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Lady Ann, and reprints
11 April 2006
Well, I don't know. I guess I was asleep with the radio on. At any rate, this morning they announced the new appointments to the House of Lords (obscure British political tradition, where people get to have influence by virtue of owning wealth, largely: how unlike the political systems in other democracies...), and I dreamed that m'friend'n'colleague Ann Cleeves was on the list. The first Murder Squaddie so honoured: I was proud. And of course her title would have to be Baroness Ann of Cleeves, and how fab is that? (Obscure British historical reference: ignore at will.)
Meanwhile, the good news of yesterday: Bridge of Dreams is reprinting before publication. This is a rare event, especially these days, when print-runs are tied scrupulously to advance orders; it's only happened to me once before, and never with a hardback. I am trying not to build too much upon it, muttering to my friends that it'll only mean more returns later (almost all books are sold 'sale or return', and vast quantities do get returned and pulped, even of the bestsellers. Bookshops are supermarkets, these days: pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap, send 'em back...). Still, however pessimistic I force myself to be (this Eeyore attitude doesn't come easy, y'know, I'm a bright and hopeful soul at heart), I can't get away from the fact that right now, today, it is undeniably good news.
© Chaz Brenchley 2006
Reproduced here by permission of Chaz Brenchley, who asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.