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