My new book, Teacher's Pet, is being printed at the moment. This is the time when an author breaths a big sigh of relief and gives himself a treat. A holiday in the Seychelles perhaps, or hang-gliding lessons off Mount Everest, or a piece of toast with double baked beans.

I'm having the toast because I want to start another book straight away. (Plus I'm scared of heights and beaches.) The characters from Toad Rage and Toad Heaven have been nagging me for a while to write another story about them, so I'm plunging straight in even before I've swallowed the last mouthful of beans.

The third toad book's going to be called Toad Away, and it's the story of a journey Limpy, Goliath and Charm make to South America. Their ancestors came from around the Amazon river in Brazil, and they go there to try and find some relatives and see if they can pick up some tips on how to avoid being turned into toast by humans.

It's an adventure for me too, going straight from one book to another. For the last six months I've been an eleven year old girl called Ginger who lives in a house full of cats she's allergic to. Both her parents are teachers at her school and are permanently distracted by the other kids. So when Ginger discovers the school principal is trying to kill her dog, she... oops, mustn't tell you too much or it'll spoil the surprise. You don't have to wait long, anyway. Teacher's Pet will be in shops and libraries at the beginning of May. (If you live in Britain, you will have to wait longer, I'm afraid. Until early 2004. Oh well, at least you can while away the time trying to discover if that woman with red hair who lives next door to you is J.K. Rowling.)

Now I've finished my toast I'll be whiling away my time trying to forget everything I've learned about cats and dogs and school principals, and trying to remember everything I used to know about being a cane toad. Lots of warts, I seem to remember, and mucus, and stink beetle sandwiches...

Before I plunge back into the muddy swamp, I want to let you know about Worry Warts The Play. A group of talented actors have turned Worry Warts into a great play, and are touring it to many parts of Australia over the next four months. Details of performances and where you get tickets are all on the Worry Warts The Play page.

Until next time, oo-roo and happy reading, and play watching, and spying on the neighbours,

25 March 2003