So the good news this morning was the announcement that Scalpel Magazine was online - a fine journal of very respectable sf criticism marred only very slightly by their decision to publish my review of Adam Roberts’ novel Gradisil on their opening day. Foolish boys.

Nobody told me Mr Roberts was also writing a piece for the magazine - probably just as well. At least he can have the satisfaction that, while I was a bit disappointed by his novel, there are more typos (all my fault) in my review than in his entire book…

Then the second piece of good news arrived this evening in an email from the sagacious Lee Harris at Hub Magazine, who has exercised his awesome editorial skills and accepted my story “Home Protection” for publication - probably in August or September. Sign up and get a free McGrath story in your in-tray. How could you possibly resist?

In between I found a shop just outside the door to our offices in London that had Death Ray in stock - none of my usual WH Smith’s haunts on the way to work have had copies - so I can read that now. I also picked up Starburst, which I haven’t read in ages - actually, I’d assumed it had gone the way of the dodo years ago - as it’s celebrating 25 years of publication with the new issue (no. 350!).So that’s all cheered me up.