40 for 40 - Janet Gover

I've just spent the weekend in the company of today's guest - and it wasn't long enough. But it was appropriate that the time we spent together was at the RNA Conference. Because the conference is where I met Janet Gover  - back when she was a Virgin.  Because, like Anna Campbell,  Janet was one of the  'First-timers' who I looked after in my RNA Virgins scheme.  We hit it off from the moment I heard her Aussie accent - in spite of having lived in the UK for many years - and we soon became real friends. For the past couple of years she's been living far to far away - in New York - but now, thankfully, she's back in the UK and it was so good to catch up with her.

Janet has a special reason for being on the blog today - because it's her wedding anniversary. As she'll tell you in her blog.

So Happy Anniversary Janet  - I hope your special day is truly wonderful.

Here's Janet:


When Kate asked me to join this celebration – my first thought was – 40 years! No wonder she writes fabulous romances – she is living one with Steve (otherwise known as the Babe Magnet).

My second thought was – I don't do weddings. Seriously – I don't. Not in my books (which are also romances) and not in real life – well… almost not.

You see, today is my wedding anniversary – it just took me nearly two decades to get around to doing the nuptials thing. My husband John and I met 20 years ago in Hong Kong. It may have been love at first sight – but it took us a couple of hours to notice… and about three weeks to admit it openly. We spent the next 17 years wandering between Australia (my home country) and the UK (his home country) and never getting married because it was just too hard to get everyone we wanted to invite to one spot on the globe.

The bride wore lilac- and fabulous purple shoes

All this came to a sudden end with the opportunity to live and work in New York City – and the discovery that the US Immigration Service does not believe in romance. While queuing for a rock concert (strangely enough on my birthday) we were eating kebabs as John explained the advice he'd had from his corporate lawyers. No marriage certificate – no US visa. So, he said between bites, do you want to get married then?

  No roses and diamond ring. No getting down on one knee – but in it's own way – it was pretty romantic. I said yes.

Three weeks later we were married and the next day we were at the US embassy – where the visa officer looked at the wedding certificate, on which the ink was barely dry. "Did you get married just to get into the US?" she asked. "Yes," I said. "We get a lot of that", she said as she approved my application.

John and I have now been happily married for three years – two of which we spent in fabulous New York City. It wasn't until Kate and I started talking about her 40^th – that I realised… Kate writes books with weddings in them. True love and some amazing romantic weddings. I write books with true love –but in none of my novels (including the new one due early next year) do I have a wedding.

 I wonder if that is because my own wedding wasn't exactly traditional. Don't get me wrong – I loved our wedding. It had it's own brand of romance, and we married for the only reason that matters – because we love each other and want to be together. Oh yes - I did also get to buy an awesome pair of purple shoes. I don't write weddings. But, maybe it's time I did – time I gave one of my characters a big white dress and a candlelit aisle… or maybe some other dream wedding. What do you think?

To win a signed copy of my novel "The Bachelor and Spinster Ball" (warning – there's true love but no weddings in the book) tell me what you think would be a great 'first wedding' for me to write.
Come on – let your imaginations run wild…    

You can re3ad more about Janet's books -and specially her new novel Flight to Coorah Creek (Choc Lit)  -   on her web site