Our special series profiling members of the Romantic Novelists' Association continues.

Jan Jones is the latest winner of the RNA Joan Hessayon award for best new novel. Stage by Stage is the story of a newly-single mother who opens a B&B and ends up falling for a visiting actor. It's a far cry from her previously-published tome - a handbook on BASIC for the Sinclair QL computer (which, astonishingly, I own) - but a well-earned debut into the romance genre, and proof that the RNA's New Writers' Scheme provides the goods.

Jan has always written, getting early and consistent breaks with short stories published in women's magazines. Like many such writers, she'd seen several magazines come and go, and eventually the folding of her favourite title spurred her to upsize her writing to novel-length.

Stage by Stage was inspired by Jan's lifelong dabblings in amateur theatre, and particulary the 'backstage badinage' during the three-week run of a children's musical. It just goes to show that you can't stereotype all writers as limelight-shy recluses. Although Jan is often pictured with her cat, and that's quite writerly. Great Writing: What inspires you to write?

Jan Jones: Life, really. Characters appear in my head, or grow out of snippets of observation, and I either tuck them away, or think "What If...?" and bang - there they are in a story.

GW: What is it about the romance genre that appeals?

JJ: Romance is the stuff of life, isn't it? It's what everyone is looking for, that someone special to share part of their existence with.

GW: How do you manage to stay fresh in a genre that is to some extent formulaic?

JJ: Aren't all genres a little bit formulaic? The difference with Romance is that you don't have murder, magic or other-worlds running alongside the love story. The romance itself has to be strong enough to stand alone.

To answer your question, I write the sort of books that I would like to read. I start with the characters and the situation and let the novel develop from there. I know some of the things which are going to happen in the story, but the characters themselves dictate the rest. That is what makes it interesting for me and, I hope, the reader.

GW: What is your writing routine? Are you disciplined in your work? How do
you prevent 'real life' from intruding?

JJ: It's impossible to keep real life from intruding. Nor would I want it to. It's what I am writing about, after all. It would be nice, at times, if it didn't intrude quite so much but if I worked completely in isolation, I think it would show in the text.

What I can do is to stay up late at night when the house is quiet - that's when the creative strands come together. Then the next day, I put the previous night's long-hand onto the PC and start the editing process. I love editing and refining - also it has the advantage that it can be tucked into small pockets of time if necessary.

The other thing I can do is when life gets really hectic, I keep my characters in my head and think about them, their back-story and what they are up to. The more I know about them, the easier the writing becomes when I do get a spare moment to put fingers to keyboard.

GW: Tell us the story of how you got your first novel published.

JJ: That's an epic in itself! Stage by Stage took eight months to research and write, I then entered it for the Romantic Novelists' Association New Writers Scheme and it got a very encouraging report. I changed what the reader saw as obvious bars to publication and started sending it out to publishers and agents.

Over the next five years, six publishers and seven agents turned it down before it found a home with Transita. The novel now is in essence still the same one I started with, but it has had fallow periods while I was working on something else and a number of makeovers after I came back to it with fresh eyes. The oddest thing about seeing it in book form is that I can no longer go back and tweak it!

GW: There's a certain preconception that certain kinds of romance novels are 'easy' to write. What would you say to that?

JJ: I'd tell people to try it for themselves!

GW: Does writing romance novels pay the bills? What would you say to someone who intends to quit their job and write full-time?

JJ: I'd advise them to make sure they have a large financial cushion, another source of income or a predilection for soup and sandwiches. Writing for a living isn't going to happen unless you are brilliant, prolific or both.

GW: How important is getting an agent?

JJ: Well, I haven't got one - and it's hard work. You have to do all the chasing yourself. Also, a lot of publishers won't even consider unagented manuscripts. On the other hand, I don't have anyone nagging me, or telling me that the way I'm writing my latest book won't work.

GW: How important is self-publicity?

JJ: Very important. Books do not sell by themselves. Someone has to be out there persuading people to buy them.

GW: What's the most important thing you've learned about writing for publication?

JJ: This one's easy. Never give up. Never. Take every scrap of feedback and ask yourself why someone said such and such a thing. Then apply it in a way which makes sense to you. Persevere.

For more information about Jan Jones, visit her website. Jan's novel, Stage by Stage is published by Transita, and is available from Amazon and other places. You can also check out Transita's website here.

For more information about the Romantic Novelists' Association, and for details of upcoming events (including the Commercial Women's Fiction workshop in October) visit the RNA website.