I was Googling myself the other day. Actually, it was Good Friday. As an Episcopalian by upbringing (aka Catholic lite), I felt this was the only appropriate way to observe so solemn an occasion.

And what did I find? On the Barnes and Noble listing for Phyllida, an absolute rave review, the kind that an author dares to imagine only in her most narcissistic dreams.

I braced myself for the shattering crack of doom as the earth stood still and all of creation went flying (as in the H.G. Wells story, "The Man Who Could Work Miracles"). Nothing. I then flapped aimlessly around my apartment, unable to sit still in front of my computer, wondering why I was still inhabiting this middle-aged body and had not yet sprouted wings or been teleported into the fifth dimension to sip nectar and be fed ambrosia by beautiful, half-naked, bisexual young men.

When it was clear I wasn't headed for Mount Olympos, I e-mailed everybody in my address book and called those people who might not come over to my apartment and bash me on the head for starting their weekend off with unseemly gloating and boasting. On Monday, I figured, I would be deluged by the alerted media. I'd better get my beauty sleep, wash my hair. Perhaps Botox or a face-lift was in order. And was it possible to get a full set of dental implants over Easter?

But what do you know? Monday came and life went on as before. One thing is different. I can now die happy. I have written the book I wanted to write. I have managed to get it published without having to change it. And I have received a well written rave review from a reviewer who sees the book as I would like it to be seen and expresses her opinion with concise, literate style.

To wish for anything more might be seen as...ungrateful. And so I thank you, Cynthia Johnson, reviewer for Library Journal. I thank everyone at HarperCollins who made this possible. And I thank my friends and coworkers who have endured the ongoing saga of the perils of Phyllida, the trials and tribulations of authorship and publishing, with forbearance and even the remarkable ability to feign interest. Thank you all.

If you'd like to read the complete review, here's the link to the Fiction reviews of the March 15 issue of Library Journal:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6541458.ht ml?q=ann+herendeen