The above is a screen grab from a title on Amazon.co.uk - to be precise, the 'Look Inside' screen of the recently published "Humor In Contemporary Junior Literature" by Julie Cross, published in America by Routledge. When I saw it, I almost bounded out of my chair in amazement. I thought to myself: Holy Cow, I Get A Mention In An Academic Book About Children's Literature!!!!(plus a few more exclamation marks, just to labour the point)
    Yeh, yeh, I know, it's not exactly a world-changing event. But when you're a writer, tucked away in a distant, shivery-cold room, tapping out your strange little stories, things like this can mean a lot to you. A bit like the first time you see one of your books on the shelves in a bookshop. Aww, OK, like EVERY time you see one of your books on the shelves in a bookshop...
    Lots of writers say the ultimate in smug-faced happiness would be coming across someone reading one of your titles on the bus or the train. I'll settle for a couple of lines in a university textbook, for now.