Oh, dear, this book is proving hard work. My original idea, which I mentioned in the last entry, turned out to be a damp squib. My editor very cleverly made me work out for myself that plot – and especially the hero – just didn’t have what it takes, so rather than her saying it was an absolutely crappy idea (which it was), I had to talk her through it and eventually come to the conclusion that the hero simply wasn’t heroic enough and it wasn’t going to work. And as soon as she’d got me to this point, I marvelled that I could ever have thought it was even a possibility as an idea. I came up with another plot that night (using the trusty hot bath and gin technique) and this is the one I’m going with … or rather, plodding with.

I don’t know why I’m struggling with this one so much. I’m happy with my hero and heroine, and I know how the plot works out. Perhaps part of the problem was that I had it all so worked out in my head that if felt as if I’d already written the book. Whatever the reason, I messed around for ages, and wasted over a month trying to get going on it. I re-started it three times, and am clearly going to have to go back to the beginning again. I’m still on the first draft stage, but having – just! - finished Chapter 6, I’ve decided to do the rest in note form as it’s all going to have to be rewritten anyway, and I’m beginning to panic about running out of time. The current plan is that I will knock out a rough outline of the last four chapters, and then go back to Chapter 1 and somehow magically transform a listless, lumbering story into a sparkling romance, but please don’t ask me how, because I simply don’t know. My only comfort is that I can remember being at this stage with other stories that turned out all right in the end. Contracted: Corporate Wife is a case in point, and it had some very nice reviews (see the home page) so fingers crossed this book will be like that, and not like the dire Mistletoe Marriage. (At least writing this book isn’t as bad as doing that one, all alone at Christmas with a broken heart and no heating or hot water – not a good time!)

I hate writing when it’s like this, and have been fantasising about giving up and becoming a cook instead. I’d love to spend my day pottering around in the kitchen, but doing it for a living would, I know, be much too much like hard work for me. I’d probably better stick as I am for now, so it’s back to Chapter 7 for me …