Hanging in the balance

I recently gave copies of my finished first draft of But I told you last year that I loved you - to three of my friends, whose opinions I trust, and I've been waiting impatiently ever since for their feedback.

I was out on Saturday night and when I got back there was a message from one of them saying "I've finished your book - ring me back!" I rang her back. No response.

I woke up on Sunday monring at half past five - desperate to know what she thought of the book, but made myself wait until half past nine to ring her again. I rang her for the next half hour, but then I had to go out to Quaker meeting.

I rang her as soon as I got home again, but it wasn't until 3.20 that afternoon that I got her on the phone. Ah......

It was OK! She enjoyed the book and she gave it a big thumbs up, but something about it needs fixing. That's OK. I can fix it.

If you are ever asked to read someone's manuscript - don't ever leave them a message like Ruth left me. It may only have been twenty and a half hours between the message and the resolution, but it felt like aeons.