Something lovely

Something really rather lovely happened this week.

A couple of nights ago I went to the pub to meet some mates, one of whom works in the local library. She told me when I arrived that earlier in the day a woman came into the library clutching a copy of Rum Do, which she’d just finished reading and absolutely loved. She wanted to know if there was a book club set of the novel available because she wanted to get her whole group to read it. As one of the librarians was telling her regretfully that no, it was not possible to get a book club set, my mate came to the desk, saw the novel in question and told the woman that the author (me!) lived on the island and she would be seeing me that very evening. The woman was apparently quite excited and gave my mate her phone number, which was passed on to me.

I rang her yesterday. I suppose it is quite exciting and completely unexpected to receive a phone call from the author of a book you really loved. (I know my gob would be well and truly smacked if I answered the phone and Ian Rankin was on the other end, asking me what I thought of the latest Rebus.) Anyway, this splendid woman waxed lyrical about Rum Do, told me she couldn’t put it down, just loved it. She is a seventy-five-year old widow, the poorest of her book club’s similarly aged, extremely affluent women. She told me somewhat mischievously that Rum Do would be quite a departure from the club’s standard fare and she was looking forward to seeing what they would make of it.

I told her there were copies of the novel for sale in a shop on the island, that I would make sure the library had a couple of copies available soon and that there is an electronic version available on Amazon. Turns out her selection isn’t until the autumn, so plenty of time to ensure the rest of her group can get copies. I told her I wanted to hear what the group has to say and she promised to let me know. Perhaps I should offer to go to the club meeting? Perhaps not.

The only feedback I’ve ever had on this novel has been from friends who’ve bought it or been given a copy by me. The feedback has been positive, as one might expect. If anyone hated it, they haven’t said so, but they wouldn’t would they? To be told by a complete stranger that they absolutely bloody loved it is something else entirely.

How lovely. How absolutely lovely.