance Writer - although they may change the name. Editors do that sometimes. For those not in Australia, I'll post the story here on my Published Stories page after the magazine has had its run.

As a writer, a short story presents a particular challenge - how to tell your story in a very few words. Depending on where it is to be published, that could be less than a thousand words. With that few words, every single one must be the best word for the job. Some time soon I will post some thoughts on how to do that, from my short story writing workshop.

Janet

It's a great feeling - starting the last chapter of a novel.

I think the best chapters to write are the first and the last.

The first is great because I'm just starting out and there is a whole world of possibilities ahead for me and my characters. My mind is buzzing with ideas.

The last chapter is exciting because it's the climax of the story. True love is winning over adversity, or the bad guy is getting what he deserves, the hero is saving the world or my characters are simply moving on to a better place.

The last chapter of this novel is particularly thrilling for me - because this is going to be my first published novel. I can't say too much at this point, but I hope to be able to give you some details soon.

It is enough at this moment to know that I have an editor waiting to read my manuscript. I have a deadline I have to meet - Eeekk!

I also know that some day, people will be reading this novel - sharing the adventures and the lives and loves of the characters created. That is a wonderful feeling.

It's all part of storytelling - the audience or reader is as important as the storyteller.

On the subject of story telling, I have been listening of late to a lot of folk music - and much of that is all about telling a story. I was at a folk club this week listening to Steve Ashley play. He sang a lovely story about his grandfather, and how he kissed goodbye to his wife on the day he died. It was beautiful and very touching.

I think I'll be listening to that again as I write this last chapter.

Janet

Well, this is my first blog entry. And it is starting with some good news...

I've just had another short story accepted for publication by People's Friend magazine. This one has a touch of fantasy about it, involving Clangers. You might remember them - the little pink space creatures from the Oliver Postgate TV series.

I don't know when the story will be published. It usually takes three or four months. I'll let you know when it appears, and later on, I'll post it on this site.

I see the Romantic Novelists Association members (of which I am one) have voted Johnny Depp as their number one Romantic Hero for Valentine's Day. I am in complete agreement. I sometimes work at Pinewood Movie Studios, and saw Mr Depp about the place while he was making Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He really is as gorgeous off screen as on!

Daniel Craig was number two. Despite being at Pinewood during the making of four Bond movies, I have never seen either Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan (who was number 8 on the RNA list). Still, I live in hope.

Here is the full list...
1. Johnny Depp
2. Daniel Craig
3. Sean Bean
4. Richard Armitage
5. Hugh Jackman
6. Colin Firth
7. Alan Rickman
8. Pierce Brosnan
9. George Clooney
10. David Tennant

Wow! Who wouldn't like to see one of them on the doorstep on Valentines day. Clutching flowers and a box of chocolates. On second thoughts, who needs the flowers and chocolates!

I'll write more soon,

Janet