He wanted it for his Dad, a keen cyclist. I told him not to be daft, it’s free for key workers like him. Gave him a signed copy.

(I feel like such a twat giving out signed copies of the book, it reminds me of the Radio One roadshow I once attended in Neath, with DJ Gary Davies giving out signed photos of himself. I get the Alan Partridge hives and start getting anxiety dreams featuring Big Cheques and celebrity golf. But people like signed things, apparently).

The economics of indie publishing are not good; I'd set aside a few copies to give to journalists who didn't really want them*. In terms of an unknown author trying to get reviews for what is essentially a travel book which advocates going for a bike ride in China, the timing could have been better.

There are too many books already, and trying to get people to read yours can be a dispiriting task. People read on the basis of reviews; but it takes hours for most people to read a book, so getting people to do so is asking a lot of them. So I appreciate the kind reviews to date. And when a Scottish blogger called it a 'hidden gem' there was a spike in sales that fended off Overdraft Day for about a week.

But also I've been giving quite a few out to key workers and people who have lost income as a result of the pandemic.

Anyway, I forgot about it, until the same postman knocked on the door in his civvies today with an envelope and a box of chocolates. ‘As a thank you from my Dad. He loved it’.

I can’t tell you that postman’s name, because his signature is a bit more celebrity like (i.e. hard-to-read) than mine. In fact the kind of script that might confuse a postman. But I genuinely had smoke in my eye, I think, when I saw this home-made card, whilst chomping on a strawberry cream, whilst my wife caned the Turkish Delights. There have been other reviews,  but none which have been so well received, nor accompanied by food.