Youngson with proof copies

I am in Kemptown, having coffee with my good friend Emma on a Saturday morning, when Littleson calls from home in a state of excitement. My proof copies have arrived!

Cruelly, I forbid him to open them, but say no to another skinny cap and stride up the hill back home. There, sitting on the table, is a lovely package from Headline. I rip it open and five books spill out. My books! Looking like real books. Editor Leah says that Headline pride themselves on producing top quality proof copies, and, apart from a slightly lightweight cover, these are indistinguishable from a real, proper paperback that you might buy in a shop.

I can’t quite believe it. I put them in a pile on the chest that does for a coffee table in the front room. Throughout the day, I keep just popping my head round the door just to glance at them, as if coming up on them unawares and finding they are still there will prove that they are somehow real.