This morning, a long lost lover walked into my life. He stands roughly 7 inches by 9 (ooh baby!) and has about 275 odd pages. Glossy. Handsome. Mine.

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Today, in these parts, is rubbish collection day and once more our phantom rubbish napper has struck again ... We've had it happen a couple of times before over the last month or so and, this morning, Lord H put the rubbish out to add to the rubbish we'd put out earlier in the week - only to find that someone had taken the previous rubbish out of the bin and moved the bin itself to the other side of the gate. And the bin men most definitely hadn't been yet. Hmm. The plot thickens. Does Godalming have a phantom bin-napper? Or is some secret fan with very strange tastes going through the contents of our wheely bin hoping to glean some indication of what I'm currently working on? (So they can know what to avoid buying next, no doubt!) Ah, but I wish, eh!... Anyway, it's all very curious ...

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It's been a busy week. Same duties. But have received encouraging comments from fellow writers. This afternoon, have read messages. Sent some. Started working on a new Flash. Never thought I'd enjoy doing it. Found a file of old stories, none having been sent out, all languishing and yellowing in a drawer stuffed full of God know's what. Had a quick look through. Awful! Did I write that garbage? Yes, years ago when I was starry eyed but, and it's a big but, there might be a nugget hiding in that pile.

A nice big article has appeared in my local paper today which tells people all about the book. When Hubby saw it, the pride in his eyes brought a lump to my throat! ""Bloody hell, Jill!" he gasped. "That's brilliant!" Since arriving at the office, I have cut it out and taped it to the staff room door. It's not that I want people to see my mug-shot; I just want people to buy the book.

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Got up this morning to find that Lord H had very sweetly downloaded the first episode of the new Oz Clarke and James May wine tour programme - I'd missed it on TV as I'd been too busy writing. Shock! Horror! Yes, that does occasionally happen. And aren't computer downloads a wonderful thing? - modern technology never ceases to amaze me. Anyway, the programme was great and I loved their mobile home and friendly bickering. The Odd Couple of the new millennium indeed! Must try to remember to watch next week's episode on real TV if I can ...

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Stress has a negative effect on art. So does illness. I'm pretty sure that presently, the two like to travel hand in slimy hand, chortling and choking through my sinuses. Goblins. Judging by my green face I think I'm turning into one.

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What do I do to avoid writing? One thing that is excellent for wasting hours is redesigning my website. Tweaking, changing colours, trying out a new layout. Hours and hours... Much better than washing up. What do you think of the new design? Do the pictures slow it down? Is it eye-catching or a bit too much? Comments very very welcome.

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I've recently got my books sorted out, after phase three of The Great Study Move, so there's a right place for every book, but it sometimes takes a moment to remember what it is. And yes, sorry, there's so much fiction that I do have it arranged alphabetically by author. When I dropped Neil Gaiman into his slot I couldn't help wondering what the inhabitants of Mrs Gaskell's Cranford think of their new neighbour, green tentacles and all. And the more I looked along my shelves, the dafter it got.

It's like fan fic of the head, or Jasper Fforde writing flash. Walter Scott crossed with Vikram Seth could be interesting. I feel as if Swift's Gulliver's Travels maps onto Swift's Last Orders, in a mad sort of way...


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Hello to all WW bods! This is the first time I have noticed the WW blog - how long has it been there? How many other people are using it? What a brilliant idea!

I am hoping to start getting back into WW more now. I have missed it of late. It seems to be very quiet on here with nowhere near the interaction there used to be. I think that alone is putting people off a tad. Maybe - now the nights are drawing in and people go out less and stay indoors in the warm more - people will start coming back and getting the most out of their membership? I hope so.

I think I will leave it there for now.

Good writing everyone!

Now there's a scary image ... and one provided by the noble Lord H when I asked him last night how he would describe my normal state of mental and emotional balance, and whether he thought I was currently worse than normal. His response to the latter was that as the closest image to me in my 20s had been a rollercoaster on speed, now that I was in my 40s, a space-hopper on a pogo stick was actually more manageable. For us both! So there you have it! I am indeed as spaced out of my head as I suspected, but this may well just be me. And at least Lord H has not complained of boredom - yet ...

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