Publication day, and a double at that!  The Night in Question is out today, as is the paperback edition of The Grand Duchess of Nowhere, and I’m on the wagon, dentist’s orders, until after tomorrow’s molar extraction. Never mind. The wait will make it  taste all the better. Uh-oh, I’m starting to sound like my mother.

I’m currently reading Anthony Holden’s excellent biography of Tchaikovsky and discovering what a neurotic wreck he was, not least about his compositions. As soon as a piece had been aired publicly he would be plagued by FUDs (fears, uncertainties, doubts). It is wonderfully comforting to learn that great geniuses suffer from FUDs just as much as us also-rans. This book (TNIQ) has seemed like a particularly long haul but I’m still happy with it. I think. So far.

And so to the celebratory lunch. My husband hasn’t yet twigged that he’s buying but with my nice glass of water I’ll be a cheap date.