I’ve just joined the US Author’s Guild, and boy do they beat the UK in the support stakes. As charming as the Society of Author’s magazine is, as useful as 10% off books in shops may be, the US Authors Guild’s hello email virtually blows you away. Not only do they invite you to make use of immediate members advice and support, and to link your websites to their system for improving rankings, but they also offer to build you a website in a week, free. Of course they may benefit, but it is typical of that most appealing thing about the US, for us fustian, guilt-ridden Europeans, that instant can do attitude. Except of course when you get into their bad books, and then the US quickly proves they can-do you! Now we’ll see if they have anything helpful to say about what happened in New York with a publisher, but in this instance, God Bless America! DCD