The things people say

I was quietly pottering around the blogosphere last night with a glass of red in my hand when I stumbled in on my old friend The Inner Minx. Well, talk about surprise. You could have knocked me over with a broomstick. Seems like she was interviewing my doppelganger Bill Pundy about his novel A Half Life Of One. I'm still enough of a neophyte to find that reading my own reviews is a nervewracking experience. Fortunately I think the Minx liked the book. Well, maybe "liked" isn't quite the right word. You can read the interview - and corresponding review - here.

Minx and I go back a long way in blogging terms. Seems like we've been reading each other's blogs since day one really. It's something of an asymmetrical relationship though. She gives and I take. In fact, if it wasn't for her encouragement - and judicious use of her infamous pointy stick - I would have given up blogging long ago. Whether you want to thank her for that or not, only you can say.

Minx's review isn't the only one that has surprised me recently. A lady calling herself Prairie Mary, who apparently hails from the plains of Montana, offered to review the book a few weeks back and I duly airmailed off a copy and thought no more about it. You can read the subsequent review here. I have to admit - somewhat shamefacedly - that following the review I didn't give Mary much more thought or even have the decency to put up a link to her blog (since rectified). More fool me. Turns out Mary is quite a person. She's just published a biography of her late - and rather famous - husband which sounds like a fascinating, not to say daring, piece of work. Being married to a famous sculptor isn't her only claim to fame by any means. Go visit her blog and discover more about a rather remarkable lady.