Things ate my trousers

It's a day of double goodness today. Not chocolatey goodness, as that's not really all that good. And a bit sticky. And lets face it, when it gets hot, chocolatey goodness tends to melt and look as if someone's had a bottom-related accident. So let's call it 'pickled-oniony goodness' instead: they don't melt, they smell nice, and if you draw on a cornea and retina, you can make small children think they're eating eyeballs. Which is always fun. Well until their parents find out. Then it's all recriminations, shouting, and running away.

So, I hear you ask, what's the reason for this declaration of double pickled-oniony goodness?

Reason Number The First is that Mr James Tiberious Oswald has been shortlisted for the CWA's Debut Dagger for the second time in a row this year. Hurrah! Everyone at Casa MacBride has their fingers crossed for him. Except for Grendel, as this would interfere with her master plan for world domination. Which, at the moment, seems to involve pouncing on as many butterflies as possible. Plus she's a cat, and doesn't really grasp the concept of literary awards.

Reason Number The Second is that today marks the anniversary of when Mr Allan Guthrie's naked posterior first appeared from his mother's womb and was briskly spanked by a man in a smock. Which is an image all of us are going to treasure. Obviously I can't comment on any further incidences of smocked men spanking Allan's backside, it would be unethical of me. But we've all seen the pictures.

I suppose you could also lump into that a Reason Number The Third: Crime Scene Scotland, in the person of Russel 'Badger Bait' McLean, has been so kind as to cast his eye over both FLESH HOUSE and SAWBONES. Which is nice, because poor old FLESH HOUSE hasn't been getting much in the way of review attention. It sits on the shelves, lonely and forlorn, weeping into a snotty hanky and making the occasional farty noise. I think this now brings the number of official reviews for the thing up to a dizzying 2, including the one in the Guardian by the lovely Laura Wilson: "Anyone writing with the dual aim of fist-in-mouth shockery and humour needs to work bloody hard, and MacBride does, showing us just how much fun body parts can be."

Oh, and I also got an invite to a party today. Not sure if I'll go yet, but it's on a funky bit of fluorescent plastic. It's hard to say no to fluorescent plastic...