What a week.  I put 820 miles on my little car in the past 7 days, driving my dad and brother around the tourist attractions of southern England.  We had a lovely day at Dover Castle, an attraction everyone in England should see, and a very nice sunny day at Stonehenge, the remarkably beautiful Salisbury Cathedral, and even made it up to the standing stones of Avebury.

And then we had three inches of snow, so we stayed in and had roast beef.

In the middle of it all, I was whisked away for a day to the International Children's Book Fair in Bologna.  My first time in Italy, pity I was only there for 20 hours.  I had dinner with some of my foreign publishers and found out the exciting news that the Italian translation is done (with a beautiful new cover) and will be out in September, the same time as the American edition.  My first translation ever, so that ought to be something.

I also found out I unexpectedly have to move house by the end of May, so the house-buying business is accelerated.  We've found a nice place, though, so no complaints there.  But GOD I hate to move house, so we'd better bloody stay in the new place for years to come.

AND I had a review of Adam Mars-Jones' Pilcrow in the Guardian on Saturday, which has caused more mentions of it to me than any other thing I'd written.  Not what I intended, I was only reviewing the book as given.  I just happened to not like it.  Very much.  At all.